When Harper Paris walks into her home and finds her husband Ben dead, she is in shock. When she finds his suicide note, she is beside herself. She calls the only person who could help at that point, her brother Lane.
A couple of months later, the police investigation into Ben’s death is ongoing. Harper’s bank accounts are frozen, and there is no insurance payment in sight. Ben’s company had been in financial trouble, so there is no savings for her to draw on, and she and their two kids need a place to stay. Again, Harper calls her brother.
Lane is more than welcoming to Harper, understanding how difficult her position is. He as a house with several bedrooms, so there is a place for her and her kids, Jackson and Elise, to sleep. He helps her unload baggage and boxes from her car into the spare bedrooms.
There’s only one problem, really.
Lane had fallen in love, quickly and thoroughly. He’d gone so far as to marry his new love, Candace, in a small private ceremony. And Candace really doesn’t like Harper or her kids. She’s not a monster though, and Lane is her brother, so Candace decides to try to make the most of her stay. It won’t be for long, right?
But as the days go by, the women get more and more on each other’s nerves. Candace isn’t interested in housework, she can’t cook, but she has a lovely freedom to her life. Harper is a devoted mother, is a painstakingly careful housekeeper and good cook, and she worries that Candace is taking care of her brother.
And as the weeks roll on, the sisters-in-law learn more about each other. Candace learns about how Harper had lost her husband, and Harper learns that Candace is pregnant. Candace learns more about Harper’s kids, and Harper learns about Candace’s volatile ex. But there are still secrets between them, which just adds to the push and pull of their relationship.
As the lies pile up between these women, as Harper learns the truth about Ben’s business, as Candace starts to feel like someone is following her, as a possible witness to Ben’s death comes forward and then gets killed, the awkward relationship these two women find themselves in gets more and more off balance. Lane is caught between them, between his loyalty to his sister and his love for his new wife.
And when all the secrets are loosed and all the lies revealed, will there be anything left of the family to save? Or will the sisters-in-law destroy them all?
Pamela Crane, author of Little Deadly Secrets, is back with a new domestic thriller fraught with greed, lust, revenge, and decorative pillows. All the expectations of family relationships are put under the microscope, examined, and turned upside down in The Sister-in-Law.
I had trouble putting this one down. As the layers of the story peeled away, I was kept hungry for more and kept those pages turning until all was revealed. It was a pretty quick read for me because of that, and lots of good vengeful, passive aggressive, family fun.
Egalleys for The Sister-in-Law were provided by William Morrow through NetGalley, with many thanks.
