Storymusing: My Sister is Going to Kill Me: a Novel by Nina Simon

 

My Sister is Going to Kill Me: A Novel

by Nina Simon

Liv and Mandy grew up with a huckster for a father who spent 10 years in jail. Mandy is the younger sister - a free-wheeling art teacher who has stayed connected to their father, always believing the best of him. Liv is the older sister - a no-nonsense profiler for the State Department who doesn’t trust their father one whit. Their mom died several years before and their annual trip is a way for them to stay connected. Or antagonize each other, apparently.

Liv is there on time, if not early and worried when Mandy hasn’t arrived. Mandy makes it in the nick of time, by lying to divert the shuttle bus for the airport.

Also, it’s Mandy’s turn to choose where they go and she has held back a few details about the trip. Mandy was given the trip by Babette, the head of the Carefree company, for being an early investor. That much Liv knows.  

The other people on the trip include Babette’s siblings - Charlie and Devon, an administrative assistant - P.K., the rep of their biggest investor - Stefan, three guides– Thor, Big Pete, and Katie, Imogen - a social media influencer, and her grandmother Lucinda. Also, a scientist who worked on the Carefree product - Fiona. Babette is supposed to be there to introduce the new product. She’s a no-show for part of the novel, along with another guide and participant.

As the story unfolds, various people feel their life is being threatened. Liv is thrust into the spotlight, somewhat by Mandy, to find out just what is going on. The first person to die is a bit of a surprise though. When the second person dies, the trip really takes a sideways spin into the whitewater.

This book has been entertaining, without straining my brain. Enough happens that I don’t feel like something is always about to happen instead of actually happening, my main complaint with many thrillers. I liked the short chapters. The characters largely stuck in my brain as individuals, which is a good sign.

Was it life changing or illuminating? No, but it was diverting and entertaining. Maybe a three and a half to a four-star read. It’s not going on my “ten best reads of all time” list, but I’d definitely read another by this author.