NOVELS tend to fall into very specific genres – thrillers or chick lit, historical or sci fi – and it’s rare to find one that manages to embrace the insight, characterisation and consideration of a literary novel with the suspense and pace of crime fiction, but in her debut novel Sister, Rosamund Lupton does so in some style.

Beatrice is hosting a New York Sunday lunch when the call comes to tell her that her younger sister Tess has been missing for four days. Arriving in London, she is determined to fulfil her role as older sister and find Tess, but her certainties about her sister meet resistance from everyone around her. Convinced that she knows Tess better than anyone, she becomes tenacious in her determination to get to the truth. And none of her relationships will be unaffected by what she discovers – about Tess, about herself and about what happened to her sister – as she embarks on an investigation that will place her in great danger.

As much as it is a psychological thriller, Sister is a novel about the guilt and loyalty of love and relationships, about self-knowledge and being true to yourself. Lupton has a keen eye and ear for character and every member of the cast is beautifully and carefully drawn, nuanced and three-dimensional.

About the author

Rosamund Lupton read English literature at Cambridge University. After a variety of jobs in London, including copywriting and reviewing for the Literary Review, she was a winner of Carlton Television’s new writers’ competition and was selected by the BBC for a place on its new writers’ course. She was also invited to join the Royal Court Theatre’s writers group. Before becoming a novelist, she was a wrote original screenplays for television and film.

Her second novel, Afterwards, was published to critical acclaim earlier this year. Sister, which was chosen as a Radio 4 Book at Bedtime, spent 14 weeks on the Sunday Times bestseller list.

How to order

Order Sister for £6.64, post and packing free. Call the Hereford Times Bookshop on 08430 6000399 or send your cheque or postal order made payable to Hereford Times Bookshop to Hereford Times Bookshop, PO Box 60, Helston TR13 0TP. Or order online at sparkle direct.com.

Allow seven to 10 working days for delivery. Titles subject to availability.