But something isn't quite right, and that's difficult to work out when you aren't exactly sure what is reality. It took me to places I did not anticipate, but I do appreciate being shaken up by a book every now and then. However, the project dipped under the radar after that and was lost in the shuffle of pandemic projects until recently.

The underlying themes of war, PTSD, child abuse and false memories were intelligently explored and I was genuinely gripped throughout the tale. Kenwright commented on the acquisition: “As a producer I am always looking for that intangible something special.I loved the reference to her mother's dictaphone, the appearance of a marble and a further few random objects that are connected with her past which helped create this sense something more ethereal taking place. We are thrilled to announce that Nuala Ellwood’s gripping debut thriller My Sister’s Bones is being turned into a feature film. My miserable childhood is embedded in the wood, in the springs of the mattress, in the blue velvet headboard . It is also a fascinating examination of how memories are formed, of how reliable they may be after years have passed, and of how individuals remember events very differently, and how using different coping mechanisms for survival have affected them.

Subscribe now for monthly editions, awards season weeklies, access to the Screen International archive and supplements including Stars of Tomorrow and World of Locations. My Sister's Bones is guaranteed to be this year's most twisty and twisted read - you'll never see what's coming! The film was adapted for the screen by Naomi Gibney ( Devils) and is being executive produced by David Gilbery ( The Lost Daughter) and Naomi George ( My Pure Land) from BKStudios. The storyline involving the sister was the most interesting to me, and was usually shuttle to the back burner, so we could focus on important teen issues. Before we get any complaints My Sisters Bones is a recent best selling novel by author Nuala Ellwood described by the Observer as a debut which “…rivals The Girl on the Train as a compulsive read” and producer Bill Kenwright has optioned the rights to make it into a film.I think there was too much going on, and yet, nothing felt like it carried the weight it should have. The story of a veteran Iraq and Syrian war reporter suffering from PTSD heading home to Kent after a long stint in Aleppo after the passing of her mother was an introspective thriller, informed in part by Ellwood's own experience growing up in a family of war reporters who carried as many scars as the fighters they covered. Since I first read it, I've read the book a few more times, the same copy in the same library where I originally read it. This is a superb debut thriller from Nuala Ellwood and I look forward to reading more from this author.

It's funny and sweet, but also desperately sad, as Billie chronicles the diminishing health of her sister alongside her own desperate grasp for control through her friends and promiscuity. We’re excited to bring this gripping and thrilling story to the market,” said Tannaz Anisi, principal of 13 Films.

Ellwood's use of literary devices, a compelling storyline and the drama of incorporating such an emotive and contemporary political topic such as Syria made this one of the most tense and climatic novels I have read in a while. This is one of those books which makes you miss your stop on the train, burn the dinner, forget to put the kids to bed and keeps you reading until way too late into the night. It is during these flashbacks, and heartbreaking revelations of a childhood tragedy, parental violence, and abuse that we find out eventually how much is real or imagined as she struggles to, keep hidden but at the same time, face the demons coming at her from all angles. I assume this story takes place in the 1970s, given all the references, yet because it is written in first person and doesn't give off even a trace of nostalgia, I had the feeling that I was in the same room as Billie as she told her tale in present tense. In fact, Nuala Ellwood’s own background and family history in this area, which I discovered after reading this book, would have helped enormously in crafting her first book.