Here are 100 books that The Good Sister fans have personally recommended if you like
The Good Sister.
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Mental illness has been such a huge part of my life for so long now that it has become second nature for me to incorporate it into my work. After suffering postnatal depression, anxiety, and panic attacks, I’ve been on anti-depressants for 11 years and regularly see a wonderful psychologist. Recently, I added a psychiatrist into the mix who diagnosed me with ADHD, so now I’m learning to juggle ADHD meds alongside the antidepressants. I’ve always been passionate about talking and writing openly and honestly about my own personal experiences because if there is any chance that I can help someone else with my words, then I’m going to take it.
The thing I love about this book is that the reader is hooked from the start by a thrilling mystery as Kate starts investigating the secrets hidden within a seemingly perfect family; but at the same time, you’re also drawn into Kate’s struggles with her past. As you discover the unspeakable tragedy that Kate is attempting to shut out through alcoholism and by spending her weekends taking voyeuristic visits through open homes for sale – which she has no intention of buying; you slowly realise that you’re experiencing an unreliable view of the world, which means you start to doubt everything you read, in the same way that Kate is doubting everything she sees.
'A dark, twisting tale of guilt and obsession which will leave you gasping' Petronella McGovern, author of Six Minutes
The stunningly tense, page-turning top 10 bestseller for all fans of The Woman in the Window and The Girl on the Train.
The perfect house. The perfect family. Too good to be true.
Kate Webb still grieves over the loss of her young son. Ten years on, she spends her weekends hungover, attending open houses on Sydney's wealthy north shore and imagining the lives of the people who live there.
Then Kate visits the Harding house - the perfect house with,…
Mental illness has been such a huge part of my life for so long now that it has become second nature for me to incorporate it into my work. After suffering postnatal depression, anxiety, and panic attacks, I’ve been on anti-depressants for 11 years and regularly see a wonderful psychologist. Recently, I added a psychiatrist into the mix who diagnosed me with ADHD, so now I’m learning to juggle ADHD meds alongside the antidepressants. I’ve always been passionate about talking and writing openly and honestly about my own personal experiences because if there is any chance that I can help someone else with my words, then I’m going to take it.
I absolutely love being a mother – but becoming a mum wasn’t the simple experience I thought it would be. I suffered from post-natal depression after the birth of both of my daughters and it was a shock for me to discover that motherhood wasn’t as easy and natural as I’d imagined. That’s why I loved reading Grace Under Pressure – it perfectly captures the ups and downs of motherhood and the terrifying loneliness, while simultaneously incorporating humour, heart, and comradery between women.
'Ignore everything you think you’re meant to be doing, and bunker down with this.’ Better Reading
Big Little Lies meets Marian Keyes with a dash of Donna Hay; a deliciously hilarious, honest and heartfelt portrayal of modern-day motherhood and the saving grace of female friendship.
Grace Harkness looks like she has it all – two beautiful children, four cookbooks under her belt and an idyllic beachside home #blessed. But add another baby on the way (oops), a spouse that is nowhere to be seen and a relentless list of things she ‘should’ be doing, and Grace is starting to unravel.…
Mental illness has been such a huge part of my life for so long now that it has become second nature for me to incorporate it into my work. After suffering postnatal depression, anxiety, and panic attacks, I’ve been on anti-depressants for 11 years and regularly see a wonderful psychologist. Recently, I added a psychiatrist into the mix who diagnosed me with ADHD, so now I’m learning to juggle ADHD meds alongside the antidepressants. I’ve always been passionate about talking and writing openly and honestly about my own personal experiences because if there is any chance that I can help someone else with my words, then I’m going to take it.
I adore every single word written by Marian Keyes, but the reason I’m including this book in this particular list is because the story centers around Helen Walsh, a private investigator who is severely depressed – and yet the book is not at all depressing to read. It’s clever, funny, and warm. So many of Helen’s thoughts and experiences rang true for me, which made it such a satisfying and validating read.
