The Irish writer, Lucinda Riley, after her editorial success with The Orchid House, has again shown her ability to.capture readers with a series consisting of already 4 titles: The Seven Sisters, The Storm Sister, The Shadow Sister and now, The Pearl Sister.
The present story frames its main character CeCe between these “seven sisters”, all of them adoptive children of a mysterious multimillionaire called Pa Salt who had chosen the orphaned children from different parts of the world and gave each one the name of a star belonging to the Pleiades constellation: Alcyone, Asterope, Celaeno,Taygeta, Electra and Merope. CeCe is the nickname of Celeno, the center of action in The Pearl Sister, who will tell us her sentimental adventures in England, Thailand and Australia during the 21st century as she looks for her unknown parents. Riley links CeCe’s inquiries about her past with the adventures of Kitty McBride, in the beginning of the XX Century. Kitty is the daughter of a Scottish Protestant pastor who years later would make a fortune in Australia. Obviously, Kitty’s and CeCe’s lives will intertwine after having experienced all kinds of joys and sorrows.
The story has a clear structure though it suggests that love affairs have priority over prevailing social and moral laws. Religion - a simple subjective openness to transcendence - is presented in a syncretic way. Furthermore, in two occasions not necessary for the plot, cruel and lewd behavior of clergymen and nuns are mentioned.