- format: Kindle (Amazon)
- File Size: 3048 KB
- Print Length: 608 pages
- Publisher: Macmillan; Air Iri OME edition (October 25, 2016)
- Publication Date: October 25, 2016
- Sold by: Macmillan
- Language: English
- ASIN: B01KLO2Z4S
- The Seven Sisters #3
Following on from the bestselling The Seven Sisters and The Storm Sister, The Shadow Sister is the third book in Lucinda Riley's spellbinding series, loosely based on the mythology of the Seven Sisters star cluster.
Star D'Aplièse is at a crossroads in her life after the sudden death of her beloved father – the elusive billionaire, named Pa Salt by his six daughters, all adopted by him from the four corners of the world. He has left each of them a clue to their true heritage, but Star – the most enigmatic of the sisters – is hesitant to step out of the safety of the close relationship she shares with her sister CeCe. In desperation, she decides to follow the first clue she has been left, which leads her to an antiquarian bookshop in London, and the start of a whole new world . . .
A hundred years earlier, headstrong and independent Flora MacNichol vows she will never marry. She is happy and secure in her home in the Lake District, living close to her idol, Beatrix Potter, when machinations outside of her control lead her to London, and the home of one of Edwardian society's most notorious players, Alice Keppel. Flora is pulled between passionate love and duty to her family, but finds herself a pawn in a game – the rules of which are only known to others, until a meeting with a mysterious gentleman unveils the answers that Flora has been searching for her whole life . . .
As Star learns more of Flora's incredible journey, she too goes on a voyage of discovery, finally stepping out of the shadow of her sister and opening herself up to the possibility of love.
My Take
The plot pattern of this book is very similar to the earlier two in the series: a work of fiction set in a historical background, embedded in an enormous amount of research. The reader time travels from Star's current life to the past. Once Star decides to follow the clues that Pa Salt has left her about where she was born and her familial history, then her life is changed forever.
Other people in my reading group who have been progressing through this series seem to have been able to move on from one book to another almost straight away. But, as at the end of the previous two, I now feel that I need a little bit of a rest. THE SHADOW SISTER is a long book and demanded concentration so that I got all of the plot elements in place. One of the disadvantages of not going on to the next book in the series will be, as I have found with the earlier two, that some of the finer details will drop out of my memory.
Having said that, I found this a compulsive read. I read it on my Kindle, which helpfully told me how much further to the end of the chapter, and I found myself reluctant to put the book aside with a chapter unfinished.
If you are contemplating beginning, then you must read the series in order!
You will note also that I have labelled it "not crime fiction."
There is an interesting blend of historical detail in the story, but not really political history.
My rating: 4.5
I've also read
4.5, THE SEVEN SISTERS #1
4.5, THE STORM SISTER #2
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