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A review by lisa_bergin
The Lost Sister by Kathleen McGurl
5.0
I would like to thank NetGalley, HQ and Kathleen McGurl for this e arc copy for review
This is a dual timeline story starting in 1911 for the past storyline and 2019 for the modern day. In 1911 three sisters Emma, Ruby and Lily are living in Southampton with their mother when Emma the eldest of these girls gets a job aboard The Olympic for its maiden voyage. Ruby wants independence and feels trapped in her life, and Lily the youngest is a sickly child having had TB and recurring bouts of illness.
In the modern day we find Harriet who is the granddaughter to the past storyline who with her daughter Sally are downsizing her house with a view to move to something smaller as her husband died recently when they find a photograph of three sisters one clearly her Grandmother. As far as Harriet was aware there were only two not three. This gets Harriet thinking did her grandmother have a third sister. With the help of her friend Sheila they check the census for 1911 and establish there were three sisters.
This is the start of a really great read. I really enjoyed the structure of the book telling the story in alternate chapters between the two timelines. As the book progresses we learn that Harriet's family is fractured as her second daughter Davina has not been in contact for quite some time and Harriet has never seen Davina's children. We also learn that Sally’s son Jerome is poorly with leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant.
In the past element we learn about how they lived and their time spent on all three of the White Star Line sister ships Olympic, Titanic and Britannic. I don’t want to go into any more detail as I do not want to spoil the story for anyone.
This story had me engrossed from start to end. There were parts of the book that were heartbreaking and I really wanted to know what had happened to the sisters from the past and hoped that the modern day storyline would also have a positive outcome. I really enjoyed the parallels between Ruby from the past and Davina in the present, how their outlook was quite similar. The ending was all to do with reconnection, reconciliation, hope and forgiveness. I did guess one of the plot outcomes but this did not alter my overall opinion of it. I base my ratings on my enjoyment factor and that is why I gave it 5 *****. I highly recommend this book.
This is a dual timeline story starting in 1911 for the past storyline and 2019 for the modern day. In 1911 three sisters Emma, Ruby and Lily are living in Southampton with their mother when Emma the eldest of these girls gets a job aboard The Olympic for its maiden voyage. Ruby wants independence and feels trapped in her life, and Lily the youngest is a sickly child having had TB and recurring bouts of illness.
In the modern day we find Harriet who is the granddaughter to the past storyline who with her daughter Sally are downsizing her house with a view to move to something smaller as her husband died recently when they find a photograph of three sisters one clearly her Grandmother. As far as Harriet was aware there were only two not three. This gets Harriet thinking did her grandmother have a third sister. With the help of her friend Sheila they check the census for 1911 and establish there were three sisters.
This is the start of a really great read. I really enjoyed the structure of the book telling the story in alternate chapters between the two timelines. As the book progresses we learn that Harriet's family is fractured as her second daughter Davina has not been in contact for quite some time and Harriet has never seen Davina's children. We also learn that Sally’s son Jerome is poorly with leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant.
In the past element we learn about how they lived and their time spent on all three of the White Star Line sister ships Olympic, Titanic and Britannic. I don’t want to go into any more detail as I do not want to spoil the story for anyone.
This story had me engrossed from start to end. There were parts of the book that were heartbreaking and I really wanted to know what had happened to the sisters from the past and hoped that the modern day storyline would also have a positive outcome. I really enjoyed the parallels between Ruby from the past and Davina in the present, how their outlook was quite similar. The ending was all to do with reconnection, reconciliation, hope and forgiveness. I did guess one of the plot outcomes but this did not alter my overall opinion of it. I base my ratings on my enjoyment factor and that is why I gave it 5 *****. I highly recommend this book.