The Favorite Sister

By: Jessica Knoll

Narrated by: Ashlie Atkinson, Jenni Barber, Aja Naomi King

Length: 15 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

From Jessica Knoll - author of Luckiest Girl Alive, the instant New York Times best seller and the best-selling debut novel of 2015 - comes a blisteringly paced thriller starring competitive sisters whose dark secrets and lies result in murder when they sign on to a reality TV show.

When five hypersuccessful women agree to appear on a reality series set in New York City called Goal Diggers, the producers never expect the season will end in murder....

Brett's the fan favorite. Tattooed and only 27, the meteoric success of her spin studio - and her recent engagement to her girlfriend - has made her the object of jealousy and vitriol from her castmates.

Kelly, Brett's older sister and business partner, is the most recent recruit, dismissed as a hanger-on by veteran cast. The golden child growing up, she defers to Brett now - a role that requires her to protect their shocking secret.

Stephanie, the first black cast member and the oldest, is a successful best-selling author of erotic novels. There have long been whispers about her hot, nonworking actor-husband and his wandering eye, but this season the focus is on the rift that has opened between her and Brett, former best friends - and resentment soon breeds contempt.

Lauren, the start-up world's darling whose drinking has gotten out of control, is Goal Diggers' recovery narrative - everyone loves a comeback story.

And Jen, made rich and famous through her cultishly popular vegan food line plays a holistic hippie for the cameras but is perhaps the most ruthless of them all when the cameras are off.

The Favorite Sister explores the invisible barriers that prevent women from rising up the ranks in today's America - and offers a scathing take on the oft-lionized bonds of sisterhood and the relentless pressure to stay young, relevant, and salable.

©2018 Jessic Knoll (P)2018 Simon & Schuster Audio

Critic reviews

"Knife-sharp and enthralling, Jessica Knoll's The Favorite Sister is as bold and smart and audacious a novel about women and ambition as you could hope for. A more-than-worthy follow-up to Luckiest Girl Alive, it proves Knoll is a literary force to be reckoned with." (Megan Abbott, New York Times best-selling author of You Will Know Me)

I never thought it would end

The first 15 chapters are slow, confusing, and painful. I found myself drifting off more than once. It started to pick up and become interesting around chapter 15. The end!? Terrible. It really needn’t be as long as it is. I’m just glad it’s over.

Meh

3.5 stars (story-wise)

I chose this because it had a lot of positive reviews and also I really like reality TV (sorry, sorry, guilty pleasure). I think overall it was okay and didn't really live up to the reviews. There were some parts that I really liked and held my attention, but others I would find myself spacing out.

Plot-wise, I really wanted to know what happened to Brett, how she died, why it happened, etc. But I honestly was not emotionally invested in any of the characters. I didn't care about any of them, which I think is why I found myself not paying attention at some points.

Also, I listen to a LOT of audiobooks, and I thought the performers in this one were not the best. I didn't like the voices, I think some were shrill. I think the performer for Brett did a good job with Brett, but when she changed her voice for others, I found the voices to be annoying.

Great!!

slow in the beginning and a bit confusing but definitely picked up. overall great book especially if you're a fan of reality tv.

Loved it

This was my first selection from Audible. It was a lot different than the other book by this author that I read. However it was no less enthralling for me personally. I was very invested in the characters and the ending literally had my mouth hanging open. I really enjoyed the narration as well.

Worst VO Casting I’ve Encountered

I am obsessed with the author and Bravo, so I was really hoping to enjoy this. The story was just okay, It’s just clear whoever was in charge here does not understand audiobooks. These actresses should have not been cast.

I love knoll’s other books. Love. This is by far the weakest. But it’s still not awful. What is awful was the casting. These are fine actresses for other mediums, but their performances for this book were way off the mark. They all were so tonally different. Neither the actress reading for Brett or Stephanie (the leads) could do voices for other characters. It was cartoony and really took away from the story.

Chick flick thriller

This was great! Better than her first book by far! Loved the story line about Real Housewives and murder best of both girl worlds!!
Like nothing I’ve read before!!

decent story; bad narrorators.

story was good, but narrorators were kind of like nails on a chalk board! way to cartoony sounding like they were trying way to hard to make everyone sound annoying. I feel like the story was a little confusing, like the writer got confused with her own story lines

Predictable yet compelling

The Favorite Sister had an ending I could predict but it was still compelling. I devoured this book in a couple days and took trips just to read it. I love this author. Never a full book

Disappointing

I loved Jessica’s first book, so I’ve been waiting on this one for years. It took a while for the book to really get started, and by then I was bored. Too many characters, and she took too long to get to the nitty gritty...

Best narration ever!!!

Although it is your trashy summer read, it kept you guessing till the end! Loved the narrators - could listen to them forever. Sure to be a mini series - on par with Big Little Lies.