Like a Sister

As a reader, there’s nothing quite like an opening that makes you sit up and take notice. Or the feeling when you have to read just one more chapter before bed, and suddenly you’ve devoured the entire book in a single weekend. And that was exactly my experience cracking open Kellye Garrett’s Like a Sister, a tense, twisting thriller that had me hooked from the opening sentence, and kept me turning pages deep into the night.

The mystery kicks off on the very first page when Lena Scott learns that her estranged half-sister Desiree has been found dead at a park in the Bronx. Though the police are quick to rule her sibling’s death an overdose, Lena knows there’s something wrong with their story. She believes her sister was coming to see her and is certain Desiree’s death was no accident. Lena’s voice is smart and witty, delivering sharp insights on race, class, and social media fame, alongside her search for justice. Unlike Desiree, Lena had forged a path far from the spotlight. But now she has to step inside her sister’s world, and back into her own past, in a dangerous pursuit of the truth.

Captivating from beginning to end, Like A Sister takes you to unexpected places, not only with its many twists and surprises, but with its deeper look at the complex bonds within family, and the elusive nature of truth and memory. A smart, sharp, absolutely-can’t-put-it-down read.

When the body of disgraced reality TV star Desiree Pierce is found on a playground in the Bronx the morning after her 25th birthday party, the police and the media are quick to declare her death an overdose. It’s a tragedy, certainly, but not a crime.

But Desiree’s half-sister Lena Scott knows that can’t be the case. A graduate student at Columbia, Lena has spent the past decade forging her own path far from the spotlight, but some facts about Desiree just couldn’t have changed since their childhood. And Desiree would never travel above 125th Street. So why is no one listening to her?

Despite the bitter truth that the two haven’t spoken in two years, torn apart by Desiree’s partying and by their father, Mel, a wealthy and influential hip-hop mogul, Lena becomes determined to find justice for her sister, even if it means untangling her family’s darkest secrets—or ending up dead herself.