The Conjoined: A Novel

Written by Jen Sookfong Lee

Narrated by Sabryn Rock

On a sunny May morning, social worker Jessica Campbell sorts through her mother’s belongings after her recent funeral. In the basement, she makes a shocking discovery — two dead girls curled into the bottom of her mother’s chest freezers. She remembers a pair of foster children who lived with the family in 1988: Casey and Jamie Cheng — troubled, beautiful, and wild teenaged sisters from Vancouver’s Chinatown. After six weeks, they disappeared; social workers, police officers, and Jessica herself assumed they had run away.

As Jessica learns more about Casey, Jamie, and their troubled immigrant Chinese parents, she also unearths dark stories about Donna, whom she had always thought of as the perfect mother. The complicated truths she uncovers force her to take stock of own life.

Moving between present and past, this riveting novel unflinchingly examines the myth of social heroism and traces the often-hidden fractures that divide our diverse cities.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ECW
• Release date: Mar 28, 2017
• ISBN: 9781770909717

Jen Sookfong Lee

Jen Sookfong Lee was born and raised in Vancouver's East Side, where she now lives with her husband. Her poetry, fiction, and articles have appeared in a variety of magazines, including The Antigonish Review, The Claremont Review, Horsefly, and Jasmine. A finalist for the Stephen Leacock Poetry Contest, she is a Knopf Canada New Face of Fiction for The End of East.

Reviews for The Conjoined

[Lauren · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I had to stop this book. The initial concept was intriguing but the main character is so self absorbed. She is meant to be a social worker but has no insight into other people. A sub plot of this was her thinking about shagging the lead detective. Very heavy content but not done justice at all.