'The Better Sister' Is the Wildy Addictive, Murder-Mystery Binge of the Summer

Adaptations of beloved novels usually fall into one of two traps: they either stray so far from the source material that they alienate fans or stick so closely to it that the result feels rote and uninspired. Prime Video’s take on Alafair Burke’s phenomenal The Better Sister is a rare exception — faithful to the book, but still crackling with suspense and intensity.

Part of that success is thanks to Burke’s airtight mystery, but it’s also due to a knockout cast that elevates an already strong narrative. It’s been long enough since I read the novel that I didn’t remember every twist, which made this feel like a gripping remake, only this time, the characters were even better than the ones I’d imagined.

Jessica Biel, Elizabeth Banks, Corey Stoll, and especially Kim Dickens bring dimension to Burke’s already layered characters. Biel plays Chloe Taylor, a high-powered magazine editor who returns home from an event to find her husband Adam (Stoll) dead in their living room. An investigation follows, and soon her teenage son, Ethan, is arrested for the crime. The twist? Ethan’s biological mother is Chloe’s estranged sister, Nicky Macintosh (Banks).

After Nicky’s battle with addiction derailed her marriage and endangered Ethan’s safety, Adam left her and began an affair with Chloe, a relationship that became permanent. Chloe ultimately took on the role of Ethan’s mother, cutting Nicky out of their lives. But after Adam’s murder, Nicky returns to help Ethan fight the charges. Dickens plays one of the detectives investigating the case; though she and her partner arrest Ethan, they can’t quite shake the sense that something deeper is going on.

And that’s just the beginning. Over eight tightly written episodes, buried secrets emerge, motives shift, and the narrative twists in ways that feel both surprising and earned. The novel was a real page-turner, and while I usually dislike binge releases, I can see why Prime Video dropped the entire season at once. It’s wildly addictive. In lesser hands, the story could have slipped into over-the-top melodrama, but showrunner Olivia Milch (Ocean’s 8) and pilot director Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya, Lars and the Real Girl) keep it grounded and restrained.

It’s also exactly the kind of mystery I love: part police procedural, part courtroom drama, and fully committed to its characters. This isn’t one of those mysteries where detectives interrogate a dozen people until someone slips up, nor does it rely on a parade of lazy red herrings. Every character matters here, and the misdirections are smartly integrated into the plot, something all too rare in the genre.

Jessica Biel found her sweet spot back in 2017 with Sinner, and she’s stayed in the murder-mystery lane ever since, often, as here, as a producer (see also Candy). She and Banks are perfectly cast as estranged sisters from opposite sides of the socioeconomic divide, bound by shared trauma, even as their circumstances drive them apart. Dickens adds a dose of dry wit, and the supporting cast is stacked with great character actors: Matthew Modine, Gloria Reuben, Paul Sparks, Lorraine Toussaint, and the always brilliant Michael Harney, who plays a doorman.

This is that rare adaptation that genuinely rivals the book. Everyone involved understood the assignment: trust Alafair Burke’s story. And Burke — a law professor as well as a best-selling author — almost never steers you wrong.

The Better Sister drops on Prime Video tomorrow, May 29th.