A compelling tale of mystery, romance, and the irrepressible Walsh family from the internationally bestselling author Marian Keyes
Helen Walsh doesn't believe in fear-it's just something men invented to get all the money-and yet she's sinking. Her private investigator business has dried up, her flat has been repossessed, and now some old demons are resurfacing. Chief among them is her charming but dodgy ex-boyfriend Jay Parker, who offers Helen a lucrative missing-persons case. Wayne Diffney from boyband Laddz vanished from his house in Mercy Close-and the Laddz have a sellout comeback gig in five days. Helen has a new boyfriend,…
Mental illness has been such a huge part of my life for so long now that it has become second nature for me to incorporate it into my work. After suffering postnatal depression, anxiety, and panic attacks, I’ve been on anti-depressants for 11 years and regularly see a wonderful psychologist. Recently, I added a psychiatrist into the mix who diagnosed me with ADHD, so now I’m learning to juggle ADHD meds alongside the antidepressants. I’ve always been passionate about talking and writing openly and honestly about my own personal experiences because if there is any chance that I can help someone else with my words, then I’m going to take it.
The concept for this book had me intrigued from the moment I saw the front cover. James Chiltern sends a message to all 158 contacts on his phone, telling them he plans to end his life in the morning. Then he switches his phone to flight mode and sets off on an overnight train journey. While I have had dark times and moments where I was close to the edge throughout my life, I’ve never reached the point where I had actually made a plan to end things. So to read a story where the main character has made that heart-wrenching decision and to see the differing perspectives of all the people in his life waking up to that message was both heart-breaking and riveting.
One man's last journey. One hundred and fifty-eight chances to save his life.
The unforgettable new book from award-winning writer and comedian Mark Watson!
'Mark Watson is one of my favourite writers and Contacts is by far his best book yet' Adam Kay 'Witty, emotional and beautifully written' Jill Mansell 'It made me laugh, cry, reflect and want to check in on all my friends' Emma Gannon 'This is such a great book, funny and serious and daring and humane' Richard Curtis 'Funny, heartwrenching, beautifully written' Jane Fallon
At five to midnight in Euston station, James Chiltern sends one text…
My mom says I always had my head in a book. In fact, I got in trouble once for reading a questionable book while sitting in the choir stand at church. I’ve always been a reluctant rule-follower. Reading allowed me to explore worlds that I wasn’t allowed to talk about, let alone visit. Even now, as an adult, my life is pretty boring. But the books I read and the stories I write—that’s where it all goes down, baby!
Just wow. The siblings in this book are super-angry with their brother, whose addictions and reckless behavior racked up huge bills, eating through the joint inheritance they were all counting on to deal with their own bad (but perhaps less shameful) behaviors.
I loved the complexity of this book. The bad brother—and let’s be clear that he was definitely a piece of work—was such a scapegoat for everyone else’s issues. I loved learning about the characters’ hidden flaws, watching the hypocrisy unfold, and seeing them all work through their anger and their differing versions of their childhood.
It’s another reminder that people can grow up in the same house with the same parents and take vastly different routes in life.
'I couldn't stop reading or caring about the juicy and dysfunctional Plumb family' AMY POEHLER
'A masterfully constructed, darkly comic, and immensely captivating tale...Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney is a real talent' ELIZABETH GILBERT
When black sheep Leo has a costly car accident, the Plumb siblings' much-anticipated inheritance is suddenly wiped out. His brother and sisters come together and form a plan to get back what is owed them - each grappling with their own financial and emotional turmoil from the fallout. As 'the nest' fades further from view, they must decide whether they will build their…
My mom says I always had my head in a book. In fact, I got in trouble once for reading a questionable book while sitting in the choir stand at church. I’ve always been a reluctant rule-follower. Reading allowed me to explore worlds that I wasn’t allowed to talk about, let alone visit. Even now, as an adult, my life is pretty boring. But the books I read and the stories I write—that’s where it all goes down, baby!
First off, let me say that this is one of the few books where I watched the movie AND STILL read the book because I didn’t want the experience to end.
That said, this story starts off with two siblings (older brother Byron and younger sister Benny) at odds after their mother’s death. Simple enough premise. But the flashbacks, the food, the Caribbean history, and the secrets their parents kept from them made it so much more than a book about burying the hatchet after Momma leaves.
I love a good family secret in a book, and this one is bursting with several. This novel brought together several genres that I enjoy: historical fiction, fictional commentary on race relations, family drama, and food.
**Featured on Barack Obama's Summer Reading List 2022** **A Grazia Instagram 'IT' book to watch out for** **Soon to be a major Hulu series by Oprah Winfrey, Aaron Kaplan and Marissa Jo Cerar**
Everyone wants to discover what they're made of . . . The compelling and beautifully written story about the inheritance of the secrets, betrayal and memories that shape one family for generations
'A story as meaningful as it is delicious. At turns delightfully juicy and then stunningly wise, Black Cake is a winner' TAYLOR JENKINS REID
I have been absolutely entranced by complicated family dynamics and sibling relationships as long as I can remember. Particularly as they exist within the thriller space. I graduated with a degree in criminal justice which only fueled that fire as I learned so much more about psychology, the human mind, and the depths of human depravity. It was so natural for me to start exploring it in my own reading and writing.
