My Sister Is Going To Kill Me

An exciting murder mystery that takes readers on a wild rafting trip, while probing sisterhood and secrets.

 

Nina Simon’s character-driven first murder mystery probed the bonds between mothers and daughters (Mother-Daughter Murder Night). In My Sister Is Going To Kill Me, her second book, she again focuses on family dynamics, this time tackling the bond shared between two, very different adult sisters who get swept up into a murder investigation.

 

Every year, the Chisholm sisters leave their respective lives, meet up, and take a joint vacation. This year, they decide on a whitewater rafting trip down the Colorado River at the base of the Grand Canyon. But the river isn’t the only thing that needs taming. Liv--the older, more exacting and conscientious sister with a fear of heights--is challenged by her more free-spirited, fun-loving, younger sister Mandy. Together, the two join a tour of other adventure-seekers as they travel down the river, learning how to navigate the charged waterway. Initially awed by the breathtaking beauty of nature and wildlife, dark emotional undercurrents--namely personality clashes and issues of trust--shift the tide. When one of their traveling companions is found dead, along with another corpse, their idyllic trip suddenly becomes a deeper journey of dangerous survival as everyone is cast into a potential murder suspect—including Liv and Mandy.

 

Readers will need to hold on tight and buckle up as Simon’s winning, fast-paced thriller delivers red herrings and more hairpin twists and turns than the Colorado River itself!

 

My Sister is Going to Kill Me by Nina Simon

William Morrow (HarperCollins), $30.00 hardcover, 9780063478022, 352 pages

Publishing Date: August 18, 2026

To order this book on Bookshop.org, link HERE

 

Learn more about Nina Simon HERE

The Sisters of Book Row

A compelling, well-researched novel of historical fiction set in a 1915 Manhattan bookstore run by three smart, fiercely independent sisters.

As she did in her novels The Colony Club and The Tiffany Girls, Shelley Noble once again probes provocative feminist themes in The Sisters of Book Row. This authentically rendered novel of historical fiction explores one family’s ardent passion for books and literature—and the quest for women’s rights.

In 1915, a conglomerate of independent bookstores once filled Fourth Avenue in Manhattan. This included Arcadia Rare Bookshop—a vigorous shop run by the three Applebaum sisters who each bring unique personal gifts to the family business. The sisters, all smart and independent, share a complicated bond. And they each have personal secrets embedded in their hearts. The oldest and most intellectual, Olivia, works behind the scenes as an antiquarian specialist. Daphne, the outgoing middle sister, runs the front end of the shop. And Celia, the youngest, pulls up the slack doing whatever’s required, while also working underground with a group that covertly promotes “women’s health” issues via Margaret Sanger, the foundress of Planned Parenthood. At a time in history when society policed and raided “extremist views,” Celia starts to hide leaflets and pamphlets tied to women's rights in books and other literary ephemera. Her actions soon pose a risk for the family business that also jeopardizes other neighboring bookstores, as well.

 

Noble has crafted a compelling character-driven story that may be set in the early 20^th Century, but the underlying themes explored will resonate deeply with readers today.

The Sisters of Book Row by Shelley Noble

William Morrow (Harper Collins), $18.00 paperback, 9780063423916, 384 pages

Publication Date: March 3, 2026

To order this book on Bookshop.org, link HERE

 

Learn more about Shelley Noble HERE

A Good Life

An evocative, powerful love story about two adult sisters forced to reconcile their lives at their grandmother's seaside home in the Basque Country.

In A Good Life, French author Virginie Grimaldi delivers a sensitive, familial love story about the unrivaled, transformative bond of sisterhood. The novel is set in the beautiful Basque countryside, where the adult Delorme sisters, Emma and Agathe, are reunited after a five-year estrangement. The two were forced to come together to spend one last summer vacation at the home of their beloved--now deceased--grandmother Mima. The seaside dwelling, about to be sold, holds dear memories that have anchored the sisters throughout their lives, despite their differences.

