The Triple Review: The Sister, The Gift, The Surrogate by Louise Jensen

I’ve been introduced to Louise Jensen’s work by The Fiction Cafe – Book club on Facebook and based on members recommendations, I’ve decided to get one of her books and see for myself and oh my, I’m so pleased I did. I haven’t read these books in publishing order, rather in very random one but they are all standalone novels and still enjoyable in whatever order you decide to read them in.

This author has grown on me and I am totally in love with her writing style. There are thrillers that you keep reading to see how they end, the ones that make you guess the villain and then there are thrillers that give you all that and drag you right in and don’t let you go. Those are my favourite and every single book by Louise Jensen gave me chills, kept me excited and wanting more, asking questions, guessing, failing. Absolutely brilliant and exactly what you need to get from this genre.

After finishing The Gift and being totally blown away by suspense and twists in the story, I’ve decided to write this little summary triple review of Louise Jensen’s books.

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The Sister

Grace hasn’t been the same since the death of her best friend Charlie. She is haunted by Charlie’s words, the last time she saw her, and in a bid for answers, opens an old memory box of Charlie’s. It soon becomes clear there was a lot she didn’t know about her best friend. 

When Grace starts a campaign to find Charlie’s father, Anna, a girl claiming to be Charlie’s sister steps forward. For Grace, finding Anna is like finding a new family, and soon Anna has made herself very comfortable in Grace and boyfriend Dan’s home. 

But something isn’t right. Things disappear, Dan’s acting strangely and Grace is sure that someone is following her. Is it all in Grace’s mind? Or as she gets closer to discovering the truth about both Charlie and Anna, is Grace in terrible danger? 

There was nothing she could have done to save Charlie …or was there?

You know those books, you can’t put down after reading the first chapter? What a ride it was, who needs sleep right? Story so believable, so intense, so sad but gripping. The bond between Grace and Charlie, slowly uncovering their relationship, their laughter, their sorrow. It’s all there. The way author written this novel just connects you to the story. Grace’s desperation to find one last thing that could help her to connect to Charlie is so clear, her happiness and so much trust in Anna is so obvious and you can feel it through the words, her actions. Little did she know that the person she invites into her house, her life and introduced to her family is someone completely different she thought and felt so strongly towards to. The most powerful in this book would be emotions for me, so many of them, mixed feelings and although I knew not everything will be as it seems, I just couldn’t work out the ending. Definitely  recommend to anyone who has never read anything by this author and enjoys a good thriller. 

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The Gift

The perfect daughter is dead. And a secret is eating her family alive…

Jenna is given another shot at life when she receives a donor heart from a girl called Callie. Eternally grateful to Callie and her family, Jenna gets closer to them, but she soon discovers that Callie’s perfect family is hiding some very dark secrets…

Callie’s parents are grieving, yet Jenna knows they’re only telling her half the story. Where is Callie’s sister Sophie? She’s been ‘abroad’ since her sister’s death but something about her absence doesn’t add up. And when Jenna meets Callie’s boyfriend Nathan, she makes a shocking discovery. 

Jenna knows that Callie didn’t die in an accident. But how did she die? Jenna is determined to discover the truth but it could cost her everything; her loved ones, her sanity, even her life. 

Jenna’s story is so interesting and scary at the same time. Feeling part of someone else after heart surgery and followed by what she believes are just hallucinations, Jenna really struggles with day to day tasks and even engagement with other people. The thought of someone going through all these emotions, of being scared of dreaming, gave me proper goosebumps. There are known stories of sharing memories with your donor but happy memories, favourite tastes are slightly different to seeing someone being killed, murdered? How do you explain those dreams to yourself? Jenna had to know and flashbacks she is getting only start to make sense after she meets with donors family and unfolds some facts and secrets but it’s definitely not all what it seems. I definitely didn’t see the end coming and the book was just packed with excitement and shocks and heart-stopping moments. Author squeezed so much suspense into last few chapters, that I had to hold my breath and read even faster. Louise is just amazing at what she does.

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The Surrogate

‘You know that feeling? When you want something so badly, you almost feel you’d kill for it?’ 

Be careful what you wish for…

Kat and her husband Nick have tried everything to become parents, and are on the point of giving up. Then a chance encounter with Kat’s childhood friend Lisa gives Kat and Nick one last chance to achieve their dream. 

But Kat and Lisa’s history hides dark secrets. 

And there is more to Lisa than meets the eye. 

As dangerous cracks start to appear in Kat’s perfect picture of happily-ever-after, she realises that she must face her fear of the past to save her family…

Now let me introduce you to one of my top reads of 2017 and book that made this author one of my favourite.
When you read a lot of thrillers many plots end up being repetitive and predictable.
This book only proved that there are still books that can shock you, keep you excited when turning pages.
Story follows life of Kat and Nick, couple which was trying to have a baby for many years and after 2 failed adoption attempts, they are slowly giving up when Kat’s childhood friend returns to her life. They all share their own secrets from past, hold their own grudges.
When Lisa offers being surrogate mother for Kat’s and Nick’s baby, it seems like their last chance to start family. Deeper in the book, reader can feel something about Lisa is off, Nick starts acting strange and however hard you try to guess what is actually going on, my advice is: DON’T! You won’t be able to guess the ending so sit back and enjoy. Story is full of so many twists and turns, shocking revelations that I can’t even believe this could all be squeezed into one book.
As you reach the end of the book and let out that last bit of breath you held because of tension, you think you know everything, you turn the last page and your brain gets thrown into one last rollercoaster.
Brilliantly written book, which I know I will be recommending to everyone for a very long time. 

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About Louise Jensen

Louise is a USA Today Bestselling Author, and lives in Northamptonshire with her husband, children, madcap dog and a rather naughty cat. 

Louise’s first two novels, The Sister and The Gift, were both International No.1 Bestsellers, and have been sold for translation to sixteen countries. The Sister was nominated for The Goodreads Awards Debut of 2016. Louise’s third psychological thriller, The Surrogate, is out now.

Louise loves to hear from readers and writers and can be found at www.louisejensen.co.uk, where she regularly blogs flash fiction. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

All of Louise’s books can be purchased as paperbacks or Kindle versions on Amazon:

The Sister (2016)

The Gift (2016)

The Surrogate (2017)

 

Happy reading x