Author: Dreda Say Mitchell
Publisher: Hodder
Publication Date: 11th August 2016
Pages: 480
Source: Review Copy
Rating: 5/5
Purchase: Amazon
There are two ways out of Essex Lane Estate, better known as The Devil. You make good, or you turn bad.
Jen Miller is determined not to make the same mistakes her mother did. She's waiting to find herself a good job and a decent man.
Her younger sister Tiff is running errands for a gangster and looking for any opportunity for fun and profit. But she might just be in over her head...
The choices you make and the plans you have don't always turn out like you expect. Especially if you live on The Devil's Estate. When their paths cross with the unstoppable Dee - a woman with her own agenda - Jen and Tiff will learn that lesson the hard way.
At least they can rely on each other.
Can't they?
Even though Dreda Say Mitchell's brief sojourn into thriller writing was, in my opinion, a resounding success, there has always been a part of me that wanted her to return to what she does best, writing gritty, realistic, gangland thrillers. Dreda's reads are powerful reads because of that authenticity behind them because Dreda knows exactly what she's talking about and uses that to create characters you can feel empathy for, but also characters you feel real hatred for. As this is fiction perhaps at times the realism is stretched, but on the whole I found Blood Sister to be a realistic read that packed a real emotional punch and the fact that it's the first book in a trilogy has left me extremely excited and impatient for the next book.
I read Blood Sister in less than a day because I was so engrossed in the story and I finished it almost open-mouthed because of some of the fantastic twists revealed in the book. Blood Sister tells the story of three very different females who go on quite the journey throughout this story. Whilst I could sit here and discuss them all day long, I'll try and keep it short and say that my favourite character was Dee. Dee is a character who knows exactly what she wants from life and she's not going to let nothing or nobody stand in the way of that. She's a strong and determined character and whilst part of me should feel outraged at how easy it became for her to wrap certain men around her finger, the logical part of me can admit that there are men out there who really are that stupid. Dee is the master of manipulation and I just loved her.
Our other two females are sisters Jen and Tiff who live on the Devil's Estate. Jen is determined to get out and better herself and Tiff just takes each day as it comes and tries to make money any which way she can. I have to admit that I found Jen to be quite a dull character who needed a good shake quite a few times throughout the story. I did actually really like Tiff and enjoyed how her story progressed from start to finish of the book and there were numerous twists revealed that just made me like her even more. The world that Dreda has created here and the estate itself is scary, and totally believable because places like this do exist right across London and I've witnessed some of them for myself. Dreda paints a very vivid picture of everything through her no holds barred account of this kind of life and her descriptions make it almost like you are standing alongside the characters, witnessing all of the drama that is unfolding. I think it would work great if it was made into a television series, along the lines of Top Boy (which I still can't believe never had another series made).
Blood Sister is definitely one of the better gangland thrillers out there, and as readers of my blog will know I am a huge fan of Dreda not only as an author but also as a person and I cannot recommend her books enough. I had been excited about reading this book for months before its release and I am so glad to say that it didn't disappoint and that I highly recommend that you pick it up and I cannot wait to read Blood Mother.
Never heard of this writer - another one for the TBR pile...
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