The Half Sister

April 27, 2020
Set in London, this unsatisfying family drama from British author Jones (The First Mistake) unfolds through the perspectives of two sisters: Kate, a celebrity gossip journalist who desperately wants to have a baby; and Lauren, a mother of three with an abusive husband. At their widowed mother’s obligatory Sunday lunch get-together, an unexpected visitor arrives. “My name’s Jess and I just want to see my father,” the young woman tells them. Their anger bubbles over, and they tell the stranger to leave. Denial soon follows: their father, Harry, who died nearly a year earlier and was devoted to his family, could not possibly have betrayed their mother. Eventually, Kate and Lauren, each in her own way, try to help Jess discover the truth about Harry’s tangled past. By doing so, they come to realize that they too have been living lives built on lies. Only toward the end does this tale of domestic woes veer into a murder mystery. An obvious villain, a lack of suspense, and characters with no depth make this Jones’s weakest effort to date. Fans will hope for a return to form next time. Agent: Tanera Simons, Darley Anderson (U.K.).