WHSmith are delighted to announce the winner of the public vote for the Richard and Judy 2010 Book Club is Sister by Rosamund Lupton.
Sister by Rosamund Lupton
Only £3.99 RRP £7.99
Nothing can break the bond between sisters ...When Beatrice gets a frantic call in the middle of Sunday lunch to say that her younger sister, Tess, is missing, she boards the first flight home to London. But as she learns about the circumstances surrounding her sister's disappearance, she is stunned to discover how little she actually knows of her sister's life - and unprepared for the terrifying truths she must now face. The police, Beatrice's fiance and even their mother accept they have lost Tess but Beatrice refuses to give up on her. So she embarks on a dangerous journey to discover the truth, no matter the cost.
Review this book
Richard & Judy's Review
Judy
This is a debut novel, but you’d never believe it. It’s beautifully written, and when you read it you feel that you are truly listening to the writer’s authentic voice. That’s rare. You believe every word.
Two sisters, separated geographically, the elder, ambitious and sophisticated, working in New York. The younger, a hippy-ish art student, studying in London.
The older sister, Bea, gets a frantic phone-call from their mother one day, saying that her sister Tess has gone missing. Bea flies back home, and rapidly becomes involved in a nightmare.
The book is written as a long letter from Bea to her lost little sister. It’s a mystery, a complex thriller about a terrible crime committed in the name of genetic research. Tess, unmarried, was pregnant before her disappearance. She had told no-one except her sister. But there was Cystic Fibrosis in the family. Their bother Leo died from it as a child. And so Tess becomes part of a medical trial to find out if the baby she is carrying has the CF gene, and, if so, to see if the disease can be eradicated from her unborn foetus.
Tragedy follows, as Bea desperately searches to find out what happened to her sister; the more questions she asks, the more deeply she becomes involved in a designer-baby genetics programme gone evilly wrong. Eventually, in a thrilling denouement, her own life hangs terrifyingly in the balance.
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Richard
I found the relationship between the two sisters deeply moving. Bea has a really good job in New York, a swish apartment and a preppy, successful fiancé. Tess’s life in London couldn’t be more different. She’s an art student, living in a scruffy basement flat, with no interest in money or success. She’s a free-thinker, and what’s more she’s got herself pregnant by a louche, married lecturer at her college.
But Tess is much happier than her buttoned-up sister, who does everything by the book, never takes a risk, clings on to her stuffy, un-spontaneous fiancé only because he makes her feel safe.
And yet the love between these women is obvious from the first paragraph. Bea begins her touching, never- to- be- delivered letter to Tess, as she watches the press gather outside Tess’s flat, avid for news of the missing girl.
The science is clever too. Judy and I have a personal interest in cutting-edge gene therapy, which holds so much promise for the treatment of Cystic Fibrosis, a cruel and horrible disease. So the idea of a trial aimed at pregnant women who are carrying a foetus with CF, in the hope of curing the baby in the womb, is extremely realistic. And the thought that such a miraculous search for a cure could be hijacked by a sinister bid for medical glory is very much of our time.
But above all, this a clever crime mystery - tense, gripping, and a total page-turner.
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Rosamund Lupton Author Interview
Richard and Judy chat with 'Sister' author Rosamund Lupton.
"Welcome to the Richard and Judy Book Club, exclusively at WHSmith and this is our very first novel.
It's called 'Sister', it's by Rosamund Lupton - it's a first novel
which is very hard to believe because it's incredibly accomplished and it's a real page turner."
Rosamund Lupton - WHSmith Q & A
Do you allow anyone to read your books before being published other than the publisher and us there a reason behind that?
The only other person I ask to read my books before being published is my sister - who is a wonderfully enthusiastic and kind reader but also honest. Once the book is in its cover, I find it's less exposing for other friends and family to read it.
What literary inspirations do you draw from?
I did an English degree so three years' worth of reading and thinking about books inspire me - everything from Chaucer to Joyce. I still read all the time, mainly contemporary fiction. Weekly trips to the bookshop and friends giving me books means I have an eclectic pile on my bedside table. At the moment I am re-reading 'Perfume.'
What is the best book you have ever read and how did you come to that conclusion?
I am not sure I have a best book. I think 'War & Peace' has to be up there but also 'Life of Pi'. Both are totally engrossing reads, transporting you to a completely different and credible place. I think the test is how long a book stays with you and feels a part of your history; these books do that for me.
If you could work with any author who would it be?
I would love to work with Margaret Atwood and if time-travelling is allowed I'd go and visit Dickens mid-way through one of his novels and ask him how he can plot something so long and complex.
How do you manage to get inside the heads of all your different characters in order to portray them truthfully?
I think it's nosiness. I really enjoy imagining what's going on inside someone's head and in a novel I'm allowed to do that legitimately. I worked as a script writer for many years and still tend to write in 'scenes.' Now I can write the subtext rather than an actor interpreting it.
Who is your favourite character from any book and why?
A very hard question. I've been mesmerized by many characters in many books: the joy of reading. There's a quiet character who stands out in my mind called Barnaby Gaitlin from Anne Tyler's 'A Patchwork Planet.' He's someone who in life I would probably overlook, but in the novel you see him so fully and his understated kindness is moving.
How do you decide on the names of your characters?
I like names that can be shortened or turned into nicknames to show other people's relationship to that character. With minor characters I try and keep them easily distinguishable, using different length names so it looks different on the page, and also harsh or soft sounds. Sometimes a physical characteristic can be used to help a reader - I have a 'doughy-faced' DI Baker in the book I'm currently writing!
Do you have any little quirks or funny habits when you are writing?
I am probably quirky but don't notice! If I get blocked or stressed I work in a café and the staff are kind enough to leave me alone for hours with just a cup of coffee.
How long did the book take you to write?
Sister took years on and off. When it was accepted for publication I had to do a huge rewrite very quickly, and that was when I learnt to write in a more intensive and focused way.
What writing plans do you have for next year?
I'll be writing my second novel, 'Afterwards,' which starts with a fire at a primary school. I'll be aiming to plot an intricate detective story and explore a family in crisis. I'm currently researching arson, out-of-body experiences and angels - a fascinating mix!
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