The Good Sister by Gillian McAllister

 

Martha is overwhelmed.  She never thought she would be able to realize her dream and start an overseas charity to help the refugee children who needed so much but things fell into place and suddenly everything is happening.  She gets a huge grant and really needs to be overseas on the ground to get things started but there's an issue.  Martha has just had a baby, Layla.

Martha's husband Scott is an IT consultant with a busy schedule also that has him traveling.  Layla is a demanding baby with colic who can cry for hours and often does, leaving Martha completely drained.  She needs help but who can she trust?  When her sister Becky offers to quit her minimum wage job and become Layla's nanny, Martha and Scott jump at the chance.  Who could they ever trust more than Becky?

But at age nine months, on a night when both Martha and Scott were traveling, Layla doesn't wake up one morning.  Becky can't account for every minute of the night before and her actions and soon she is charged with Layla's murder since the autopsy shows that it was not a natural death.  Could this be?  Could Martha's sister have done this thing?  As the trial progresses, Martha remains sure that the truth will emerge and that Becky will be found innocent but as Becky's secrets are dragged out into the light, it starts to appear more likely that Becky is indeed guilty.  Can Martha ever forgive her?  Can she forgive herself?

Gillian McAllister has written a page turner that strikes at the fear of every parent.  How can you protect your child?  Who can you trust to love them?  Will anyone be as careful with them as you would be?  McAllister has written about the fears and loyalties that can tear a close family apart and how when tragedy strikes it is difficult to ascertain the truth.  This novel is recommended for women's fiction readers.