My Sister's Bones

by Nuala Ellwood

Overview

"Rivals The Girl on the Train as a compulsive read (and beats it for style). — Observer (UK)

In the vein of Fiona Barton's The Widow and Renée Knight's Disclaimer, a psychological thriller about a war reporter who returns to her childhood home after her mother's death but becomes convinced that all is not well in the house next door—but is what she’s seeing real or a symptom of the trauma she suffered in Syria?

The One Person You Should Trust Is Lying to You…

Kate has spent fifteen years bringing global injustice home: as a decorated war reporter, she’s always in a place of conflict, writing about ordinary people in unimaginable situations. When her mother dies, Kate returns home from Syria for the funeral. But an incident with a young Syrian boy haunts her dreams, and when Kate sees a boy in the garden of the house next door—a house inhabited by an Iraqi refugee who claims her husband is away and she has no children—Kate becomes convinced that something is very wrong.

As she struggles to separate her memories of Syria from the quiet town in which she grew up—and also to reconcile her memories of a traumatic childhood with her sister’s insistence that all was not as Kate remembers—she begins to wonder what is actually true…and what is just in her mind.

In this gripping, timely debut, Nuala Ellwood brings us an unforgettable damaged character, a haunting , humanizing look at the Syrian conflict, and a deeply harrowing psychological thriller that readers won’t be able to put down.

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062661968
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	07/11/2017
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	746,356
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Nuala Ellwood is the daughter of an award-winning journalist. Inspired by her father’s and other journalists’ experiences with post-traumatic stress disorder, she gained Arts Council Funding for her research into the topic and ultimately made it the main theme of My Sister’s Bones, her debut psychological thriller.

Editorial Reviews

05/15/2017
War reporter Kate Rafter, the narrator of Ellwood’s affecting debut, is more comfortable with mortar shells dropping in Aleppo and Fallujah than she is back in London, freshly returned from an assignment in Syria that has left her with nightmares and hallucinations. Kate got word of her mother’s death too late to make the funeral, thanks to her alcoholic younger sister. She comes home to seaside Herne Bay in Kent to a house empty, except for memories of a miserable childhood with her alcoholic father, who beat her mother and blamed his wife for the death of Kate’s brother. Chapters devoted to a long police interrogation of Kate for an unknown offense make it clear that her mental state is not what it should be. She becomes convinced she’s seen a little boy in her garden, raising the question of whether Kate’s losing touch with reality or something more sinister is happening. Ellwood portrays the horror of witnessing war in a compelling psychological thriller. Agent: Madeleine Milburn, Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV & Film Agency (U.K.). (July)

Publishers Weekly

A formidable debut thriller, MY SISTER’S BONES rivals The Girl on the Train as a compulsive read (and beats it for style).” — The Observer (London)

“Memorable, jaw-dropping … harrowing fiction that skilfully draws parallels between the effects of civil war and domestic violence.” — Sunday Times (London)

“Ellwood’s stylish and complex thriller is full of clever twists and grabs you by the throat.” — People (UK)

“Compelling … Brimful of tension, twists and darkness, this one grabbed me on the first page and didn’t let go.” — Woman & Home (UK)

“An affecting debut. Ellwood portrays the horror of witnessing war in a compelling psychological thriller.” — Publishers Weekly

“A winner for those drawn to murky psychological suspense, like that of Ruth Rendell, Karin Fossum, and Flynn Berry in Under the Harrow.“ — Booklist

“An exciting, shocking, fast-paced read … a clever, compelling tale full of surprises.” — Daily Express (London)

“With a complex plot full of really clever twists, this stylish thriller really grabs you.” — Sunday Mirror

“An elegant, punchy thriller with a dark heart.” — The Observer (London), Thriller of the Month

“Brimful of tension, twists and darkness, [MY SISTER’S BONES] grabbed me on the first page and didn’t let go.” — Woman & Home (UK)

“In her thrilling debut…the ensuing twist is a juicy one. I’ll look forward to what this talented author has up her sleeve next.” — Criminal Element

From the Publisher

A winner for those drawn to murky psychological suspense, like that of Ruth Rendell, Karin Fossum, and Flynn Berry in Under the Harrow.“

Booklist

With a complex plot full of really clever twists, this stylish thriller really grabs you.

Sunday Mirror

An exciting, shocking, fast-paced read … a clever, compelling tale full of surprises.

Daily Express (London)

Ellwood’s stylish and complex thriller is full of clever twists and grabs you by the throat.

People (UK)

Compelling … Brimful of tension, twists and darkness, this one grabbed me on the first page and didn’t let go.

Woman & Home (UK)

A formidable debut thriller, MY SISTER’S BONES rivals The Girl on the Train as a compulsive read (and beats it for style).

The Observer (London)

Memorable, jaw-dropping … harrowing fiction that skilfully draws parallels between the effects of civil war and domestic violence.

Sunday Times (London)

In her thrilling debut…the ensuing twist is a juicy one. I’ll look forward to what this talented author has up her sleeve next.

Criminal Element

A winner for those drawn to murky psychological suspense, like that of Ruth Rendell, Karin Fossum, and Flynn Berry in Under the Harrow.“

Booklist