Sister Dear

Eleanor Hardwicke, the 29-year-old narrator of this dreadful and depressing psychological thriller from McKinnon (Her Secret Son), grew up in Portland, Maine, with an emotionally abusive mother, a sister who hated her, a face and body she disliked, and a general aversion to people. Her one good relationship has been with her father, who shortly before his death reveals a secret—he isn’t her real father. Crushed that her father and only friend is gone, Eleanor looks up her biological father, Stan Gallinger. Stan rejects her and warns her not to get near his wife or daughter, Victoria, who’s her two months’ younger half-sister. Desperate to make a meaningful human connection, Eleanor worms herself into Victoria’s life without revealing her true identity and, thinking they are best friends, gets pulled into Victoria’s dark and vicious world with disastrous results. Despite Eleanor’s emotional baggage and pitiful history, few will care about her fate. No one wins in this story, especially the reader. Agent: Carolyn Forde, Transatlantic Agency. (May)