Book Review: My Sister Is Missing by Julia Barrett

I am one excited book blogger to be on the My Sister Is Missing book tour today. See, I mistakenly checked out the Goodreads reviews before starting this book and they made me worry that I was setting myself up for disappointment. However, what happened was I read a book I really, really enjoyed. This book review is going to tell you why.

Blurb

My Sister Is Missing by Julia Barrett introduces us to new mum, Stephanie. Stephanie’s sister Jess believes Stephanie is like any other mum, completely exhausted and a bit anxious but absolutely besotted with her baby girl, Natalie. That is until Stephanie disappears one night with Natalie. Just a few days later CCTV footage of a young woman with a baby jumping in front of a train surfaces and Jess fears the worse. Jess is also suspicious of Stephanie’s husband, Adam, and what he may potentially have to hide.

Review

I was so happy to find a book that centres around the dynamics of sisterhood. You might remember my book review of The Good Friend and how excited I was that it explored friendship. Well, My Sister Is Missing follows along the same lines, meaning it is another breath of fresh air. Admittedly, there was a point when I thought this was totally going to be an “it has to be the husband” story but it proved itself to be so much more. Stephanie’s relationship with Adam doesn’t dominate the story by any means and I loved that.

What else did I love? Well, the way in which information is fed to the reader drip by drip. At times, I found it frustrating but I soon realised my frustration was not because this method was destroying the story but because I was so eager to find out what happened next my patience was somewhat lacking. By the end, I was really happy to have been spoonfed information. It was an effective way to raise suspicion, build tension and set a very sinister tone.

There were a lot of things about My Sister Is Missing that I really, really liked. The aforementioned focus on family relationships and the fact that the drama occurs throughout the story and is not all kept for the end. I also felt that the author did a very good job in terms of character development. The characters I met at the start of the book were certainly not viewed in the same manner by the end. However, what hooked me the most was the very deep message that this book had to share. Unfortunately, I can’t go into much detail about the message as it serves as a spoiler. However, I can say that it is a mental health issue that is not often touched upon and I was glad to see somebody bring it to the forefront.

My Sister Is Missing has pushed itself into the top five range of my 2019 books. I don’t give coveted positions like that easily so you know it must be good.

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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