The Half Brother (Christine Keighery, Ultimo)

Psychological thriller The Half Brother is the first adult novel by Christine Keighery, a prolific author of children’s and young adult books. The novel opens with alternating chapters from the perspectives of two sisters, academic Hannah and dedicated mother Stef, who try but fail to understand each other’s life choices. The stability of the loving Fidler family is shattered when the sisters’ mother confesses to adopting out a baby before her marriage. The eponymous half brother, Alex, grew up in a wealthy but loveless family, and the sisters incautiously welcome him into their homes and lives. Alex has the resources to change his birth family’s lives for the better, but his money and influence come with a side of coercive control. In the latter half of the novel the alternating perspectives of Hannah and Stef are split by Alex’s own perspective, revealing to the reader his sinister intentions. The Half Brother is not a mystery novel; instead, it narrates the unravelling of the Fidler family as Alex exposes secret after secret, pushing away their supporters and taking advantage of every opportunity to make his family dependent on him. Readers who prefer unexpected turns in the narrative will be delighted when the novel’s trajectory is disrupted by an epilogue with a twist worthy of Liane Moriarty. The Half Brother is a tense read recommended for fans of domestic suspense.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Ilona Urquhart is a children’s and youth services librarian on the Bellarine Peninsula and has a PhD in literary studies. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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Category: Reviews