The Better Sister audiobook

4.0 Stars—“The Better Sister” is the third Alafair Burke book I have read in less than a year, so I guess I would say I am officially a fan. “The Better Sister” is written from the first person perspective of Chloe, a famous feminist and publisher, whose husband, Adam, is brutally murdered inside of their home. This situation is complicated by the fact that Chloe is a stepmother to Ethan, Adam’s son, whose mother is Nickie, Chloe’s sister. This leads to complications and many interesting reveals as the story unfolds. The author does a much better job than she did in “The Ex” of keeping the details of the plot unpredictable and keeps numerous plausible suspects floating about throughout the mystery. I really enjoyed the courtroom antics in this novel too. The way the defense choreographed certain elements with the client and the family for maximum effect was ingenious and reflected things I have seen from better attorneys in court. The only problems I had with the book was the ending was implausible (considering all that would have had to take place in order for it to have occurred as described) and the inconsistencies in Chloe’s actions and statements (the narrator from the start to the end of the novel). The author couldn’t seem to decide whether Chloe was a reliable or unreliable and her way of speaking about certain characters at one point did not mesh with how she spoke of them later. Criticisms aside, I enjoy the author’s writing style and am looking forward to reading more mysteries from her in the future.

Elaborate, suspenseful, and twisty!THE BETTER SISTER by ALAFAIR BURKE is an exciting, intriguing, engrossing, disturbing, and fantastic domestic mystery/thriller that had me totally absorbed in this emotionally complex storyline. I was fully immersed and totally interested in the mystery and the interaction between these two sisters, Chloe and Nicky as it was quite dynamic. ALAFAIR BURKE is such a fabulous storyteller and has this way of hooking you in right away with her extremely fast-paced narrative and her subtly sneaky delivery. Which immediately had me questioning and wanting answers, even re-reading certain parts because I was certain I had to have missed something and dang if I did. She’s sneaky! lol ALAFAIR BURKE delivers a compelling and well-written story here that is full of intrigue, suspense, courtroom drama, and familial dynamics. The topical storyline is timely and well-plotted, flowed seamlessly and had interesting and great characters.This was another one of those books for me where the fantastic storytelling guided and entertained me right to the very end. The courtroom drama was extremely interesting and smartly written without overwhelming you with complicated details. I could definitely tell that ALAFAIR BURKE knows her stuff.Norma’s Stats:Cover: Absolutely love that dramatic, striking, breathtaking and extremely fitting cover. Title: Simple, impactful and a fabulous representation to storyline. Writing/Prose: Well-written, skilled, elaborate, suspenseful and engaging.Plot: Engrossing, suspenseful, dramatic, realistic, interesting, fast-paced, and entertaining.Ending: The ending made me pause and reflect but in the end I was completely satisfied with the outcome. Overall: The storyline is full of twists and turns and so subtly interspersed that I didn’t think this was predictable at all. I wouldn’t necessarily say it was all that surprising though when everything all played out but it was completely satisfying to me. ALAFAIR BURKE does it again and has another winner here with THE BETTER SISTER!! Would highly recommend!Thank you so much to Ashley at HarperCollins Canada for the complimentary copy. It was an absolute pleasure reading this fabulous book!Review can also be found on our book blog:https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com/

What a terrific domestic suspense/courtroom drama novel! Chloe works in publishing as the editor of a feminist women’s magazine and is a vocal and very public advocate for women, while her husband Adam is a successful Manhattan attorney. Together they raise their son Ethan. The complication? Adam is her sister Nicky’s ex-husband and Ethan is really her nephew. These are little known public details until Adam turns up brutally murdered in their beach house. The police turn their attention to Ethan as the suspect and the two estranged sisters, who haven’t spoken in 15 years, must team together to save him.Nothing is as it appears and red herrings will have you spinning off in multiple direction with theories of what really happened. If you’re like me, you will be wrong.There is the mystery of who killed Adam, but I also loved the exploration of social media, the #MeToo movement, family dysfunction, and the sibling bond.This isn’t a thrill a minute read with twists on every page coming at you fast and furious but I am over that style of thriller so I liked the focus on the characters. Families are often messy. We never really knows what goes on behind closed doors. I found it entertaining, and a fun diversion. • I received a copy of this book from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review