I loved this book for so many reasons. The biggest reason is that setting! I loved how Sager truly used this gothic, cliffside crumbling manor to help tell the creepiest and twistiest tale.
Also I couldn’t have guessed that plot twist in a million years either and that’s always a plus when reading a thriller!
My mother got cancer when I was seven and died when I was in college. So, I began to consider death and the afterlife from a very young age. I don’t know if ghosts are real, but I know that people are haunted. I explore this idea—that haunted houses are really settings for haunted humans—as well as the ambiguity between ghosts and mental descents in my own teaching and writing. I love haunted house novels because they’re wonderful vehicles for this sort of exploration and because they’re so much fun to read! I hope you enjoy these books as much as I do!
I know most people’s favorite Shirley Jackson haunted house book is The Haunting of Hill House, but I find the mystery in this book even more compelling.
Give me two sisters, a family killed by poison under mysterious circumstances, a suitor, an angry mob filled with class envy, and an unreliable narrator, and I will be filled with that peculiar combination of happiness, unease, and dread that all of us haunted house readers desire. I love this novel.
Living in the Blackwood family home with only her sister, Constance, and her Uncle Julian for company, Merricat just wants to preserve their delicate way of life. But ever since Constance was acquitted of murdering the rest of the family, the world isn't leaving the Blackwoods alone. And when Cousin Charles arrives, armed with overtures of friendship and a desperate need to get into the safe, Merricat must do everything in her power to protect the remaining family.
My mom says I always had my head in a book. In fact, I got in trouble once for reading a questionable book while sitting in the choir stand at church. I’ve always been a reluctant rule-follower. Reading allowed me to explore worlds that I wasn’t allowed to talk about, let alone visit. Even now, as an adult, my life is pretty boring. But the books I read and the stories I write—that’s where it all goes down, baby!
This was a feel-good read about a 3-generation rivalry between two sisters in a small town involving fried chicken. (You cannot go wrong with southern food in a novel, I’m just saying.)
What I thoroughly enjoyed about this book was how the plot got thicker and thicker, revealing the backstory throughout the story in a way that made me #TeamAmanda one minute and #TeamMae the next. I like digging deep into a character’s life, and this one did so in a way that made me sympathetic to both sisters, rooting for their reunion until the very end.
I’m trying my best not to give away the ending…suffice it to say; it helped me reframe my thinking around getting to the heart of a long feud that started before you even got here.
"A charming, hilarious, feel-good story about the kind of bonds & rivalries only sisters can share. Also, a great present for your sister for the holidays!!"--Reese Witherspoon
Three generations. Two chicken shacks. One recipe for disaster.
In tiny Merinac, Kansas, Chicken Mimi's and Chicken Frannie's have spent a century vying to serve up the best fried chicken in the state--and the legendary feud between their respective owners, the Moores and the Pogociellos, has lasted just as long. No one feels the impact more than thirty-five-year-old widow Amanda Moore, who grew…
I have been absolutely entranced by complicated family dynamics and sibling relationships as long as I can remember. Particularly as they exist within the thriller space. I graduated with a degree in criminal justice which only fueled that fire as I learned so much more about psychology, the human mind, and the depths of human depravity. It was so natural for me to start exploring it in my own reading and writing.
I loved this book because reading it was a lot like watching a movie. The way Gleeson writes, you can picture it playing out on a screen in your head.
I absolutely flew through the chapters of this twin story with my heart in my throat. It felt so cinematic, dramatic, and knife-sharp. Plus, one of my favorite parts of a good thriller, the plot twist really got me.
"I loved it." -Sally Hepworth, New York Times bestselling author.
In this haunting tale about the bonds between sisters, one young woman must follow the invisible thread that connects her to her missing twin before someone else can sever it for good.
Twin sisters May and June couldn't be more different. May is quiet, self-conscious, withdrawn; June is boisterous, beautiful, magnetic...and missing.
It's been a year since June disappeared, a year of May waiting for her to turn up with an explanation of where she's been and why she left. But with the discovery of an old newspaper article comes…