 

During the week shared at Mima’s house for the last time, the Delorme sisters revisit bygone stories. Short, evocative chapters render slice-of-life remembrances that take readers through episodes that defined and shaped the women’s childhood and teenage years—and probe stories of family and other loves and losses sustained into adulthood. These enlightening scenes are contrasted against the women’s lives in the present. They come to discover how Mima and the “good times” they shared via her influence at the house every summer served to calm and steady them through the storms of life. The deep challenges that befall the family mark the women’s identities, personalities, and coping methods. Tensions build in the narrative as Emma and Agathe ultimately confront each other and tend to the wounds that drove them apart.

 

Grimaldi’s concise pros, translated by Hildegard Searle, is striking and vivid, painting a sympathetic portrait of the enduring bond of sisterhood. Readers will fall under the spell of a compassionately revealed story that blends poignancy and humor in depicting the transcendental nature of familial love and forgiveness.  

 

A Good Life by Virginie Grimaldi (Translated from the French by Hildegarde Searle)

Europa Editions, $28 hardcover, 288 pages, 9798889660248

Publishing Date: May 28, 2024

To order this book on INDIEBOUND/Bookshop.Org, link HERE

 

NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review as originally published on Shelf Awareness (May 31, 2024), link HERE 

 

A longer-form review of this novel was also published at Shelf Awareness on March 26, 2024.  Link HERE to read the review in its original long-form.

The Frederick Sisters Are Living the Dream

A quirky, bittersweet story about three middle-aged sisters faced with caregiving issues that force them to re-evaluate their places in the world.

 

Exasperating family dramas take center stage in The Frederick Sisters Are Living the Dream, a dynamic, episodic first novel by Jeannie Zusy.

 

Three middle-aged sisters are bonded by family history: Betsy (aka ‘Bets’) the oldest, is a single, independent, free spirit who runs a successful surfing school in California. Ginny, the middle sister, lives in Maryland. The 56-year-old, sugar-craving diabetic--and retired high-school janitor--reads and writes at a third-grade level.  However, her intellectual disability doesn’t hinder her from conniving to get what she wants. And Maggie, the youngest--a successful storyboard artist for TV commercials--is a dutiful, New York State mother of two, young-adult sons who is separated from her husband.

 

When Ginny is hospitalized after over-indulging in too much sugary Jell-O, Maggie sets off to her rescue. The girls’ parents are deceased, but they left ample finances to provide for Ginny’s care and well-being. When Maggie relocates Ginny--under duress--to a nursing home in Westchester County, New York, her good intentions are met with opposition. Older sister Betsy wants absolutely no part of--or say in--Ginny’s caretaking. And Ginny refuses to live amongst “old people.” Along the way, Maggie is caught in the middle, forced to juggle familial demands as she struggles to manage her own mid-life crisis, as well Ginny’s and Betsy’s—all three women are at personal crossroads.

 

Zusy’s funny, bittersweet story is rife with big scenes where Maggie’s witty, first-person narrative point-of-view adds levity to serious, tender themes about family, sisterhood, commitment, caregiving and love.

 

The Frederick Sisters Are Living the Dream by Jeannie Zusy

Atria Books, $27.00 hardcover, 320 pages, 9781982185381

Publishing Date: September 20, 2022

To order this book on INDIEBOUND, link HERE

 

NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (September 23, 2022), link HERE

 

The Chicken Sisters

A fun, lively story about the long-simmering rivalry between two legendary families that serve "the best" fried chicken in Kansas.

Comfort food and family feuds are centerpieces of the fun, first novel by KJ Dell'Antonia (How to Be a Happier Parent). The author plunges readers deep into the complicated lives of two families, the Moores and Pogociellos--rivals who share roots dating back to the 1800s in Merinac, Kan., where two sisters originated a fried chicken business. Familial tensions flowed through generations, down to Amanda Moore, who worked for her mother's traditional, old-school fried-chicken establishment, Chicken Mimi's--and fell in love with and married Frank Pogociello. Amanda's romantic choice created a mother-daughter rift that deepened when Amanda went to work for Chicken Frannie's, the competing restaurant offering a more innovative fried chicken menu.

