“ONE LYING. ONE DYING. ONE HELLBENT ON REVENGE.”
The tagline for the crime-thriller novel ‘Three Sisters’ by Owen Mullen caught my attention, and I enjoy reading about things I don’t know a lot about. For example, I don’t know what it’s like to have sisters; even all my close first cousins are boys.
Set in Scotland, the thriller is about 350 pages and centers on the Kennedy sisters – Molly, Alex, and Sam. Their lives take a dramatic turn after a tragic car accident on Christmas Eve. Due to the snowy weather, Molly slips while walking on the street and collides with the vehicle of rising entrepreneur Lewis Stone. Although the police release Lewis, Molly lands in the ICU, leaving her sisters heartbroken. Alex is determined to seek justice against the affluent Mr. Stone, while Molly’s twin, Sam, is preoccupied with concerns about her failing marriage.
“Three Sisters” is told from multiple point-of-views, which was quite interesting, since readers get to know what is happening with everybody. Owen Mullen’s language is simple and reader-friendly and the pace of the novel is also pretty fast-paced. However, a sub-plot involving the romantic relationship of Lewis’ business partner, Damian, felt unnecessary, as did the excessive focus on Sam’s husband, Colin. The emphasis on Colin’s character only makes a lot more sense by the end of the story and even then, I don’t think he needed as much space as he gets.
The characters in the tale aren’t very likable, except perhaps for Lewis Stone, who is introduced as a workaholic young businessman, who wants his clothing company to go global. Unfortunately, he runs over Molly Kennedy, and even though the police let him go, his life is forever altered. Unbeknownst to him, Sam Kennedy is determined to make him pay for the accident. While Molly thinks of him as a rich, brash man with no remorse over what happened, Lewis’ reality is far removed from her imagination and expectations.
Ideally, viewers should be able to relate to Sam’s character since all she wants is justice for her sister’s death. But Sam is also a widow, and author Owen Mullen makes it quite clear that her need for vengeance is a way to redirect her grief and pent-up emotions over her husband’s death onto someone else. In fact, even Sam’s sister, Alex, calls her out on this behavior. Sam begins to stalk Lewis Stone and engages in a lot of unacceptable behavior. On the other hand, Alex is entirely consumed by her failing marriage, as her husband Colin no longer loves her, and she desperately wants to make things work.
Ultimately, “Three Sisters” is a lot less about siblings or family and much more about everyone’s individual agendas and personal issues. The only way Owen Mullen manages to keep viewers engaged until the end is by enticing us with the question, “How is Sam Kennedy going to get her revenge?” There’s also a significant twist towards the end, which did not come as a surprise to me at all but might shock some readers. Therefore, the climax felt rather lukewarm to me. Overall, though, it was a decent one-time read.
Rating: 3 on 5. Three Sisters is also available on Kindle Unlimited.
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