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A review by paulabrandon
The Secret Sister by Brenda Novak
3.0
I thought this was going to be a mystery, but it was more a romance, with a lot of family drama, and just a little bit of mystery thrown in. But it wasn't a total loss. I thought main character Maisey Lazarow was very well developed. She returns to the island of Fairham, which she left ten years ago, to assist her brother Keith after an attempted suicide. She is still recovering from a divorce and the loss of her daughter two years ago (she was only six weeks old and died of SIDS).
Maisey is a bit of a mess, but she's very believably rendered. This was why I could accept her to and fro with Rafe Romero, who she lost her virginity to when she was 16. He's doing up the cottages on her mother's estate. As she's still recovering from her divorce, she is wary of making decisions around other men, especially one she finds so attractive.
Maisey and Keith have a very complex relationship with their mother Josephine. Keith is a drug addict. Maisey and Josephine became estranged after she disapproved of Maisey's marriage. So Maisey's relationship with her mother is at risk of getting even more strained when Rafe brings Maisey some photographs he found between the walls of one of the bungalows he's doing up. The photographs show a girl with their family. She starts to have memories of a possible older sister - as does Keith. But digging up the past is not something that Josephine will appreciate, as she very much likes to keep up appearances.
This was quite slow-paced (the photographs don't show up until past the 50% point), but works on a mildly interesting soap opera level. And like I said, I thought Maisey was a well-constructed character, not always making very good decisions, but at least you can understand why she would be that way, and it's not as if she's a bad person.
Of course, this book exists because the characters simply can't have a rational conversation about anything, and the mystery is pretty thin and weak, but I read it in a day and didn't have any other major qualms with it. Plus it was only $1 from the op shop. Goodreads indicates that there's a second book after this one, but all plot strands in this particular book are wrapped up, so there are no cliffhangers.
Maisey is a bit of a mess, but she's very believably rendered. This was why I could accept her to and fro with Rafe Romero, who she lost her virginity to when she was 16. He's doing up the cottages on her mother's estate. As she's still recovering from her divorce, she is wary of making decisions around other men, especially one she finds so attractive.
Maisey and Keith have a very complex relationship with their mother Josephine. Keith is a drug addict. Maisey and Josephine became estranged after she disapproved of Maisey's marriage. So Maisey's relationship with her mother is at risk of getting even more strained when Rafe brings Maisey some photographs he found between the walls of one of the bungalows he's doing up. The photographs show a girl with their family. She starts to have memories of a possible older sister - as does Keith. But digging up the past is not something that Josephine will appreciate, as she very much likes to keep up appearances.
This was quite slow-paced (the photographs don't show up until past the 50% point), but works on a mildly interesting soap opera level. And like I said, I thought Maisey was a well-constructed character, not always making very good decisions, but at least you can understand why she would be that way, and it's not as if she's a bad person.
Of course, this book exists because the characters simply can't have a rational conversation about anything, and the mystery is pretty thin and weak, but I read it in a day and didn't have any other major qualms with it. Plus it was only $1 from the op shop. Goodreads indicates that there's a second book after this one, but all plot strands in this particular book are wrapped up, so there are no cliffhangers.