3.5 Stars rounded up! I had no idea four years later, I'd become the second Mrs. Adam Macintosh, or that ten years after that, I'd be the one to find his dead body. Chloe is the youngest Taylor sister and she has is together. You could say she is the better sister. She has a great job and gets to be a guest at fancy parties with her boss until one night her brother in law calls her to tell her he needs her help...and it's about her sister.Fast forward 14 years into the future Chloe is now married to her brother in law Adam. She is taking care of her nephew who calls her mom and her big sister is out of the picture. One night when Adam is home by himself, he is murdered and Chloe comes back to find him in their house deceased. When the police start to get involved, Chloe brings Nicky (her estranged sister) back into the picture because Ethan, Nicky's biological son and Chloe's stepson is being questioned. These sisters are forced to open up about past secrets, relationship troubles and work together to try to win over the court system.This book is a domestic thriller but on the slower side. There are elements to this book that I really enjoyed. I think the dynamic between sisters was really interesting. They both grew up in the same house but they had totally different experiences with their parents and this was one of the reasons they became estranged. However, they are similar in the fact that they were both able to be manipulated by the same people both as children and adults. This helps them really come together towards the back half of this novel.I think an important reality that this book points out is that not every family is what they seem. Do they seem happy on the outside when they're in a social setting or out as a family? Sure. However we never know what is really going on behind closed doors. People tend to be good at putting up a front when around others and then becoming a completely different person at home. This book also explores how families tend to stay together when you feel you need to protect a child more than you need to help yourself. I don't personally have kids but I could empathize with the main characters when this situation arose.I previously read The Wife by Alafair Burke and it was easily one of my top 10 reads of last year. I think I went into this book with extremely high expectations and that was a mistake on my part. This book was good for what it's written as but I thin I was expecting something as devouring as The Wife was last year for me and this was not that However, I can tell you that I did read this in about a day and it was harder to put down. I wanted to know what happened to Adam. The reveal of the killer wasn't surprising. to me but it didn't feel like a let down. This story was more about coming together as a family rather than a whodunit.Thank you to Harper Books for my ARC of this book. This book publishes today, April 16th. Pick it up if this is a book that sounds like something you'd enjoy!

Courtroom drama meets domestic suspense in this story about murder and family. Two estranged sisters, a dead husband connected to them both, a teenage boy charged with murder. Alafair Burke shows off her legal skills and talent for developing a family, secrets and all. Everything rises to the surfac

“The Better Sister” by Alafair Burke is a twisty-turny thriller with more than a couple plot twists that the reader doesn’t see coming.The story is told by Chloe Taylor, a successful editor-in-chief for a woman’s magazine. She found success via the woman’s “me too” movement and is fodder for twitter haters. As the story opens, life is good for Chloe. She’s busy and at the top of her career. Everything derails when her husband is found dead and her stepson is accused of the murder.To murk up the Chloe’s perfect life, she is married to her sister’s ex-husband and is raising her sister’s son. It sounds a bit creepy, but Chloe narrates a perfectly good reason for the unexpected marriage to her brother-in-law, now husband. When her son is accused of the murder, Chloe’s sister, Nicky comes into town to support her son and her Chloe. Chloe is hesitant, as she hasn’t kept track to Nicky and is worried that she will cause more problems.Chloe digs into her husband’s background and learns secrets her husband has kept from her. Meanwhile, she is unable to communicate with her stepson to find out what happened the night of her husband’s murderThe suspense ensues during the murder trial timeframe when Chloe discovers missing pieces relevant to the case. Even after the case is settled, other pieces come forward. Just when you think the story is done, more twists occur.The last third of the novel is fantastic. Burke writes a masterful thriller. I listened to Amazon’s audible production narrated by Sophie Amoss, Samantha Desz, and Mike Chamberlain. All narrators are fabulous.

Burke is a master of pacing and suspense. This one is so clever, glitzy, and current — and, oh, what an ending!

