• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About the author and her website
  • References
  • Archives
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Contact Page

Defrosting Cold Cases

Research website by Alice de Sturler

  • My Research Method
  • How to search for cases
  • Cold Case Database
  • Case of the Month: What we lost
  • Book Reviews
You are here: Home / Book Reviews / Once Two Sister by Sarah Warburton

Once Two Sister by Sarah Warburton

December 16, 2020 By Alice

Warburton Once Two Sisters‘Once Two Sister’ by Sarah Warburton is a fast-paced book. I read it in two sittings and the author kept me on my toes.

The book centers on, of course, two sisters. Zoe and Ava Hallett grew up despite their clinically distant and robotic scientist parents. Nancy and Walter Hallett are so focused on their work that they do not understand they neglect their children and are guilty of emotional abuse. Worse, they didn’t interfere when the siblings started to drift apart. They could have stepped in if they had not been so blind and obsessed with their work.

The sisters, once close, drift apart as the oldest, Ava, uses her sister’s life in her books. Details about Zoe, her best and worst experiences, all make it into Ava’s books and from there on to the white screen.

Displayed for all the world to see, Ava continues book after book, creating bestseller after bestseller. And with each book, Zoe’s resentment grows. With each bestseller, Zoe feels more and more mocked and deliberately placed on display. So, she withdraws. Not just inside herself but she literally removes herself from her family. But completely in character, her parents do not seem to notice and her sister, well, read it for yourself.

Instead of fighting back, Zoe disappears and creates a new life for herself in another state. When I read this, I wondered why she didn’t consult a lawyer. It would be all too easy to get references to fact-check incidents and to make Ava stop embarrassing and harassing Zoe. But it isn’t mentioned by Warburton as an option.

As Zoe makes a new life for herself with a new name, a husband, a stepdaughter, and new friends, she deems herself save in Houston, Texas. But then the harassing starts and it isn’t done by Ava. Someone has hacked Zoe’s email account and is sending threatening messages. It gets worse, Ava appears to be missing.

In the house, there are no signs of a struggle, Ava’s personal belongings are in place, her husband Glenn is genuinely baffled and angry. He is excluded fast as suspect. He he has an alibi and doesn’t stand to gain from his wife in case of her death. But neither does Zoe yet, suspicion falls on her as the sisters had drifted apart and have a very colourful history together.

Zoe teams up with Glenn to find out why this is happening. Who could have a motive and the means to kidnap Ava, and where could she be kept? Can they reach her in time?

Throughout the book, both Ava and Zoe rethink their relationship and both have to admit, they wished things were different. They are both not good at expressing themselves. Despite using her in her books, Ava lacks the insight into the human soul of the one she used to cuddle to sleep, Zoe.

This book isn’t just a fast-paced mystery. It is a journey to reunite two sisters and not just physically, but emotionally. Neither seems to know the other as well as they could and neither seems to be able to really talk to the other. Too many things happened and instead of working them out, they both allowed things to escalate.

I wish Ava and Zoe had gone to couple’s therapy. I wish they had a screaming session together, a shout-it-out afternoon followed by mandatory journal writing to evaluate themselves. Because, if just for once Ava had explained why she used Zoe’s life details, and if just for once Zoe had asked Ava what it means to be a fiction writer, this may not have happened.

Warburton leads the chase. Some scenery reminded me of old Bond movies and one sentence, “Turn out your pockets” took me back to the Harry Potter Series. We follow Zoe and Glenn as they race to save Ava from certain death as the people who kidnapped and kept her, are disturbed enough to play deadly games in the name of science.

The fun part of reading this book was that throughout I could hear the author’s voice and see her write. Sarah Warburton is part of my Writers’ Group. Pre-pandemic times, we met twice a week. We chat, edit, write, review, and support each writer in our group. I can see her tongue sticking out when she concentrates, her glasses continuously flipping from her nose to the top of her head, and how she outlines scenes in her bullet journal. And yes, she continuously knits.

If Sarah had not been part of my Writers’ Group, this review would have been exactly the same minus the personal paragraph above. I ordered and paid for the book myself. This is my honest opinion. Highly recommended reading!

Sarah, I am very proud of you and look forward to reading your next book. My other book reviews are here.

Thank you for sharing!

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: Book Reviews, Sarah Warburton

Primary Sidebar

Dina Fort

Author Notes

On this website, I write about old, unsolved cases. Most are from the pre-DNA era and are in need of renewed media attention. I only do research and leave the active investigation of these cases to the professionals.

My posts are about homicides, missing and unidentified people, wrongful convictions, and forensics as related to these cases.

On book reviews: I only review select works of true crime, crime fiction, and historical fiction/mysteries. The stories have to fit my website's theme and research. It remains my prerogative to not review a book.

My database has over 300 cases listed by the victim’s last name. You will find a brief description there as well. The database will always be free to the public to use. You cannot buy ad space on my website, ever.

All writing suggestions that come in by email are added to my to-do list in the order in which they were received. Please be patient. My to-do list is very long but no case gets dropped and I will get back in touch.

Defrosting Cold Cases is NOT an organization. It is my brainchild.

If you have any questions about my website please check the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, the about page, and the tabs in both menu bars. If you still cannot find the answer there, please contact me.

Thank you,

Alice de Sturler

Copyright

If you use my work, please add a link back. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. Thank you!

Protected by Copyscape

Categories

Top Posts & Pages

  • Cold Case Database
  • Gina Renee Hall partial remains found
  • How to search for cases
  • Case of the Month: Hinterkaifeck
  • The 1980 Tim Hack and Kelly Drew murders

Subscribe to DCC by email

Enter your email address to get new posts notifications in your inbox

RSS Defrosting Cold Cases

  • Otha Liggins III (1971 – 1999)
  • What we lost
  • The Ethics of Forensic Genealogy part 2
  • Once Two Sister by Sarah Warburton
  • Toronto John Doe 1989

William Thomas Zeigler

Category: ALL POSTS

On March 31, 2016, an evidentiary hearing was held to request touch DNA testing. On July 18, 2016, Judge Whitehead denied that request.

On November 23, 2016, an appeal was filed with the Florida Supreme Court. On April 21, 2017, the Florida Supreme Court denied the request for touch DNA analysis.

On May 8, 2017 a motion for a rehearing with the US Supreme Court was filed. It was denied November 13, 2017.

In the summer of 2019, the appeal for DNA testing to the Florida Conviction Integrity Unit was denied.

Richard Lapointe

Category: ALL POSTS

In March 2015, the Connecticut State Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Richard lapointe. On Oct 2, 2015, International Wrongful Conviction Day, Richard was set free. The judge ruled that he cannot be retried for the 1987 rape-murder of Mrs. Bernice Martin. Richard Lapointe died on Aug 4, 2020 of Covid19 complications.

In 1987, someone killed Bernice Martin. I hope that she will not become a forgotten file.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Copyright: Please add a link back if you use my work. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. If you need help with this, just contact me. Thank you, Alice de Sturler

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2009–2021 - Defrosting Cold Cases - All rights reserved · Hosting & WordPress: 3J WordPress Write Data

wordpress counter

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.