Member Reviews
The Missing Sister by Elle Marr is an ambitious novel and, I must admit, I am struggling to articulate my thoughts. The writing and premise are excellent, however I did grapple with the execution of a plot that I think tries to tackle too much, and becomes a bit chaotic at times as a result..
Shayna Darby flies to Paris to identify the body of her twin sister Angela who has purportedly been murdered. While trying to come to grips with this, Shayna sees a coded message that only she and her sister could recognize; Alive. Trust no one. The search is on for the missing twin, and it will take Shayna from the catacombs of Paris to the nefarious brothels that inhabit the City of Light. While I did find events rather difficult to follow with any real degree of engagement, I loved the writing style and did enjoy the descriptions of Paris as the city seems to become a character in and of itself. Unfortunately, this is a story that I didn't fully connect with, however I do recognize its merits and believe it will hit the spot with many others.
3.5 stars
Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC.
This book was very interesting. I like how the author incorporated the catacombs in to the plot. I love reading books with plot twists and this book definitely had that. It took me a few chapters to get hooked but once I did I couldn't put it down.
Great thriller that had me hooked from the beginning, Full of twists and turns, this novel had me guessing "who dun' it" until the end. It is a tale of truth and lies, and of how far a sister's love can go.
This book sounded like a great read, but unfortunately it just didn't hit the heights i expected. I found myself getting a bit bored whilst reading it. Too much detail about the scenery of Paris which takes it away from the actual storyline. The characters weren't strong enough for me and towards the end i found it dragged on a bit with not enough of a strong ending. I really wanted to like this book, but found it ok and was slightly disappointed.
The Missing Sister by Elle Marr is set in Paris where two estranged sisters, Angela and Shayna, become involved in a mysterious disappearance. This mystery leads to an investigation with the Paris authorities through the darkest parts of the city of Paris, the catacombs, brothels and the underworld. An interesting study of the emotional connection and dysfunction of these sisters and the underlining story. It is hard to deny the bond and love they share for each other. I received this book from Net Galley for review.
I delayed reading this book, as I didn’t think it would be exciting. Boy, was I wrong - it was EXCELLENT! One twin goes to Paris to search for her missing sister, and finds a clue that she is alive, but to trust no one. There are many dynamics at play here - how twins “know” things about each other, estrangement, betrayal, trust issues, with each other and nearly everyone they encounter. I thought the story started a little slow and meandering, but the pace quickly picked up, and the ending was a scary, creepy surprise - and it was all good! There are a lot of characters to get to know, and the plot was very twisty but not difficult to follow. Just when I thought I had guessed something, I was wrong - several times. If you like thrillers and mysteries with family drama interwoven, and a tough of horror you will enjoy this book. 5 stars and I highly recommend it. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ecopy. This book was a slow starter for me but held my interest throughout. Shayna has a twin sister whom she was informed has died in France. Shayna finds a note "ALIVE TRUST NO ONE" so she sets out to find out what happened. A great thriller, a little too much twinning going on through the story.
I am a twin, so I loved this book, primarily about twins, from the start. When Shayna's sister goes missing in Paris, Shayna has to travel to this unfamiliar city to find out if she's dead or alive, and if alive, where? The author has a great hook at the start, and keeps the reader guessing and urging the protagonist on. A great thriller!
The only two things that turned me off of this book is one, the over-done-ness of the twin thing. I am a twin, and I have never in my life referred to my other sisters, or anyone else as a "single birth." These twins are a bit over the top with the twin references. The second thing was the reluctance to go to the police, for almost ANYTHING. I found myself shouting at the poor girl "GO TO THE POLICE." And even at the end, well, let's just say avoiding the police was higher on the priority list than anything else - highly implausible that you could even get away with that. There wouldn't have been any suspense lost, I don't think, if a few more visits to the police station occurred.
I am sorry for the shorter review but I’m heading to work and will update a more in depth review at a later date. Let me just say I really found this to be a great read with the perfect amount of suspense.
Thank you Netgalley for the Arc in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own and are completely unbiased!
Angela is missing and her twin sets out to find her. There is a message that she is alive and to trust no one. Surely that warning doesn't extend to her missing twins boyfriend.
In the search for her twin she will encounter all kinds of people. None of them are whom they appear to be.
