THE WICKED SISTER

The Wicked Sister: Karen Dionne

Sisters such devoted sisters I do not think so. Imagine growing up with a sister that drives you to insanity. Imagine having a sister that will do anything to destroy you including taking away 15 years of your life. Rachel and Diana are sisters you might say in name only but, Diana is evil. She thrives on the misery of others and plans and connives how to take down anyone in her way or even just for the fun of it cause someone’ death.

Rachel in the present has lived in a mental institution for 15 years. She put herself there as a self-imposed sentenced thinking she is responsible for the death of her mother. Visions come into her head as she relives the moments when she thinks she was holding a rifle in her hands and pulled the trigger killing her mother.

Flashback to the past and meet her parents Jenny and Peter along with 8-year-old Diana. Diana from the moment we meet her we realize, although her parents are blinded and do not want to face that she is mentally disturbed, that she is responsible for the death of her 2 year old next door neighbor’s son. How did he get into the pool area when the gate was locked? How did he wind up drown in the pool? Where was Diana? Questioning her we realize that she had it all preplanned and her lies perfectly written in her mind. Although Jenny realizes that she is not so innocent and that she for some reason looks like she was watching television why was her clothes all wet? The story she tells does not sound plausible and the result she gets away with it and her parents decide to move on the spot, leave their home, jobs and trudge to her live in the wilderness. Manipulative, dangerous and diabolical she orchestrates incidents that cause her parents to stop during their travels, pretends she must go to the bathroom and yet Jenny makes excuses for her.

In the present Rachel has a rude awakening after fifteen years when one of her patient’s brothers, Trevor, a reporter comes to the hospital to interview her and this is where her life takes a different turn. When she is being interviewed, she sees the police report for the first time and the ME states that she did not pull the trigger. Why didn’t someone tell her this after all these years? What does she really believe happened to her mother and why does she blame herself for her father’s suicide? Rachel does not feel she is worthy of anything but her next move is to discharge herself from the hospital, face her sister and her Aunt Charlotte and find out some hidden truths that will shock her life even more.

In the past we learn more about Diana when Rachel is just an infant and Aunt Charlotte her mother’s sister visits them at the lodge. Diana is destructive and many of the things her grandfather had there she destroyed and had to be replaced at their expense. Plus, as Rachel was an infant Jenny heard her laughing in her sister’s room and when she sees her face, she cannot believe that Diana is trying to kill her and stop her from breathing. Why did she remain so blind to the fact that she needs help? Why make excuses for her?
In the present Rachel is now home and will face her family for the first time. The nightmare is not over yet.

Diana is diagnosed as a psychopath leaving Jenny and Peter speechless and wondering how they are going to deal with her in the future. No one is to know, and they refuse to tell even her sister about her diagnosis. Diana is manipulative, has no empathy for anyone, no remorse for her actions and does not care if someone is hurt or worse because of her actions. She will do things that please her and if what she does fails, she will find another way to succeed but really could care less either way. In the present Rachel is now home and realizes that Diana has papers that she finds stating she is her legal guardian and coming home might not be the right place for her. She could easily send her back to the hospital permanently.

In the past Diana takes aim at animals, takes them apart as if she is a mortician doing an autopsy and Peter things, they should allow her to learn taxidermy. She is relentless, heartless and her motives are all her own.

In the present we learn that Rachel can communicate with ravens and other animals understanding them and the raven’s message to her that the truth will soon be known leaves readers wondering just what they will finally reveal.

Bears are a primary focus as the author did research about black bears and the fact that Jenny studies them adds to the story. Things are about to heat up more as the story goes to the present.

Author Karen Dionne takes readers along with Rachel down a slope that is hazardous, dangerous and slanted as we follow these sisters from childhood to adulthood not knowing which one will succeed and which one will gain control over the other. Rachel for now is hiding in her old room and has not been seen by her sister or her Aunt but that is about to change and if Diana is anything like she was growing up Rachel better have body armor and one of the guns from her grandfather’s collection at the ready. Wicked

Rachel at the start gives us the impression that she too can turn events in her own direction. She enjoyed tricking the patients in the mental hospital that she had psychological disorders and is seriously an expert liar. But as an adult in the present she seems centered on getting her life back, communicating with the ravens and escaping what her sister might have planned for her when she realizes she is returned.

Things escalade when Rachel and Diana face each other, and another diabolical plan comes to light. In the past Rachel will experience the death of her parents, the realities her parents face not being able to commit Diana and her sister’s betrayals.

In the present Rachel falls prey to Diana’s will and when the truth about who killed her parents comes out you will not believe what happens next. Demented, psychopathic, cold hearted and remorseless, Diana has one more nightmare in store for Rachel and now Trevor. Author Karen Dionne weaves final scenes from the past into the present that will unravel memories with Rachel’s mind that will haunt her forever. Will Diana succeed and rid the world of Rachel? Will Rachel hear the voice of an animal in her mind and will she finally rebel against her sister’s brainwashing and wills? An ending that leaves you wondering if Rachel will ever be safe and free from the demons that haunt her as she lives in the present, but will she ever be truly free of The Wicked Sister?

Fran Lewis just reviews