 

With both eateries facing financial crises, Amanda reaches out to a reality TV show where two restaurants compete for a $100,000 prize. Once Amanda's pitch is accepted, it's game on for the fighting, frying families. Amanda enlists her widowed mother-in-law at the helm of Chicken Frannie's to battle against the Chicken Mimi's team: Amanda's estranged mother and Mae, Amanda's Brooklynite sister, who returns to Merinac after her successful TV career and marriage suddenly start to fray.

 

As the two eateries face off ruthlessly amid the limelight of TV cameras and producers eager to stir the drama pot, long-simmering family history infused with old resentments and scandalous secrets rises to the surface. Dell'Antonia's delightful story dishes up juicy messages about the strength and fortitude of the female spirit, the meaning of happiness and the valuable bonds of family.

The Chicken Sisters: A Novel by KJ Dell’Antonia

G.P. Putnam’s Sons, $16.00 Paperback, 9780593085141, 304 pages

Publication Date: December 1, 2020

To order this book on INDIEBOUND, link HERE

 

NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (December 4, 2020), link HERE

The Somerset Girls

Themes of family bonds and loyalty anchor the feel-good story of dissimilar sisters who get swept up in new romances.

With more than 100 titles to her credit, Lori Foster delivers another feel-good contemporary story that will resonate with readers who admire strong female protagonists, sensual romance and a love of animals.

 

In The Somerset Girls, two sisters run an animal rescue farm inherited from their grandparents in rural Kentucky. Autumn and Ember Somerset share a bloodline and a converted duplex house, and both maintain day jobs. That's where the similarities end, however. Autumn, 32, is a decorator and designer--the girl-next-door, homebody-type. Having been jilted at the altar, Autumn has sworn off men and romance. She is reliable and responsible, tending to her colorful parents, including a father who is a stroke survivor. Ember--younger, an outgoing free spirit--is a girly-girl with an edge who loves to flirt with cute guys. She works as a builder. When Ember runs into a former local, Tash Ducker--a handsome widower and father who was Autumn's high school crush--she volunteers the sisters' help in redesigning his house to cheer up his traumatized seven-year-old daughter. As the remodel ramps up, a romance develops between Autumn and Tash, while Ember becomes entangled in a new relationship of her own.

 

With compassion, wit and charm, Foster (Sisters of Summer's End) presents well-defined characters who, along the road of romance, reveal unspoken burdens. A surprising plot twist, steamy romance and endearing animal stories will delight faithful readers and win over new ones.

The Somerset Girls by Lori Foster

HQN, $16.99 Paperback, 9781335013385, 384 pages

Publication Date: April 19, 2020

To order this book on INDIEBOUND, link HERE

 

NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (June 2, 2020), link HERE

 

Louisiana Lucky

A richly entertaining story about three sisters who share a winning lottery jackpot that upends all their lives.

In Julie Pennell's Louisiana Lucky, three sisters from Brady, La., share a lottery jackpot of $204 million, and the outcomes result in a novel that is breezy and enjoyable, filled with charm and wit, romance and wisdom.

 

The Breaux sisters, all in their 20s, are hard-working, middle-class and bonded by family. One night a month, the lottery-playing girls gather for dinner and drinks and watch the Powerball drawing on television. Hanna, the oldest, lives with her struggling contractor husband and two kids in an inherited Victorian house in disrepair. Callie, the middle sister, is a still-single, brilliant journalist selling herself short working at a local paper. And Lexi, the youngest, is a hairdresser engaged to a vet school student with an overbearing, controlling, high-society mother. Each sister dreams of taking home the jackpot. Every month, they play two random and one predetermined number, as well as meaningful numbers selected from the heart--years parents have been married, house numbers, date they met a true love, number of kids. When their ship finally comes in, each sister takes home $68 million (before taxes), but that's when the real trouble starts. New choices and challenges upend the manageability of their former lives.

