Article contributed by Raathi Chota
Kathryn Ormsbee’s new YA novel touches on the relationships that the Sullivan sisters once had. After discovering that they’re about to inherit a dead uncle’s house, the sisters must come together to figure out their mysterious uncle’s past. This cosy mystery explores the bond between siblings, self-discovery, and finding your worth.
Told in third person from each sister’s narrative, Ormsbee pull readers into the lives of Eileen, Claire, and Murphy Sullivan. What once was a tradition on December 21st that brought the girls together, tore them apart years later into their teen years. Growing up with a mother who’s always working and a father who passed on before Murphy was born, it often leaves the sisters to themselves.
Ormsbee is a perfect storyteller of the independent lives of the sisters. We discover that they’ve all changed since their tradition. Eileen, an eighteen-year-old alcoholic and her drinking has a way of dealing with the secrets she’s found out. Claire, Miss Perfect (compared to her older sister), has her entire life planned out whilst being gay and she becomes influenced by a YouTuber and forces it on her own lifestyle. Then there’s Murphy. Her sisters see her as a child even though she’s fourteen. The youngest Sullivan is in her own world of magic and trying to bring her sisters back together.
Two years ago, the sisters were inseparable, but arguments broke out and Eileen moved out of the room she shared with Claire. That’s when everything changed. Readers assume it’s Eileen’s fault since she found out stuff and didn’t know how to deal with it. She took her frustration out on her sisters. She felt out of place based on the assumptions she made. She didn’t have anyone to go to with what she found out. She used to love art, but all motivation was thrown out of the window once she came to find out the secrets her mother hid of their family.
Eileen drew her own conclusions from what she knew, and part of me wanted it to go down the way she predicted. It was overall, a lovely book, but the amount of suspense built wasn’t enough. It would’ve been juicier if it was Eileen’s version. However, if you takeaway the mystery, there’s still a glorious sense of relationships built, character development, and the powerful message of always having a family by your side in this book.
Claire had to be the least likeable character to me. She became bossy and always made presumptions. She thought better of herself compared to Eileen and treated Murphy like a child. Yet that’s a typical sister bond. They’re all different. Claire kept her life structured by following an influencer’s guidelines, applied to colleges, started her own business, and confidently came out to Eileen all those years ago. She was, in fact, the most independent character in the book. However, she used it to her advantage sometimes, like stating that she had more money than Eileen or even a phone.
As the girls find out, they could inherit their dead uncle’s mansion. They wonder how on earth that they never knew they had an uncle in the first place. Their mother was on holiday in the Bahamas, so Eileen took the opportunity to drive to the mansion. Claire and Murphy jump on board at their own expense and it’s the first time in a while the sisters were spending time together. A road trip meant talking and trying to figure out who their uncle was.
Once they arrived in town, things only get weirder since they figured out it’s their dad’s brother. Yet their father has lived an unconventional life told by the locals. The Enrights had murders in their mansion. It’s up to the girls to find out who did it and whether they want to get dragged into history’s events taking place again.
Apart from the mystery, the Sullivan girls find their feet again. They’re left alone in the mansion with only the reminiscence of the Enright brothers. Gradually they find peace again. It brings old times up and Murphy couldn’t be happier knowing that they’re bonding again. Yet all it took was one argument for things to escalate.
A family drama mixed with murder is bound to capture the eyes of many readers. It’s a fast-paced novel that will cause readers to be hooked from the first few chapters. With many hidden messages and things to take away from, The Sullivan Sisters was a book I’d recommend to anyone in the future!
The Sullivan Sisters is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers as of June 23rd 2020.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Time changes things.
That painful fact of life couldn’t be truer for the Sullivan sisters. Once, they used to be close, sharing secrets inside homemade blanket castles. Now, life in the Sullivan house means closed doors and secrets left untold.
Fourteen-year-old Murphy, an aspiring magician, is shocked by the death of Siegfried, her pet turtle. Seventeen-year-old Claire is bound for better things than her Oregonian hometown—until she receives a crushing rejection from her dream college. And eighteen-year-old Eileen is nursing a growing addiction in the wake of life-altering news.
Then, days before Christmas, a letter arrives, informing the sisters of a dead uncle and an inheritance they knew nothing about. The news forces them to band together in the face of a sinister family mystery…and, possibly, murder.
