Amazon Best Books of the Month, June 2011: When the body of Beatrice’s beloved younger sister, Tess, is discovered in an abandoned building in Hyde Park and ruled a suicide, Beatrice knows the police have made a mistake. She’s certain her sister was murdered. Determined to uncover the truth, Beatrice impulsively begins to hunt for clues on her own. So begins Rosamund Lupton’s stunning debut, Sister, at once an engrossing thriller and a powerful meditation on the bonds of family. Writing her story as a letter to Tess, Beatrice gradually connects the strange, varied occurrences leading up to Tess’s death--Tess’s pregnancy; a trial drug from a pharmaceutical company; a man who may or may not have been a figment of Tess’s imagination. Beatrice’s former life falls apart as her search veers toward obsession, and she realizes she might pay a terrible price for the truth. An adrenaline-filled psychological thriller, Sister’s emotional impact comes from Lupton’s heartrending portrait of the love between Beatrice and Tess. --Lynette Mong
Amazon Exclusive: A Q&A with Rosamund Lupton
We had the opportunity to chat with bestselling author Rosamund Lupton about her debut novel (and one of our Best Books of June 2011), Sister, via e-mail. Read on to see what Rosamund had to say about London, sisterhood, her next novel, and more:
Amazon.com: Before writing Sister, you worked for many years as a screenwriter. How does the process of writing a novel differ from writing for television?
Rosamund Lupton: When I was writing screenplays I was just one part of a creative process, it would take the talents of many other people to bring the screenplay to life. With a novel, you know what you type is the finished thing--there’s just me--and that feels both daunting and liberating. As a screenwriter I was often ticked off for "directing from the page" or "writing a novel not a script!" Now, I love being able to use as many words as I like to tell the story--a hundred thousand in the case of Sister--and being able to write the interior life of a character as well as their surface interactions.
Amazon.com: I love the way London almost becomes a character unto itself in this story. The city seems to mimic Beatrice’s emotional state while she searches for clues about Tess’s death. Why did you select London as the setting? Did you spend time exploring the places Beatrice visits?
Rosamund Lupton: I chose London as I know it so well, I’ve lived here for many years, and because, as you say, it possesses a chameleon quality to show a state of mind. For example, Hyde Park in the depth of winter is covered in snow and silent, with leafless trees and is so different from a bright Spring day when the trees and grass are green and there’s children paddling in the fountain. I’m not surprised its been used so often for films; it has a cinematic quality and at the beginning of the book it’s like a black and white film set to me. I already knew all the places Beatrice visits as they are close to where I lived for many years, or worked, so the city is like an old friend.
Amazon.com:Sister is written as a letter from Beatrice to Tess. Why did you choose to structure the novel this way?
Rosamund Lupton: At one point, Beatrice says to Tess, "it’s a one way conversation, but one I could only have with you." I felt that writing it this way continually demonstrates their intimacy. Also, as a former scriptwriter, I found it easier to tell the story as one character speaking to another; as if it’s one half of a dialogue.
Amazon.com: Did your relationship with your own sister impact how you crafted the relationship between Beatrice and Tess?
Rosamund Lupton: I know as an older sister how protective and responsible I’ve always felt towards my sister and I posed the question, what would you do if your sister went missing? I knew that Beatrice in the book would drop everything and get the first flight to find Tess--as I think almost any sister would do. Although Beatrice and Tess are very different from my sister and myself, the emotional truth of their relationship is one I know well. Like my sister and I, the closeness between them is made up of a million tiny details rather than simply the "big things." Some small details are drawn directly from my own life. For example, my sister and I wrote to each other at boarding school, and used jigsaw letters and ones with invisible ink.
Amazon.com: Can you tell us anything about your next novel?
Rosamund Lupton: It begins with a mother running into a burning school to rescue her teenage daughter. The book continues to be about how far a woman will go to protect her family. It’s ultimately about love not recognizing any boundaries.
Amazon.com:Sister is bound to be on a lot of summer reading lists. What are you looking forward to reading this summer?
Rosamund Lupton: I have a big pile of books that are looking so enticing, I can’t wait to have time to read them! At the top are Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad and Sarah Winman’s When God Was a Rabbit.
