My Thoughts on Shadow Sister by Katherine Scott Jones

There are so many reasons why I love this book. It is a beautifully written story that left me in suspense until the very end. Yes, it is filled with clues but there are also secrets and we readers are reminded that the secrets that we think will prevent hurt can actually cause the most pain. I assumed that the title was a reference to the relationship between Sarah and her older sister Jenna but now, as I write this, I believe that it was a feeling shared by both. Perhaps Jenna felt as much in Sarah's shadow as Sarah felt in hers.

Shadow Sister is the story of two sisters, Jenna and Sarah Lanning, and she includes both the present and the past to explain their deep but perhaps tenuous bond. Jenna was an artist of words who wanted to be a writer and she was very attached to her father;  Sarah felt closer to her artist mother and she herself possessed the ability to create with paints and easel. And then, a tragic accident altered all of their lives and Jenna and Sarah both set their talents and their dreams aside.  Jenna left their family vineyard to work in Bolivia and Sarah was left with a sense of both estrangement and abandonment. Suddenly, Sarah and her father receive word that Jenna has died in a bus crash and that Jenna's husband is seriously hurt. As she travels to Bolivia to tend to funeral details Sarah becomes involved with the people that Jenna was trying to help. She also meets a man who may alter her future as she discovers two secrets that completely undermine all that she has ever believed.

Katherine Scott Jones has an amazing way with words! Both Jenna and Sarah have lost their first loves but both are given a second chance at great love. In one scene Jenna's husband Jonas tells Sarah "And I'm scared that I might forget her altogether. We weren't together very long. A little over a year. What if I forget what she was like? Who she was! My wife!" (p. 140-141)  How many of us have felt those very same thoughts when we've lost someone?

There is also a strong element of faith throughout the story. As Sarah returns to the crash sight where her sister died, she feels as if someone is right behind her. "There is no one. And yet... The hairs on her arms stand up, a breeze licks her forehead. Jesus. His nearness brings a settling to her spirit, an easing of tension, as if a coiled spring has sprung. And then, out of nowhere, a tiny lift of joy." (p. 145) Oh, the peace and joy that comes from knowing Jesus!

Shadow Sister has 365 pages filled with intrigue, sadness, and grief but there is also hope and the promise of forgiveness. Most of, there is also the reminder that family is important and that God's Grace means everything!

I received a complimentary copy of this book and was under no obligation to post a favorable review. These are my honest opinions.