THE GOOD SISTER by Sally Hepworth

 

Fabulous gripping psychological thriller entwined around the unbreakable hold that twins have on each other. Fern and Rose - one tall, blond, beautiful, ethereal looking, with a sensory processing disorder and the other shorter, rounder, brunette, gifted with the smarts, who has taken on the role of looking out for her more fragile twin. Their childhood was difficult, with a volatile and unstable mother who moved them frequently  to avoid unpaid rents, accumulating bills. Never a father mentioned or seemingly even desired by the two girls... 

The story is told in alternate chapters by Fern and Rose, with much reflecting on their childhoods, their relationship with each other and their mercurial mother in the middle of it all. This will resonate with all readers who have siblings close in age. We all know how the same family event/discussion/activity/crisis is viewed and reported on completely differently by each person there. As if everyone is wearing a different pair of glasses. We are all biased towards one parent or the other, or one sibling more than the other, which also colours how the story is told. Rose is the twin who has the difficult and fraught relationship with her mother, endeavouring to protect Fern from their mother's moods. Fern is often bewildered, but is also easy going and trust worthy. So trustworthy that she is responsible for a terrible accident when the girls are about 12, that only Rose knows about. Like many siblings there are secrets, spoken and unspoken between the two girls. 

Now that they are in their late 20s, Fern is a librarian. Her world is small and safe, she likes order, routine, the not-too-noisy or visually unstimulating environment of the library. She takes everything and everyone at face value, talking to her colleagues and library users with that frankness and unselfconsciousness of small children who see and verbalise the world ever so slightly off kilter from the way adults do. She has a new friend in the library - Wally - who takes on greater significance in Fern's life when she realises that Rose, who is married to Owen is unable to have children. What is the greatest gift Fern can give to her sister who has always loved and looked after her? A baby!!!!!  What a good sister. Or is she... and how will Rose react to all this - a baby and the possibility that Fern will switch her allegiance and loyalties away from her to Wally.

Such a great story, with a plot going you-don't-know-where. How tentative the relationship with our brothers and sisters is, how twisted it can become. This is completely engrossing - perfect for filling in all that down time we are having foisted upon us. What a movie or series this would make.