Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published May 2018
384 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
From Jessica Knoll comes a blisteringly paced thriller starring two sisters who join the cast of a reality TV series. One won't make it out alive. So…who did it?
When five hyper-successful women agree to appear on a reality series set in New York City called Goal Diggers, the producers never expect the season will end in murder…
Brett's the fan favorite. Tattooed and only twenty-seven, the meteoric success of her spin studio - and her recent engagement to her girlfriend - has made her the object of jealousy and vitriol from her castmates.
Kelly, Brett's older sister and business partner, is the most recent recruit, dismissed as a hanger-on by veteran cast. The golden child growing up, she defers to Brett now - a role which requires her to protect their shocking secret.
Stephanie, the first black cast member and the oldest, is a successful bestselling author of erotic novels. There have long been whispers about her hot, non-working actor-husband and his wandering eye, but this season the focus is on the rift that has opened between her and Brett, former best friends - and resentment soon breeds contempt.
The Favorite Sister explores the invisible barriers that prevent women from rising up the ranks in today's America - and offers a scathing take on the oft-lionized bonds of sisterhood, and the relentless pressure to stay young, relevant, and salable.
"Starred Review. [A] razor-sharp, darkly comic thriller…Though the mystery is engrossing enough in its own right, Knoll's novel is most notable as a potent takedown of a reality-show-obsessed culture that seeks out the spotlight rather than harder truths." - Publishers Weekly
"There's enough conniving, scandal, and snark to rival the most shocking episodes of Real Housewives, and these cutthroat divas play to win even if it means blurring the line between truth and lies. In the end, murder seems inevitable. Season 4 will end with a bang, and there will be blood. Dizzying and overwrought but salaciously entertaining nonetheless." - Kirkus
"This is prime bitch lit, so those looking for more crime and less dish may be disappointed." - Booklist
"Knoll's second thriller (after Luckiest Girl Alive) combines the cut-throat world of reality television and the competition for fame among alleged friends. The unexpected and unpredictable twists and surprising revelations will delight suspense fans." - Library Journal
"Knife-sharp and enthralling, Jessica Knoll's The Favorite Sister is as bold and smart and audacious a novel about women and ambition as you could hope for. A more-than-worthy follow-up to Luckiest Girl Alive, it proves Knoll is a literary force to be reckoned with." - Megan Abbott, New York Times bestselling author of You Will Know Me
This information about The Favorite Sister was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: Sabrina Lantos
Jessica Knoll is the New York Times bestselling author of The Favorite Sister and Luckiest Girl Alive—now a major motion picture from Netflix starring Mila Kunis. She has been a senior editor at Cosmopolitan and the articles editor at Self. She grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and graduated from the Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their bulldog, Beatrice.
Link to Jessica Knoll's Website
Name Pronunciation
Jessica Knoll: nole, like the word "knoll"
The Flower Sisters
by Michelle Collins Anderson
From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention.
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
