Once Two Sisters

Zoe Hallett, the narrator of Warburton’s arresting debut, believes she has been humiliated by her older sister, Ava, an author who has based any number of unflattering characters on her in several bestselling thrillers. Three years earlier, Zoe cut ties with her family, maintaining that her cold, clinical psychotherapist parents wouldn’t care if they never saw her again. Now living under an assumed name in Houston, Zoe is happily married and a doting stepmother to a precocious four-year-old girl. When Ava goes missing from her home in Arlington, Va., the story makes national news and Zoe figures her sister is just after publicity. In fact, Ava has been kidnapped, and she wonders whether Zoe is behind her abduction. When it appears that Zoe recently sent Ava threatening emails, Zoe travels to Arlington to look into the disappearance and prove her innocence. A breathless energy imbues the strong plot, which alternates between Zoe’s tense family relationships and Ava’s claustrophobic captivity. Warburton delves deep into the psychological underpinnings of her believable characters in this highly entertaining domestic thriller. Readers will eagerly anticipate her next. Agent: Melissa Jeglinski, Knight Agency. (Aug.)