Title: The Bad Sister by Kevin O’Brien
Family Secrets Series Book Two
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 438 pages
Book Rating: C
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
TOO CLOSE
The site of the old campus bungalow where two girls were brutally slain is now a flower patch covered with chrysanthemums. It’s been fifty years since the Immaculate Conception Murders. Three more students and a teacher were killed in a sickening spree that many have forgotten. But there is one person who knows every twisted detail. . . .
TO SEE
Hannah O’Rourke and her volatile half-sister, Eden, have little in common except a parent. Yet they’ve ended up at the same small college outside Chicago, sharing a bungalow with another girl. Hannah isn’t thrilled—nor can she shake the feeling that she’s being watched. And her journalism professor, Ellie Goodwin, keeps delving into Hannah and Eden’s newsworthy past. . . .
THE DANGER
When Hannah and Eden’s arrival coincides with a spate of mysterious deaths, Ellie knows it’s more than a fluke. A copycat is recreating those long-ago murders. Neither the police nor the school will accept the horrific truth. And the more Ellie discovers, the more she’s convinced that she won’t live to be believed. . . .
Review:
The Bad Sister by Kevin O’Brien is a perplexing mystery. Although this newest release is the second novel in the Family Secrets series, it can be read as a standalone.
Hannah O’Rourke’s excitement over rooming with Rachel Bonner is tempered by the inclusion of her half-sister Eden. The college they are attending has an infamous past due to serial killings that took place in fifty years ago. Eden finds the college’s history fascinating whereas Hannah is always looking over her shoulder.
Despite living in a new city, Hannah and Eden’s relationship is still edgy and complex. Eden remains independent and goes her own way while Hannah becomes fast friends with Rachel. Before long Eden is off on one of her jaunts but Hannah worries there is more to her disappearance than appears. Confiding in her journalism Professor Ellie Goodwin, Hannah’s fears for her half-sister’s safety appear to be well-founded. What, if anything, does Eden’s disappearance have to do with recent deaths that are eerily similar to the long ago serial killings?
Hannah, Eden and Rachel’s activities are pretty much what one would expect from young college women. Eden is a loner who does her own thing without giving much thought to anyone who cares for her. Hannah is immature and easily swayed by other people’s opinions. Rachel is the poor little rich girl who might just have an agenda of her own. Hannah grows uneasy when she learns unexpected information so she walks a fine line as events begin to spiral out of control.
Ellie’s spectacular career culminated with a possible movie deal that unfortunately fell through at the last minute. Having given up her newspaper career, she is mostly satisfied with her new career. But helping Hannah unearth the truth about Eden’s disappearance reminds her how much she enjoyed digging into a story. As she uncovers shocking information, will Hannah convince local authorities to take her suspicions seriously?
The Bad Sister is an engaging mystery with a convoluted storyline. The characters are not very well developed and the pacing is slow. With predictable plot twists and undefined motives, Kevin O’Brien brings the mystery to a satisfying conclusion.
