Following on from the 2005 success of Schmitz’s quirky absurdist debut, Leopold, the author uses her television-writing experience to bring to life a dramatic story about two sisters, one of who is apparently mortally ill. Vera has always been terrorized by her older sister, Marrit.

Vera still feels guilty about abandoning their alcoholic father to his fate, and has not forgotten the serious bullying of her sister during their childhoods. As both of the sister’s worlds fall apart, Vera loses her grip on reality. What at first seems like the same old story of a glamorous older sister getting it all, turns out to be a product of the overactive imagination of an unreliable narrator.

Vera can only progress if she exchanges banal reality (a soul-destroying job, being dumped by her extremely dull boyfriend, abuse by her neighbor who himself was dumped) with a fantasy world. She seems to be going mad for good, like the male protagonist of her debut Leopold, and it is precisely in the description of this madness that Jowi Schmitz excels. With this she lifts her novel above flat realism. Despite all the, sometimes thickly laid, tragedy, there’s still plenty to laugh about.” - NRC Handelsblad

“Whoever has read the title of this review (Female Cain and Abel) will know that the kiss of the title is a Judas kiss. And indeed, this book is about loyalty vs. treachery, dependence that clashes with revenge.” – PZC

“A tear-jerker of the first order, despite its amusing asides…. The “camera perspective” which narrator Vera uses to describe her life is very modern and a bit Bridget Jones-ish.” – Leeuwarder Courant