Yet again Kathleen McGurl has done it yet again.
A completely immersive read that sweeps you along with its characters and there lives.
You cannot help but become invested in the story and keeps you hooked and reading well past bedtime ( )

I would like to thank NetGalley, HQ and Kathleen McGurl for this e arc copy for review

This is a dual timeline story starting in 1911 for the past storyline and 2019 for the modern day. In 1911 three sisters Emma, Ruby and Lily are living in Southampton with their mother when Emma the eldest of these girls gets a job aboard The Olympic for its maiden voyage. Ruby wants independence and feels trapped in her life, and Lily the youngest is a sickly child having had TB and recurring bouts of illness.

In the modern day we find Harriet who is the granddaughter to the past storyline who with her daughter Sally are downsizing her house with a view to move to something smaller as her husband died recently when they find a photograph of three sisters one clearly her Grandmother. As far as Harriet was aware there were only two not three. This gets Harriet thinking did her grandmother have a third sister. With the help of her friend Sheila they check the census for 1911 and establish there were three sisters.

This is the start of a really great read. I really enjoyed the structure of the book telling the story in alternate chapters between the two timelines. As the book progresses we learn that Harriet's family is fractured as her second daughter Davina has not been in contact for quite some time and Harriet has never seen Davina's children. We also learn that Sally’s son Jerome is poorly with leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant.

In the past element we learn about how they lived and their time spent on all three of the White Star Line sister ships Olympic, Titanic and Britannic. I don’t want to go into any more detail as I do not want to spoil the story for anyone.

This story had me engrossed from start to end. There were parts of the book that were heartbreaking and I really wanted to know what had happened to the sisters from the past and hoped that the modern day storyline would also have a positive outcome. I really enjoyed the parallels between Ruby from the past and Davina in the present, how their outlook was quite similar. The ending was all to do with reconnection, reconciliation, hope and forgiveness. I did guess one of the plot outcomes but this did not alter my overall opinion of it. I base my ratings on my enjoyment factor and that is why I gave it 5 *****. I highly recommend this book.
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A bittersweet family tale told in the early 1900's and present day England. A few twist and turns in the tale that will keep.you guessing. ( )

THE LOST SISTER by Kathleen McGurl

The Lost Sister has dual-time narration, between 1911 and 2019. In 1911, responsible sister Emma Higgins has left her employment at a local hotel, to take the chance of seeing the world as a stewardess on board the Olympic, a sea-going vessel. She hopes that her mother can keep their little family together, while she's gone for the three-week voyage. Ruby is the wild child sister, never satisfied with anything and always pushing the rules of home and society. Lily is the sickly sister, she has had a devastating case of TB as a youngster and seems to catch any little illness that comes along. Emma and Lily are close. Ruby and her mother are close.

The Olympic is a sister ship to the Titanic, the Britannic is also a sister ship to the Titanic. At one point, all three sisters go to sea, Emma is the sister who goes on board each of the ships, with her two sisters. Each ship has its own adventure.

In 2019, Harriet has recently lost her loving husband and has decided to consolidate her holdings and purchase a much smaller home. She finds a trunk in the attic that was her grandmother's and begins to go through all of the mementos enclosed in it. It was her grandmother's trunk that she used for her sea-going excursions.

There are parallels in the dual timelines, of missing sisters who have taken a path away from their loving families. There are unexpected twists in the story that catches you off guard that make it a memorable and favorite book.

It is an interesting take on the Titanic disaster of 1912. Highly recommend.

Thanks a million to #netgalley for the complimentary copy of #thelostsister I was under no obligation to post a review. ( )