The Good Sister

The Good Sister

Adult mystery
"My sister, my best friend, Becky.
And now: here we are.
Cot death, the defense says--unexplained.
Murder, the prosecution says.
I look at my sister in the dock.
The woman accused of murdering my child."
Martha is the successful sister in her family--the one with the
carefully curated seaside home, the professional husband, and the
reserved demeanor. When she and hubbie Scott decided it was time to
start a family she became pregnant with a baby girl, Layla.
Martha, however, was torn in her loyalties. She ran a nonprofit
she had created that provided a safe place for refugee children in
another country. Managing it at a distance while parenting a nearly
constantly crying baby was proving to be more than she had
anticipated. If only she could find someone to watch Layla during the
times she was most time crunched. But who could she trust enough?
Becky was the family's free spirit--the one who dropped out of
school, got pregnant early, and ended up in divorce court after a spur
of the moment affair; the one with a volatile temper and the ability
to express it. Being hired as an on call sitter let her drop some of
an array of part time jobs. But it was a far from ideal
arrangement. Being responsible for an impossible to soothe infant
wore on her nerves. And she had begun to feel that she was being
taken advantage of.
One night the unthinkable happens. Becky wakes up to find Layla
unresponsive. Nothing can be done to save her. Over the course of a
trial readers get to join the jury in listening to the witnesses,
sorting through the evidence, and determining what really happened on
that fateful night.
On a purrrsonal note, as much as I dearly and desperately want a cat
to love, I am becoming increasingly anxious that I might somehow fail
it. I am doing all I can to make the house feline safe. Maybe I
won't be a good enough human companion. The last time I felt such an
overwhelming mixture or yearning and anxiety was the last weeks of my
pregnancy with Amber. Even if I'm less than purrrfect I have better
than the streets or a shelter to offer.
Hopefully.
A great big shout out goes out to the best little cat in the world who
loved me.
jules hathaway


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