Stevie‘s review of The Lost Sister by Kathleen McGurl
Timeslip Mystery Fiction published by HQ Digital 12 May 21
It’s fair to say that I’m a bit of a Titanic geek, with nearly as great an interest in her sister ships, the Olympic and the lesser known Britannic. I’m also a great fan of timeslip fiction and have enjoyed previous Kathleen McGurl stories that I’ve read. So it was pretty much inevitable that I should grab this book as soon as it showed up on my NetGalley alerts. The story follows three sisters in the years immediately before and then after the First World War, and also the granddaughter of one of them, along with her two daughters, in the present day as they adapt to life changes following the death of our modern protagonist’s husband.
Recently widowed Harriet is preparing to move from her family home into a smaller house that will be more suitable for her to live in alone as she ages. Estranged from her younger daughter, she is being helped to select which of her possessions she will take with her by her opinionated older daughter. While clearing out the attic, the pair find a travelling trunk that belonged to Harriet’s grandmother and, inside it, a photograph of three sisters, which intrigues Harriet since her grandmother only spoke about having one sibling. Harriet begins to investigate and slowly uncovers facts about her grandmother that never featured in the family stories she heard as a child.
In 1911, Emma Higgins is living in Southampton with her mother and two younger sisters. Although she has a good job at a local hotel, she has always been fascinated by the sea and by the ocean liners that regularly arrive at the docks. When the opportunity arises to work on a brand new liner, the Olympic, Emma is excited, but worries how her mother will cope with caring for willful middle sister Ruby and sickly youngest sister Lily alone. Following reassurances from her mother, Emma signs on with the Olympic and soon makes new friends amongst the other stewarding staff on the liner.
Returning home, however, Emma finds that Ruby has been causing scandal by her involvement with a married man, and the family decides it would be best if both sisters work together on Emma’s next voyage. Although Emma wants to rejoin the Olympic, Ruby is more taken with the Titanic, and so they set off on another maiden voyage, along with some of Emma’s other friends.
The book dealt sensitively with the fate of the Titanic and all those aboard, as it also did with the later sinking of the Britannic, which I have seen covered poorly in other novels. Meanwhile, I also enjoyed following Harriet’s story and discovering what was behind the rows she had with her younger daughter. I found some aspects of her older daughter’s story less sympathetic, and the resolution of the discord between the two sisters felt a little too contrived.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, and its prompting me to pick up another of McGurl’s books that’s been languishing on my To Read shelf for far too long.
Grade: B
Summary:
Three sisters. Three ships. One heartbreaking story.
1911. As Emma packs her trunk to join the ocean liner Olympic as a stewardess, she dreams of earning enough to provide a better life for both her sisters. With their photograph tucked away in her luggage, she promises to be back soon – hoping that sickly Lily will keep healthy, and wild Ruby will behave. But neither life at sea nor on land is predictable, and soon the three sisters’ lives are all changed irrevocably…
Now. When Harriet finds her late grandmother’s travelling trunk in the attic, she’s shocked to discover a photo of three sisters inside – her grandmother only ever mentioned one sister, who died tragically young. Who is the other sister, and what happened to her? Harriet’s questions lead her to the story of three sister ships, Olympic, Titanic and Britannic, and a shattering revelation about three sisters torn apart…
Read an excerpt.
