Publication: 22nd April 2022 – Michael Joseph
A teenage girl wanders out of the woods.
She’s striking, with flame-red hair and a pale complexion. She’s also covered in blood.
Detective Jonah Sheens quickly discovers that Keely and her sister, Nina, disappeared from a children’s home a week ago. Now, Keely is here – but Nina’s still missing.
Keely knows where her sister is – but before she tells, she wants Jonah’s full attention . . .
Is she killer, witness, or victim?
And will Jonah find out what Keely’s hiding, in time to save Nina?
Little Sister is the new novel by Gytha Lodge and the fourth book featuring DCI Jonah Sheens and his team of detectives in Southampton. I have been reading this series since the beginning, I’ve never missed a book (and case), but I think that this latest one is my favorite so far. I really liked the characters and the suspenseful plot that kept me on edge of my seat and I enjoyed this book so much that I hated that I had to interrupt my reading for things like sleeping and work.
The story starts with Jonah Sheen trying to enjoy a relaxing Sunday in a pub with his family – despite the lack of sleep caused by his new-born baby – when a teenage girl stumbles in, covered in blood. The girl’s name is Keely Lennox and she and her younger sister Nina have been missing for a few days. Keely promises Sheens to tell him where her sister is, but first he must listen to her story. The story of how everything began.
Keely’s tale is dark, chilling, and disturbing, but some things don’t seem to add up. As her past is slowly revealed, I couldn’t help but wonder: can we trust her? Is she telling the truth? Is she a victim or a psychopath? That’s what DCI Sheens and his team must figure out in a race against time to find Nina before it’s too late.
The plot is very well-thought and intriguing. It is told from different perspectives, but I found Keely’s narrative the most fascinating. The way she tells her story kept me glued to the pages. While I was completely engrossed in the mystery of Keely and Nina’s disappearance, I also enjoyed reading about the detectives’ personal lives. DCI Jonah Sheens is struggling with a new-born baby and worried about his partner, while DC Juliette Hanson is worried about DS Ben Lightman who seems to be the one more affected by the case, while DS Domnall O’Malley is his usual relaxed himself.
Little Sister is a gripping story full of twists and surprises and I loved it from the first to the last page. I really love this series and I am already looking forward to reading book number 5!
A huge thank you to Michael Joseph and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.
Gytha Lodge is a Sunday Times bestselling writer and multi-award-winning playwright who lives in Cambridge. After studying creative writing at UEA, she was shortlisted for the Yeovil Literary Prize and the Arts’ Council England fiction awards, and developed a large online following for her young adult and children’s writing, with over seven million reads accrued on platform Wattpad.
She Lies in Wait, her debut novel, was a Richard & Judy Book Club Pick. With nail-biting cases that hook you in, and heart that keeps you coming back for more, Lodge’s highly-acclaimed Jonah Sheens series – which also includes Watching from the Dark and Lie Beside Me – has kept readers gripped from beginning to end, and Lodge has been acclaimed as ‘a gifted writer’ by Daily Mail.
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