 

Pennell (The Young Wives Club) spins fresh perspective into classic adages like "be careful what you wish for" and "money is the root of all evil." She delivers a winning story--with appealing characters and a well-conceived, page-turning plot--about ordinary people changed by money in their individual ways.

Louisiana Lucky by Julie Pennell

Atria/Emily Bestler Books, $16.99 Paperback, 9781982115630, 320 pages

Publication Date: August 4, 2020

To order this book on INDIEBOUND, link HERE

 

NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (August 7, 2020), link HERE

 

A Walk Along the Beach

What does it take to open your heart up to new love?  This emotionally powerful story is about a young woman who struggles with sadness and grief…and imperfections in life that challenge love.

Debbie Macomber plumbs the depths of family bonds, tackling weighty emotional issues with great sensitivity and compassion. As she cites in her introduction, A Walk Along the Beach grew out of her own despair after the death of her dear friend, romance author Christina Skye, and taking a writing sabbatical to put her grief into perspective. What evolved as a result is a story about a Washington State family riddled with losses and challenges that upend the lives of all involved.

At the age of 13, Willa became the bedrock of the Lakey family. One of three children, she grew up fast after her mother died, and her father drowned his sorrows in drink. Deferring her own dreams, Willa practically raised her charming, adventurous, younger sister, Harper--a leukemia survivor--and supported her brother, Lucas, while shouldering many responsibilities and burdens within the family. After Willa's life has finally settled down in her late 20s, she opens a quaint café, and her manageable world is rocked by the attentions of a handsome, world-traveling, NatGeo photojournalist--with a shrouded past--who frequents the coffee shop. Through some endearing sisterly goading, Harper urges Willa to take a chance on love. But is sensitive Willa ready to risk opening her heart?

Macomber (Window on the Bay) fans may be surprised by heavier themes that churn undercurrents of sadness, loss and grief. The reward, however, is fully drawn characters and conflicts that will grip readers as much as--if not more than--Macomber's usually lighter romantic fare.

A Walk Along the Beach: A Novel by Debbie Macomber
Ballantine Books, $27.00 Hardcover, 9780399181368, 336 pages
Publication Date: July 14, 2020
To order this book on INDIEBOUND, link HERE

NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (July 17, 2020), link HERE

Meg and Jo

A perfect read for those who just can’t get enough of the March sisters! 

This is a lively, hip, 21st-century reinvention of Louisa May Alcott's beloved classic about the tight-knit March family.

Virginia Kantra (Carolina Dreaming) energetically reinvents Louisa May Alcott's classic novel Little Women. Kantra relocates the March family from New England to bucolic 21st-century Bunyan, N.C. Mother "Marmee" struggles to maintain the artisanal goat-cheese-producing family farm, while Father March, a pastor-preacher, is away serving as an army chaplain and military missionary activist.

Part of the story is filtered through Jo, a single 28-year-old journalist in search of a job, living in New York City. She works as a prep cook at an upscale eatery while secretly blogging about the food industry. When the tattooed, Michelin-star chef-owner of the restaurant takes a shine to her, she fears the consequences of mixing business with pleasure. The other half of the story is narrated by Meg, a devoted wife and stay-at-home mother of twins, whose life is deeply rooted in Bunyan. Is she truly fulfilled? While the other two March sisters pursue their own aspirations--Beth, chasing a career in the Branson, Mo., music business, and Amy in Paris, intent on becoming a fashionista--Marmee suddenly takes ill. Responsible Meg picks up the slack, faced with choices that might upend her sensible life and affect those of the family, as well.

