I was very excited to receive a copy of The Winter Sister from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review and loved the premise. As a teenager, Sylvie's sister Persephone was murdered and she carries a huge amount of guilt surrounding her death. It is now 16 years later, her sisters death is still an open case, and Sylvie is moving home to take care of her estranged mother who has cancer.

I really enjoyed the first half this book. Overall, it is very well-written and I found myself wanting to find out what happened to Persephone. It was the second half that I lost some interest. The characters were integrated together very well; I just found the direction the plot took to not be believable. While it was entertaining, I was looking for a more twisty direction and that ah-ha moment.

Sylvie loses her sister, Persephone, when she was growing up and it has created a whole in her life. She must return to her childhood home to take care of the alcoholic mom that stopped being there for her with the loss. As she digs into her past, she finds out that her presumptions are wrong and that her mother is close to the tragedy. There was a lot of great character development and suspense that kept me guessing until the very end. I am really intrigued by this writer and love the maturity of her writing. Thanks for the ARC, Netgalley.

Very predictable, but still entertaining. I didn't find this book very thrilling but still enjoyed it mostly because I was able to made my prediction very early in the book and i enjoyed seeing all my predictions play out. So there was no wow factor or plot twist but sometimes I like the guessing game and being right!

The Winter Sister is a finely crafted, nicely layered novel. The subtle reveal of the characters - awesome. While not all characters are necessarily likeable at all times, who is in real life? Especially when faced with challenges and situations like these? Incredible considering is a debut book for author Megan Collins.

I did not find it to be so much of a "thriller", as a family story about dealing with the unsolved murder of a sister, so maybe "Mystery", although that's not quite right either. Regardless of how its labeled. It's really quite good and worth reading.

What I enjoyed most was the relationships between sisters, mothers and daughters, and the love that exists in families thru the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher Simon Schuster for the opportunity to read and review.

Intriguing story, psychological suspense, delves into the complicated relationships between sisters and mothers and daughters.

Tattoo artist, Sylvie, returns home to take care of her mother who is battling cancer. Years ago, Sylvie and her mother were close but after her sister's murder, her mother locked herself in her room and shut Sylvie out of her life. Now, back at home Sylvie comes face to face with her sister's boyfriend, who Sylvie suspects killed her. Not only must she face him but she must come to terms with the guilt she feels over her part in her sister's disappearance and later murder and work out the complicated relationship she now has with her mom.

I couldn't put this book down. The premise of the book may not be new, but the way the story unfolded drew me in. This book has a cast of broken characters that somehow remain likeable. The twists in the book weren't a big surprise but I still really enjoyed reading this one. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a thriller.

Family✔️ Secrets✔️ Murder✔️
The Winter Sister by @megancollinswriter checks all my boxes for a great, suspenseful novel. The ending was a little bit predictable but I was actually okay with that as I really enjoyed the journey the author takes you on to get there. There are so many complexities and dynamics to the relationships in the book. This is a great read that I would definitely recommend! 4.5 stars

I was on the edge of my seat! I though I had Persephone’s killed begged from the beginning but I was thrown off!

I loved our main character and Ben. It was heart pounding as we got closer and closer. I loved the short chapters! It was so funny to read this with a friend too.

The Winter Sister is a lush, atmospheric mystery thriller that will delve under your skin. I don’t know what it is about winter or Christmas, (maybe it’s due to utter isolation of The Shining or Dario Argento’s Deep Red with the creepy Christmas carol being sung before someone gets stabbed to death), but I always find books or movies in the horror or thriller genre to be that much more effective when placed in a cold environment.

There’s something utterly haunting in the book when you think about Persephone, the murdered sister, lying in a bed of snow, her red coat a stark contrast to the stillness of the night. From the very beginning of the novel, I was sucked into the story. And I know that some reviewers have complained that the plot isn’t original (dead sister, alcoholic grieving mother, troubled traumatized adult sister), but I think one can easily cast that aside with this book, as it’s not truly plot-driven, but rather more of a character study of what grief causes to a family (much like in The Lovely Bones) and since I found the characters likable in their own ways and most genuine and real, I couldn’t help but want to know more about what had happened, and who could’ve possibly have done Persephone harm.

The writing lingers with melancholy and for this piece, it works perfectly well. I truly enjoyed delving into the mystery and honestly, if I didn’t have so much going on in my personal life (ya know, work, editing a short story, keeping up with my blog, and promoting my new book) I probably would’ve finished this much sooner, cause it was THAT GOOD. The Winter Sister is the perfect read for a cold, wintery evening in which you can curl up with this delicious thriller as your snuggled with your warmest Sherpa.