Review
"Lupton enters the highly charged ring where the best psychological detective writers spar... Like Kate Atkinson, Patricia Highsmith and Ruth Rendell... Both tear-jerking and spine-tingling, SISTER provides an adrenaline rush that could cause a chill on the sunniest afternoon." –The New York Times Book Review
"You'll relish every twist and turn."--*People
*"Eerie psychological mystery...With its loving portrayal of what it means to be a sister balanced by some impressively Hitchcockian twists, SISTER should appeal to fans of the character-driven mysteries of Kate Atkinson and Tana French."--csmonitor.com
"Elegantly suspenseful...a pulse-quickening cocktail of science fiction and whodunit, with a splash of literary poetics and poignancy."--NPR.org
“Gripping.” *–O, The Oprah Magazine
"A psychological murder mystery written with a literary flair...Be prepared for page-turning.” –Vanity Fair.com
“[A] fast-paced, absurdly entertaining novel....Along with a juicy mystery, it resounds with an authentic sense of sisterly love and loyalty.”--The Boston Globe*
"SISTER is an emotionally resonant and tightly drawn novel."--The Post and Courier
"Taut and tingling." –Good Housekeeping
"A remarkable piece of work. Lupton shrewdly and compassionately peels back the story's rich layers."--The Seattle Times
“For those of us with sisters, a reminder of how lucky we are.” –Pittsburgh Post Gazette
"A riveting and moving tale."--Houston Chronicle
“A winner, as worth reading for its psychological intensity as it is for its mystery plot, not to mention the genuinely surprising twist near the end.”--BookReporter
"A poignant and perceptive depiction of the emotional bonds between two sisters...The result is a superb thriller, full of twists and turns, false leads and a surprise ending—all seamlessly woven into a touching story of a sisterly bond." –BookPage
"Gripping and haunting, this whodunit explores the powerful bond between sisters." –All You
"Lupton’s remarkable debut novel is a masterful, superlative-inspiring success that will hook readers (and keep them guessing) from page one...A chilling, gripping, tragic, heart-warming, life-affirming enigma of a story."–Booklist, starred review
"Beautifully written with an unexpected twist at the end...Thriller fans will eagerly await Lupton’s next book"--Library Journal, starred review
“Hitchcockian spookiness in this tale of two sisters. A skillfully wrought psychological thriller.”—Kirkus Reviews
"Truly marvelous! As compelling as it is stylish, SISTER exists in that rare place where crime fiction and literature coincide." —Jeffery Deaver
"A compulsive thriller with genuine originality. Very clever, very surprising, very touching. I devoured it." —Louise Candlish
"Poignant and thrilling, this clever debut explores the fascinating bond between sisters, and haunts you with the power of their love." --Chevy Stevens, New York Times bestselling author of *Still Missing
"Intense and absorbing from the very first page, SISTER is as much a tender exploration of the complicated, twisty, messy love between sisters, as it is an utterly gripping and compelling thriller...A haunting and accomplished debut." --Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of Fragile*
"Both beautiful and suspenseful, SISTER is an absolutely stunning debut. The ending will leave you reeling." - Alafair Burke, author of Long Gone
Description:
Amazon.com Review
Amazon Best Books of the Month, June 2011: When the body of Beatrice’s beloved younger sister, Tess, is discovered in an abandoned building in Hyde Park and ruled a suicide, Beatrice knows the police have made a mistake. She’s certain her sister was murdered. Determined to uncover the truth, Beatrice impulsively begins to hunt for clues on her own. So begins Rosamund Lupton’s stunning debut, Sister, at once an engrossing thriller and a powerful meditation on the bonds of family. Writing her story as a letter to Tess, Beatrice gradually connects the strange, varied occurrences leading up to Tess’s death--Tess’s pregnancy; a trial drug from a pharmaceutical company; a man who may or may not have been a figment of Tess’s imagination. Beatrice’s former life falls apart as her search veers toward obsession, and she realizes she might pay a terrible price for the truth. An adrenaline-filled psychological thriller, Sister’s emotional impact comes from Lupton’s heartrending portrait of the love between Beatrice and Tess. --Lynette Mong
Amazon Exclusive: A Q&A with Rosamund Lupton
We had the opportunity to chat with bestselling author Rosamund Lupton about her debut novel (and one of our Best Books of June 2011), Sister, via e-mail. Read on to see what Rosamund had to say about London, sisterhood, her next novel, and more:
Amazon.com: Before writing Sister, you worked for many years as a screenwriter. How does the process of writing a novel differ from writing for television?
Rosamund Lupton: When I was writing screenplays I was just one part of a creative process, it would take the talents of many other people to bring the screenplay to life. With a novel, you know what you type is the finished thing--there’s just me--and that feels both daunting and liberating. As a screenwriter I was often ticked off for "directing from the page" or "writing a novel not a script!" Now, I love being able to use as many words as I like to tell the story--a hundred thousand in the case of Sister--and being able to write the interior life of a character as well as their surface interactions.
Amazon.com: I love the way London almost becomes a character unto itself in this story. The city seems to mimic Beatrice’s emotional state while she searches for clues about Tess’s death. Why did you select London as the setting? Did you spend time exploring the places Beatrice visits?
Rosamund Lupton: I chose London as I know it so well, I’ve lived here for many years, and because, as you say, it possesses a chameleon quality to show a state of mind. For example, Hyde Park in the depth of winter is covered in snow and silent, with leafless trees and is so different from a bright Spring day when the trees and grass are green and there’s children paddling in the fountain. I’m not surprised its been used so often for films; it has a cinematic quality and at the beginning of the book it’s like a black and white film set to me. I already knew all the places Beatrice visits as they are close to where I lived for many years, or worked, so the city is like an old friend.