I remember reading The Ex and felt mentally drained from the twists and turns. It was quite a ride and after that, I became a fan of this authors. The summary draws you in and you feel ready to dive in, however, this story took awhile to "get there". While I appreciated the topics when you finally did "get there", I'm not sure I was vested with the protagonist of the story. The upside was that if you are a fan of this authors, the twists and turns did not disappoint.Chloe lives an ideal, picture perfect life. She has a beautiful family and a successful career. Her career as an Editor propels her to a celebrity status as she is an advocate for women's voices who have been abused. Chloe loves her stepson whose mom is her sister that she has been estranged from since he was a baby. The three are reunited when they learn Chloe's husband, Adam, has been killed in their home. Chloe has an airtight alibi, but her son, Ethan, does not. Chloe's sister, Nicky, is staying with her to protect her son and try to strengthen the bond they used to have. Chloe does not want her there, but she knows the attention on her son is serious and she needs all the reinforcements she can get to get through an event that will change all of them.The three are put to the test as their secrets are exposed and Chloe's perfect life is crumbling. Time is running out and the two sisters must find a way to save Ethan and their strategy to find another suspect is a hunch that leads to a big reveal. I liked the story because it had a similar intensity of her other books, but I did not feel connected with the main character and I should have given the storyline. The supporting characters add a strong layer that does keep you engaged, especially, Nicky. You're curious of her relationship with Adam and why it failed and why she struggled and why she was estranged from her own son. Was she the Better Sister?

Alafair Burke has done it again - and dare I say - this may just be her best yet! Chloe Taylor, an editor-in-Chief of a women’s magazine spearheading the #MeToo movement - returns home to lavish Hamptons weekend home to find her husband stabbed to death. But, Chloe and Adam didn’t exactly have a boy-meets-girl traditional start, Adam is divorced from Chloe’s own sister, Nicky. Delving into family relationships and unraveling exactly how someone marries their sister’s ex while wondering “whodunnit” in a murder case really showcases Burke’s skills as a master of intrigue and suspense. I found myself theorizing constantly and devouring this book at rapid pace, I just had to know what happened! Thank you to HarperCollins for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Very entertaining! Nothing about this book is unique or challenging but I kept wanting to find out the “who done it”. It did have a few unexpected twists and turns. This is the type of book I recommend if you’re stuck in a book rut. Happy reading!!

So, please don't make fun of me, but I've never read anything by the famous Alafair Burke. I know, I know—I'm one of the only people in the world that didn't check out her 2018 blockbuster The Wife. However, this year I was given the opportunity to read Burke's upcoming The Better Sister and I am officially now a fan. Burke's upcoming domestic thriller takes place in Manhattan, focusing on Chloe Taylor and her family. The story starts with showcasing Chloe's drive to succeed in the media world; working at one of the most elite magazine companies in the world. As she becomes a leader and visionary in her own rite—Chloe's personal life leaves much for the imagination. Chloe develops a relationship with her sister's ex-husband, and the two decide to marry. Chloe's sister is estranged from the family, and Chloe becomes the wife and mother that her sister Nicky wasn't. Years later, Chloe is successful and famous in the world of fashion and media. She is a mogul and an activist for the modern day feminist. After a night out with friends, Chloe returns home to find out that her husband has been murdered. As the police begin investigating this high-profile homicide, Chloe and her sister Nicky must reunite. They need to reconcile (at least for the time being), as this fiasco starts to unravel. The two need to stand strong together in hopes of getting through this tragedy. After years of pretending that the other didn't exist, the two must now retrace their history in hopes of moving forward with their "new normal". The Better Sister is awesome, plain and simple. Alafair Burke's writing is some of the best fiction I've ever experienced in my blogging life. Domestic thrillers, although popular, can be very easy to pick apart since the genre's gotten so over-saturated, but Burke doesn't play by the rules—she formulates her own strategy in crafting this memorizing mystery. You'll be second guessing your theories from beginning and end, and you'll be staying up into the wee hours at night to just get to the next chapter. I see big things for The Better Sister this year, and I'm definitely going to be along for the ride.