If you look up “page-turner” in the dictionary, The Winter Sister by Megan Collins should be the description. What a thrill ride! Sylvie finds all sorts of skeletons in her family’s closet while trying to find answers to her sister’s murder. Really well done!

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from Netgalley.com and the publisher, Altria. Thanks to both for the opportunity to read and review.

Ms. Collins has written an amazing tale of families, secrets, lies and the pain of loving so much it hurts. Decisions made that create ripples through the years, and what you do to get through the day. At times suspenseful, others heartbreaking, you travel with Sylvie back to the source of her pain; her mother and her hometown and the death of her sister.

Brilliantly written, this emotional charged story will get under your skin. 5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended.

I read this book in one day. It kept my interest even though parts of it were very familiar. One sister disappears and the rest of the family falls apart. We return years later to solve the crime and everyone has their secrets. What I assume was a "twist" as so many books need to have now, was really easy to predict. I was surprised by the mother and her reactions throughout. She was consistent, if nothing else. The real test was keeping me reading and whether I would buy a book from this author in the future. The answer to both was, "Yes."

When I read early reviews of “The Winter Sister” and saw references to the Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone, it motivated me to revisit that myth. That background provided a meaningful and enlightening layer to the story, and Collin’s creative take on it was very well done. While the book is advertised as a psychological thriller, I was a little disappointed with that aspect of it. There were lots of “reveals” to propel the story along but some of them felt a little predictable and forced. What impressed me the most was the beautiful and emotionally affecting writing about grief, and the relationships between mothers, daughters, and sisters. This is an auspicious debut from Megan Collins and I look forward to reading more of her work.

My review was posted on Goodreads on 2/10/19

Although I am up to my eyeballs in other ARCs, I just couldn't resist the temptation that this book was taunting me as many of my fellow reviewers lined it up on the newsfeed. Again, it was the cover and the premise of a sister( Sylvie) trying to find out what really happened to her murdered older sister (Persephone)that reeled me in. What worked for me was the writing and fast moving plot that made this a one sit type of read. But there was a total lack of finesse when it came to the " big reveal" as to what actually happened to Persephone on that long ago winter night. But maybe I am feeling that way because I had figured out "whodunit" partially through the book.

You know I really really don't want to SPOIL this book for anyone, but I will confess that A LOT of things have bothered me about this book. I came out of this book feeling a lot of empathy for a character that I am most likely not supposed to and found myself having quite an opinion of Sylvie, our main protagonist. I read a lot of mystery/thriller/suspense books and watch a lot of those types of shows and The Winter Sister doesn't offer anything new or original to what already exists in the genre. I feel a little bit left out in the cold and will settle on a three star rating.

This author was recommended to me by another writer I really like, and I really enjoyed this book, Not many mysteries hold both an interesting mystery and character development. Yes I cared about the people as I watched them muddle through secrets, passions, pains and growing pains. Really well written and moving.

Sixteen years ago, Sylvie's sister, Persephone, was brutally murdered. Her case was never solved, and in the aftermath, Sylvie's mother became an alcoholic who wanted nothing to do with her family. Now Sylvie's mother is dying of cancer, and Sylvie has returned home to take care of her mother and discover the truth about her sister's murder.

Although I found this book a wee bit predictable, I could not put this book down. The complex relationships between the mother and the sisters were fascinating, and the role that everyone played in Persephone's death added depth to the story. Overall, a fun and interesting take on a family dra-mystery.

The Winter Sister by Megan Collins is story about two sisters, Syvie and Persephone who snuck out one night and never came home. Sixteen years later Syvie returns home to care for her sick mother, and find out what really happened to Persephone. I found this book to be very interesting full of twists and turns. I recommend this book for people who enjoy a good mystery.

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Great debut novel by Megan Collins, a solid 4.5 out of 5.
Some families have a hidden past, and The Winter Sister untangles Sylvie’s family secrets with gripping results.
Sylvie’s sister Persephone disappeared years ago, and now Sylvie has retune how to care for their ailing mother. Can Sylvie uncover the answers she has been searching for? What role es everyone play in Persephones murder?
A fantastic study in the relationships that hold families together an tear them apart. A gat choice for those looking for something different than the usual book club read!

I LOVED this book!!! I'm not sure why. It is fairly depressing, the characters are mostly unlikable and I was pretty sure what the big secret was going to be at the end. I did end up being mostly correct, but it was still a very enjoyable, fast-paced read. I could not put it down! Excellent debut! Thank you so much, NetGalley, Megan Collins and the publisher for the ARC!

I received my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an excellent debut mystery novel. It was an easy read and it kept me guessing who did it through out most of the story. Towards the end it did become a little predictable but I would not deter you from picking this book up and reading it. This story grabbed my attention right away and really kept me wanting more. The writing was done really well and I can not wait to see what Megan has in store for her next novel.