The Second Sister: The exciting new psychological thriller from Sunday Times bestselling author Claire Kendal
The chilling new psychological thriller from the author of the top ten bestseller, THE BOOK OF YOU, which was selected for Richard and Judy in 2015. Perfect for fans of THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN and DISCLAIMER.It is ten years since Ella's sister Miranda disappeared without trace, leaving her young baby behind. Chilling new evidence links Miranda to the horrifying Jason Thorne, now in prison for murdering several women. Is it possible that Miranda knew him?At thirty, Miranda’s age when she vanished, Ella looks uncannily like the sister she idolized. What holds Ella together is her love for her sister’s child and her work as a self-defence expert helping victims.Haunted by the possibility that Thorne took Miranda, and driven by her nephew’s longing to know about his mother, Ella will do whatever it takes to uncover the truth – no matter how dangerous…
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This is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed
in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons,
living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
Harper
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First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2017
Copyright © Claire Kendal 2017
Cover design Micaela Alcaino © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2017
Cover image © Roberto Pastrovicchio/Arcangel Images
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Ebook Edition © MAY 2017 ISBN: 9780007531707
Source ISBN: 9780007531714
Version 2017-04-27
She had no rest or peace until she set out secretly, and went forth into the wide world to trace out her brothers and set them free, let it cost what it might.
The Brothers Grimm, ‘The Seven Ravens’
Table of Contents
Somebody said recently that I have eyes like yours. Not just literally. Not just because they are blue. They said that I see like you too.
When I glimpse myself in the looking glass, your face looks out at me like a once-beautiful witch who is sickening under a curse. Those jewel eyes, losing their brightness. That pale skin and long black hair. It’s only the little pit by your left brow that isn’t there.
I see you everywhere.
If I really had eyes like yours, I wouldn’t be about to ask a question that you are going to hate. I would already know the answer. But here it is. What would you do if the police wanted to talk to you? Because I need to follow where you lead.
Just forming these words makes me see what to do. The police ask their questions and I am supposed to give them the answers they are hoping to hear. I am almost sorry for them, with their innocent faith that they can capture you on an official form, kept to a page or at most a few.
We wish to seek the whole truth,they say. You are a key witness, they say. We are concerned for your welfare, they say. We need to obtain the best evidence, they say. We will deal appropriately with the information you provide, they say. You can trust us, they say. The success of any subsequent prosecution will depend on accuracy and detail, they say. Other lives may be at stake, they say.
Am I supposed to be impressed? Flattered? Grateful? Scared? Intimidated? All of the above is my guess. So I will allow them to think that they have had their desired effect, as they take their careful notes and talk their tick-box talk in the calm and reassuring style that they have obviously rehearsed.
I will read the notes over to confirm their accuracy. I will appear to cooperate. I will sign the witness statement they prepare for me. I will date it too, with their help, because I have lost track of time a little, lately. Still, these motions are easy to go through. They do not matter.
What matters is that I am quietly writing my own witness statement, my own way, day after day. Compelled not by them but by you. That is what this is, and I am pretending that you are asking the questions and I am telling it all to you. I am writing down the things you want to know. The real things.
I will say this, though, Miranda, in my one concession to police speak.