In the end the only one she can trust is herself. Her determination to find her sister leads her into the most dangerous and difficult places she will ever go. And in the end she does have to learn who to trust and who to run from.
Interesting, intriguing!
Rarely will you find a better hook than the one that starts this thriller. Shayna is about to start medical school, when she receives word that her estranged twin sister has died in France. She rushes to Paris and discovers a note left from her sister in their childhood twin language: "Alive. Trust no one." Shayna retraces her sister's last steps in a dangerous attempt to discover the truth and find her sister. This first person story takes surprising twists and turns and transports you to the streets of Paris. While the supporting characters weren't nearly as real to me as Shayna, I'd read anything new by this author. (Advanced copy read courtesy of NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer. Opinions are my own.)
Shauna is in Paris looking for her missing twin. The clues were TOO cryptic. It dragged on towards the end and got confusing.
Thanks to Netgalley for my copy to review.
A fast moving thriller that gets going right from the start. It's pretty breakneck speed from start to finish so it's impossible to get bored! I found it a little far fetched at times but over all it was a good read.
Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Shayna learns that her identical twin sister, Angela, has been murdered in Paris. She travels to Paris to identify the body and clean out Angela’s apartment when she sees a message written in their twin code that says, “alive, trust no one”. Shayna then begins the search for her sister.
I expected to love this book but it ended up just being ok. I loved the Paris setting and thought it was well described. I have visited the Catacombs, lunched at 58 and did a tour of Montmartre so I could visualize the scenery and unfortunately that may have been the best part of the book for me. The premise seemed great and I thought Shayna would just keep uncovering clues left by Angela that would lead her to her and that was sort of the case but there were only a handful of clues and I had a hard time following how Shayna figured out what the clue was telling her and how she figured out where to go. I was confused multiple times. Also somehow I just couldn’t get into the book enough to be immersed in it and really want to know how it would end. I didn’t find the ending to be that great either or maybe I was too checked out to really care. Despite these issues I think I would maybe give this author’s next book a shot.
While I enjoyed this book, it wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for. A little slow paced and boring at times.
I had a really hard time getting into this book. I appreciate the opportunity to read it, it it was just a little too slow for me.
Identical twins Angela and Shayna have been estranged for a few years until Angela goes missing. Shayna flies from America to try to find her missing sister and finds a secret script they used growing up.
Everyone else thinks shes dead. Shayna knows from the message that she is not.
Shayna then has to try to discover the truth... Trips to the catacombs, restaurants and underground brothels take place.
Elle Marr is clearly a great writer but I found it difficult to connect to the characters. Lots of confusing thoughts running through her head flipping through different time periods.
I liked the mystery element and the secret language between the two twins without revealing more spoilers but I felt the plot could go elsewhere.
Thank you to the publishers, author and Net Galley for the advanced copy in exchange for my opinion.
i really enjoyed this. It was tense all the way through with a good cast of characters. The location - Paris - was also pretty cool. The only thing I would say is that it did feel a little anticlimactic. Or rather, it didn’t live up to the tension that had been building from the beginning. Everything that happened could’ve been guessed from the start. And the twisted relationship between the sisters could’ve been expanded on more. I did ask myself why Shayna cared so much about someone who had deserted her. But i did enjoy this and will keep an eye out for the author’s future work.
4 stars #themissingsister #netgalley #ellemarr
Great debut novel- non stop action that will keep you engaged and guessing until the end. I loved that the main characters are bi-racial twins- the author herself mentioned in the acknowledgements the importance of inclusion, and I can't agree more.
A brief synopsis- read the description for more info :)
Shayna is notified that her twin sister, Angela was murdered and she must fly to Paris to identify the body. Shayna notices a secret message that tells her Angela is still alive. Shayna sets off to find her sister and can't trust anyone.
The book kept me engaged and guessing until the end. The ending wasn't fully fleshed out to me- it didn't make as much sense as I would have liked. That could be due to my own ignorance, but overall the book was wonderful. I will definitely order her next book.
I had a real hard time finishing this book. I just couldn't get into it. It is set in Paris France and some of the french phrases are not translated, so I had no idea what was happening. I couldn't connect to any of the people in the book.. Not my favorite