The Better Sister
"I love a good courtroom drama, and this did not miss anything out."
Synopsis:
Chloe and Nicky Taylor, estranged sisters are drawn back together with the murder of Adam, one the dead man's husband, the other his ex - they must set their differences and anger aside to save their son.
Being the more promising of the two sisters, Chloe was always the one in charge, the honour roll student who claimed her dream career. While Nicky was the slightly less stable sister until she found Adam Macintosh, an up and coming attorney whom she married and had Ethan with.
Fifteen years later, their lives are not the same happy picture from before - and now Chloe is Adam's wife. One night he is murdered and the hunt turns towards his son, Ethan, and the sisters must reunite and confront their past to protect their future and their son.
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Review:
To start let's face the elephant in the room - it would be anyone's worst nightmare to find out that your sibling is now together with your ex. That is certainly a big factor in why I picked this book up to read, I just couldn't wrap my head around how this would go down with the other sibling (the ex) and so I had to get stuck in. The rule of sister's before misters was certainly forgotten for the Taylor sisters, and yet Nicky (the ex) was oddly calm about the situation, they say sharing is caring but I think this is a step too far, and realistically I wasn't sure if this was the reaction anyone would usually have... I appreciate Adam had sole custody of her son so she was mindful of that, but there must have been an element of jealousy or anger towards Chloe to have to go for him? Maybe this is just me emanating my emotions? What did become apparent in this novel was the sisters lack of communication and connection which ended up spreading to their shared son Ethan, and caused history to repeat itself. The rift that they had let creep into their relationship had an underlying effect on Ethan, whom is supposedly the most important person to both of them. When the police turn on Ethan and the storyline goes into the courtroom, I was very much in my element. I love a good courtroom drama, and this did not miss anything out. I thought Burke wrote this perfectly, as in real life there are unexpected turns of events, and in this case they shocked not only the readers but also the courtroom. I thought the representation was portrayed realistically, and I for one certainly bought into the story. I was left happy with how the novel turned on its head, with the sister's finally coming together for the one thing that was important to both of them. What resonated was that this happiness also had a sinister, and dark edge to the fold when you find out what happened to Adam - but you'll have to read it to find out for yourself.