Not My Sister

Finalist—6th Annual Launchpad Prose Contest!

Some truths heal. Others shatter everything you thought you knew.

Two years after her sister Olivia's mysterious death, struggling actress Jessica French is stunned when she sees a Dutch television segment featuring the enigmatic Masked Artist who looks—and moves—just like Olivia. Desperate to learn the woman's identity, Jessica travels to Amsterdam, hoping to lay old doubts to rest and heal her fractured family.

But the reclusive artist is determined to stay hidden, and Olivia's volatile ex-boyfriend circles ever closer, complicating the search. As Jessica investigates her sister's cold case, her doubts about Olivia's death continue to mount.

To discover the truth about what really happened two years ago, Jessica must confront old grief, buried loyalties, and the painful possibility that some reunions come at a cost. And if the Masked Artist really is Olivia, Jessica may have to risk everything—including her life—to bring her sister home.

A layered exploration of grief, identity, and personal demons, this novel traces one woman's search not only for her sister, but for the parts of herself lost in the shadows of sibling rivalry and grief. (336 pages.)