Kantra retains Alcott's basic story blueprint and the essence of her unforgettable characters, including the irrepressible Aunt Phee and Trey, an updated take on Theodore "Laurie" Laurence. The narrative successfully weaves in provocative contemporary values and references, delivering a modern-day story--with bold new twists--that explores timeless themes of love, romance and the bonds of family.

Meg and Jo (A Novel) by Virginia Kantra

Berkley, $16.00 Paperback, 9780593100349, 400 pages

Publication Date: December 3, 2019

To order this book on INDIEBOUND, link HERE

NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (January 17, 2020), link HERE

Once We Were Sisters

A beautifully written memoir maps a woman's search for the truth about her beloved sister's life--and her mysterious death.

Novelist Sheila Kohler's first book of nonfiction, Once We Were Sisters, is an achingly beautiful memoir. The story probes Kohler's relationship with her sister, Maxine--two years older--and the bond they shared in life and in death. When Maxine was 39 years old, the devoted wife and mother of six was killed in a mysterious car crash that Kohler strongly believes was intentional. The driver of the car was Maxine's abusive husband--a successful and renowned heart surgeon with a relentless dark side. He survived the crash. 

Telling the story more than 35 years later, Kohler (The Bay of Foxes) seeks to find answers, identify the forces that precipitated Maxine's death and untangle her sister's life from her own. Despite their contrasting personalities, the two were close during a privileged upbringing in a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. They studied at exclusive boarding schools and later traveled abroad together. The death of their father in their youth, and a mother who frequently departed into her own alcohol-infused world, marked their lives, and both sisters married philandering husbands.

Kohler's search for literal and emotional truths, her abiding love for her sister--along with guilt and regret--propel this succinct narrative. Maxine's shattering death has deeply permeated and haunted every aspect of Kohler's life, especially her writing. Thankfully, the years have finally granted this gifted fiction writer the perspective and liberation to share her own story. 

Once We Were Sisters: A Memoir by Sheila Kohler

Penguin, $16.00 Paper, 9780143129295, 256 pages

Publication Date: January 17, 2017

To order this book on INDIEBOUND, link HERE

NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (February 7, 2017), link HERE 

The Tumbling Turner Sisters

Four sisters launch a vaudeville act to rescue their working-class family when it falls on hard times.  

The vaudeville era is authentically brought back to life in The Tumbling Turner Sisters by Juliette Fay (The Shortest Way Home). The story follows the plight of a hardworking, near-poverty-level family in Johnson City, N.Y., in 1919 after the patriarch, Frank, a lowly shoemaker, has his hand crushed when he tries to break up a barroom brawl. With Frank unable to work and bills piling up, determined mother Ethel, who'd always craved stardom, seeks to remedy the family's misfortune by recruiting her four daughters (ages 13 to 22) into forming a sister act of vaudeville tumblers.

The story is told from the perspectives of the middle sisters: Winnie, who wants to go to college and become a doctor, and Gert, no-nonsense and curvy-figured, who longs for a better life than her mother's. Rounding out the quartet are Kit, the youngest and tallest of the bunch, and Nell, the oldest, a young mother and recent widow. It doesn't take long for the sisters to attract the attention of an agent, who launches them on a tour through upstate New York, where they encounter a host of colorful performers including a Yiddish comedy duo, an African American tap dancer, Italian immigrant musicians and temperamental animal handlers. 

As the girls and their mother become immersed in the grueling vaudeville circuit, their mettle is tested. They are forced to discover who they are and the realities of life amid romantic attractions, con men and issues of women's rights and racial discrimination. Fay's historical novel probes the personal lives and questions of the era with adventure and aplomb.

The Tumbling Turner Sisters by Juliette Fay

Gallery Books, $24.00 Hardcover, 9781501134470, 352 pages

Publication Date: June 14, 2016

To order this book on INDIEBOUND, click HERE

NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (June 24, 2016 ), link HERE