Amazon.com: Sister is written as a letter from Beatrice to Tess. Why did you choose to structure the novel this way?
Rosamund Lupton: At one point, Beatrice says to Tess, "it’s a one way conversation, but one I could only have with you." I felt that writing it this way continually demonstrates their intimacy. Also, as a former scriptwriter, I found it easier to tell the story as one character speaking to another; as if it’s one half of a dialogue.
Amazon.com: Did your relationship with your own sister impact how you crafted the relationship between Beatrice and Tess?
Rosamund Lupton: I know as an older sister how protective and responsible I’ve always felt towards my sister and I posed the question, what would you do if your sister went missing? I knew that Beatrice in the book would drop everything and get the first flight to find Tess--as I think almost any sister would do. Although Beatrice and Tess are very different from my sister and myself, the emotional truth of their relationship is one I know well. Like my sister and I, the closeness between them is made up of a million tiny details rather than simply the "big things." Some small details are drawn directly from my own life. For example, my sister and I wrote to each other at boarding school, and used jigsaw letters and ones with invisible ink.
Amazon.com: Can you tell us anything about your next novel?
Rosamund Lupton: It begins with a mother running into a burning school to rescue her teenage daughter. The book continues to be about how far a woman will go to protect her family. It’s ultimately about love not recognizing any boundaries.
Amazon.com: Sister is bound to be on a lot of summer reading lists. What are you looking forward to reading this summer?
Rosamund Lupton: I have a big pile of books that are looking so enticing, I can’t wait to have time to read them! At the top are Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad and Sarah Winman’s When God Was a Rabbit.
Review
"Lupton enters the highly charged ring where the best psychological detective writers spar... Like Kate Atkinson, Patricia Highsmith and Ruth Rendell... Both tear-jerking and spine-tingling, SISTER provides an adrenaline rush that could cause a chill on the sunniest afternoon." –The New York Times Book Review
"You'll relish every twist and turn."--*People
*"Eerie psychological mystery...With its loving portrayal of what it means to be a sister balanced by some impressively Hitchcockian twists, SISTER should appeal to fans of the character-driven mysteries of Kate Atkinson and Tana French."--csmonitor.com
"Elegantly suspenseful...a pulse-quickening cocktail of science fiction and whodunit, with a splash of literary poetics and poignancy."--NPR.org
“Gripping.” *–O, The Oprah Magazine
"A psychological murder mystery written with a literary flair...Be prepared for page-turning.” –Vanity Fair.com
“[A] fast-paced, absurdly entertaining novel....Along with a juicy mystery, it resounds with an authentic sense of sisterly love and loyalty.”--The Boston Globe*
"SISTER is an emotionally resonant and tightly drawn novel."--The Post and Courier
"Taut and tingling." –Good Housekeeping
"A remarkable piece of work. Lupton shrewdly and compassionately peels back the story's rich layers."--The Seattle Times
“For those of us with sisters, a reminder of how lucky we are.” –Pittsburgh Post Gazette
"A riveting and moving tale."--Houston Chronicle
“A winner, as worth reading for its psychological intensity as it is for its mystery plot, not to mention the genuinely surprising twist near the end.”--BookReporter
"A poignant and perceptive depiction of the emotional bonds between two sisters...The result is a superb thriller, full of twists and turns, false leads and a surprise ending—all seamlessly woven into a touching story of a sisterly bond." –BookPage
"Gripping and haunting, this whodunit explores the powerful bond between sisters." –All You
"Lupton’s remarkable debut novel is a masterful, superlative-inspiring success that will hook readers (and keep them guessing) from page one...A chilling, gripping, tragic, heart-warming, life-affirming enigma of a story."–Booklist, starred review
"Beautifully written with an unexpected twist at the end...Thriller fans will eagerly await Lupton’s next book"--Library Journal, starred review
“Hitchcockian spookiness in this tale of two sisters. A skillfully wrought psychological thriller.”—Kirkus Reviews
"Truly marvelous! As compelling as it is stylish, SISTER exists in that rare place where crime fiction and literature coincide." —Jeffery Deaver
"A compulsive thriller with genuine originality. Very clever, very surprising, very touching. I devoured it." —Louise Candlish
"Poignant and thrilling, this clever debut explores the fascinating bond between sisters, and haunts you with the power of their love." --Chevy Stevens, New York Times bestselling author of *Still Missing
"Intense and absorbing from the very first page, SISTER is as much a tender exploration of the complicated, twisty, messy love between sisters, as it is an utterly gripping and compelling thriller...A haunting and accomplished debut." --Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of Fragile*
"Both beautiful and suspenseful, SISTER is an absolutely stunning debut. The ending will leave you reeling." - Alafair Burke, author of Long Gone