** BLOG TOUR ** My Sister's Bones by Nuala Ellwood

 I am delighted to be taking part in the My Sister's Bones blog tour today. Published by Penguin in hardback and audio on 9th February 2017. The eBook is available now. My thanks to the publisher and author for the review copy and inviting me on the blog tour.

Kate Rafter is a high-flying war reporter. She's the strong one. The one who escaped their father. Her sister Sally didn't. Instead, she drinks.

But when their mother dies, Kate is forced to return to the old family home. And on her very first night she is woken by a terrifying scream. At first she tells herself it's just a nightmare, a legacy of her time in Syria.

But then she hears it again. And this time she knows she's not imagining it...

What secret is lurking in her mother's garden?
And can Kate get to the truth...before she loses her mind?

My Thoughts:

It was with great anticipation that I started reading this book. Due in no short part to the publicity that I had seen around twitter with teaser snippets and an email I received with a voice recording. 

I really did not know what to expect when picking this book up. The cover and synopsis gave little away. What I found was an astonishing debut that was gripping and shocking in equal measure. Nuala Ellwood is a fine writer that is superbly skilled at writing flawed and damaged characters and unreliable narrators. So much so that it is hard to know who to believe and who not to. 

Kate Rafter has just returned from Syria, she is a war reporter that has seen things that we could only imagine. Her sister Sally is an alcoholic that struggles with everyday life. The sisters seem to have little in common and do not seem particularly close at all. There was some moving passages about what it is like in a war zone. 

The sisters are brought back together when their mother dies and Kate returns to the family home. Set in Herne Bay, this place is almost another character within the story. At the outset we discover that Kate is being interviewed by police about events that have occurred recently. She seems agitated and confused, and appears to be having a Mental Health crisis. Can her version of events be trusted? Is she hearing voices? Is she seeing things? 

My Sister's Bones is clever, complex and has an intricately weaved plot. This is really accomplished writing and I gasped as I read the last few chapters. Difficult issues are contained within this book but all are tackled with intelligence and sensitivity. Issues such as Domestic Violence, PTSD, alcoholism and bereavement. There are twists and turns aplenty and there is a feeling of tension throughout. It is hard to know which characters to trust, this is where this book was the most thrilling for me. I was on the edge of the seat as I didn't know what was coming next. 

Nuala Ellwood brings something new to a crowded genre and not only that she manages to stand out. This book is going to be huge, and it deserves to be so. 



About the Author:

Nuala Ellwood moved to London in her twenties to pursue a career as a singer-songwriter, but ended up writing novels instead. She comes from a family of war reporters, and they inspired her to get Arts Council funding to research and write a novel dealing with psychological trauma in the industry. My Sister's Bones is her debut thriller.

You can find her on Twitter: @NualaWrites




It would be lovely if you stopped by some other stops on the month long tour.