The Forgotten Sister: A Novel

by Nicola Cornick

Overview

In the tradition of the spellbinding historical novels of Philippa Gregory and Kate Morton comes a stunning story based on a real-life Tudor mystery, of a curse that echoes through the centuries and shapes two women’s destinies…

1560: Amy Robsart is trapped in a loveless marriage to Robert Dudley, a member of the court of Queen Elizabeth I. Surrounded by enemies and with nowhere left to turn, Amy hatches a desperate scheme to escape—one with devastating consequences that will echo through the centuries…

Present Day: When Lizzie Kingdom is forced to withdraw from the public eye in a blaze of scandal, it seems her life is over. But she’s about to encounter a young man, Johnny Robsart, whose fate will interlace with hers in the most unexpected of ways. For Johnny is certain that Lizzie is linked to a terrible secret dating back to Tudor times. If Lizzie is brave enough to go in search of the truth, then what she discovers will change the course of their lives forever.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781525809958
Publisher:	Graydon House Books
Publication date:	11/10/2020
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	1,080,518
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

USA Today bestselling author Nicola Cornick has written over thirty historical romances for Harlequin and HQN Books. She has been nominated twice for a RWA RITA Award and twice for the UK RNA Award. She works as a historian and guide in a seventeenth century house. In 2006 she was awarded a Masters degree with distinction from Ruskin College, Oxford, where she wrote her dissertation on heroes.

Editorial Reviews

09/28/2020

British writer Cornick (The Woman in the Lake) incorporates elements of romance and paranormal genres into a fascinating if rote historical that centers on the 16th-century death of Amy Robsart, wife of Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester. In a prologue set in 1752, Cornick describes priests attempting to exorcise Amy’s ghost from Cumnor Hall, which results in the ghost escaping. Flash forward to the 2010 wedding of 18-year-old musician Dudley and his groupie-wife, Amelia, as seen through the eyes of Dudley’s best friend, Lizzie Kingdom, who possesses psychometric powers. Through alternating points of view, Cornick reconstructs the lonely married life of Amy Robsart, which eventually leads to her death in a fall from a flight of stairs, and the present-day death of Amelia, who dies the same way after 10 years of marriage. After being released from questioning by the police who suspected she might have some insight into Dudley’s possible role in Amelia’s death, Lizzie embarks on her own investigation into how Amelia died, guided by visions leading her through history and time to reveal frightening things about herself and the Robsart family. While the characters lack depth, the author does a good job with pacing and plot detail. Cornick’s rich mystery will serve readers well on a rainy day. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

10/01/2020

In 1560 Amy Robsart, unhappily wed to Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester and favorite of Queen Elizabeth I, died at 28 under mysterious circumstances. In 2010, 17-year-old former child star and musician Lizzie Kingdom attended the wedding of Dudley Lester to Amelia Robsart. Dudley could be trouble, but he was also Lizzie's best friend from her earliest days in the business, and Amelia resents that bond. In 2020, after filing for divorce from her husband, 28-year-old Amelia also dies mysteriously. Lizzie is a potential suspect. When she's forced to withdraw from the public eye after a scandal, it seems her life is over. But she discovers that her ability to read the energy of objects might help untangle terrible secrets dating back to Tudor times. In Cornick's (The Woman in the Lake) novel, the two periods are woven together, with moments in each story line supporting the past and present. Historical events and people are depicted authentically, and the contemporary action features a relatable pop culture setting. Mystical elements, including some time travel, ghostly presences, and Lizzie's gifts, add to the atmosphere. VERDICT Amateur sleuth fans, historical fiction readers, devotees of Kate Morton and Kate Atkinson, or readers looking for an engaging escape to a fictional world should pick up this one.—Stacey Hayman, Rocky River P.L., OH

Library Journal