I finished what I could of this book. I forced myself to finish 21% of it and that portion was enough of a stretch and a task that I had enough and was not going to make myself read the rest just for the sake of review. This book is so broken up in the most random places in the middle of a thought that you cannot even figure out what is even going on at that present point. From what I can see on Goodreads, I'm not alone in feeling this way. I do not like not finishing a book, but there are way too many enjoyable and pleasant books and mysteries out there to get to without wasting time on those you don't enjoy.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Joffe Books for the ARC.

Victoria Wharton is a successful detective in Chicago when she receives a call from her estranged mother telling her that her twin sister Becky has been murdered. There is a reason Victoria left home and never returned - her mother wanted to control their lives but Victoria got out, leaving Becky to give up her own medical dreams to be with her mother and work in the local hospital in New Hampshire.

Victoria takes almost a week to make the journey, only to find that her sister's funeral had already been held. She is determined to investigate her murder and (unbelievably) gets permission to jointly investigate with the local detective, Steve McCade - an old flame of hers. There are numerous local characters who could each have some form of motive but Steve believes it to be a robbery as her phone was missing. Victoria is less than satisfied by the way the investigation has been handled and delves deeper. As she does so, she receives a death threat; a homeless war veteran is badly beaten-up, she finds Becky could possibly have had a stalker, and the possibility of love rivalry - Becky was pretty, sweet and naïve. Had someone taken revenge on her for a death at the hospital where she worked?
Yes, there is a major shocking twist in the ending. However, I found it all rather slow-paced with bitty dialogue, and a style of writing which I just couldn't get on with I'm sorry to say.
It's a light-weight read but of course that's just my opinion.
2.5*

Chicago Detective Victoria Wharton left her hometown years ago…to begin her career and get away from her controlling mother. Her sister, Rebecca, stayed although Victoria had encouraged her to leave and pursue her dreams. When she receives the call that her sister has been murdered, her world is shattered. Arriving home Victoria is surrounded by more questions than answers. Who could have killed sweet Rebecca? Could it have been the homeless war veteran, the older man who could not accept the word no, the veterinarian or the stalker? Victoria is allowed to work the case with local Detective Steve McCabe (which was very questionable since it was her sister who was murdered), but will the murderer be much closer than they think? I really enjoy stories about strong female detectives, but this one wasn’t. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

Her Sister's Killer, by Michelle S Smith, is a good story and hard to put down. There were some interesting quirks though. The main character, Victoria Wharton, is a police officer and since her sister, Rebecca, has been murdered, she's traveling home from Chicago, IL to Hancock, NH. Well, somehow a 15+ hr drive ends up taking her an entire week. Having made the trip from the east coast in 1-2 days, many times (w/4 children), I could not fathom it taking a single person an entire week. Once she got to Hancock I quickly realized that the residents were British because they all used British phrases. While I quite enjoyed that, I could see it being confusing for many Americans. Maybe the book is meant for a British audience? Most of the characters were likeable. The bad guys come off as unlikable pretty soon after they're introduced so, you're not real sad when everything comes to light.

This is an absolute belter of a book.

It flows beautifully and has so many twists and turns to make you dizzy.

The characters are likeable, and some not, and easily relatable.

It was a quick, easy read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Highly recommended 5 stars from me.

Just finished this book, sorry to say it did not grab me. I struggled to finish it. I don’t wish to criticize the writer or the book, I just did not find it flowed easily. I guessed the ending very early on so may be that was my problem with it.

This was an ok read but nothing exciting. I don't know how the main character got to be a detective because she couldn't seem to see what was under her nose. I also thought it was a bit unbelievable that she was allowed to move home and investigate her sister's death. There was no-one really likable in the story with most characters being a bit two dimensional. The only person who triggered any emotion in me was the detestable Vera. Not a bad book but I don't think I'd go looking for the author in the future.

Victoria Wharton is a police detective in Chicago. Getting dressed to go out for the evening she gets a phone call from her mother, Vera, letting her know her sister has been murdered. She returns home for her sister's funeral, but finds out that it has already occured two days prior. Victoria gets appointed temporarily to the police force to help solve the crime.

The story is disjointed with several side plots that are distracting. The characters are not flushed out well to like or dislike. The plot is good to keep you reading, but I was hoping for more.

2.5 stars. This book was problematic from a literary standpoint. Flat characters, strained dialogue, and a plot that wasn't cohesive. However, it was an easy read and I actually didn't hate it. The lack of character development definitely hurt the overall feel of the book.
Our main character seems almost indifferent to the death of her twin sister, and the romantic storylines are bit cheesey. The culprit is fairly clear early on; however, the motive is thrown in as the twist. . . And it's a bit ridiculous. If you're looking for a cheesey, guilty pleasure, easygoing read, this won't let you down, but don't expect a twisted and mind blowing psychological thriller.

Victoria has a dysfunctional relationship with her mother and left under a cloud several years ago with no plans to return. Her sister remained to care for her mother. Victoria is now living in Chicago and is one of Homicide's top detectives.

Out of the blue she gets a phone call from her mother: her sister has been murdered.

Returning to New England with a determination to find her sisters killer Victoria finds herself reawakening feelings for Detective Steve McCade. Fighting with emotions and demons from her past Victoria then starts to receive death threats. Someone has a secret and they don't want it uncovered.

It makes a change to read a book set in the USA and learn of their different ways of working. The descriptions of the area were interesting and the characters had their own unique personalities. All in all a very enjoyable read.

Trigger: Murder

This book kept me intrigued the whole time. It was always just one more chapter. His was a fast read for me, but the suspense was great. It also has an awesome plot twist of the killer. I’m not much of a re-reading kind of person, but this book I would read again. If you want a quick, suspenseful mystery this is a great book. I highly recommend it. Kuddos!

Okay, this book was a total disaster from Chapter One onward. The detective is not terribly smart. Even her role in the case seems illogical. She also doesn't seem to care that her sister was killed. The rest of the cast was flat and one dimensional. The story is boring and bogged down by so much pointless narrative and dialogue.

I had high hopes for this, but it was a struggle to get through. Minimal character development made it had to connect with them. Some plot points weren't well explained, making this feel like a continuation of a series, perhaps. Vicky didn't seem skilled enough to be a detective. No real surprise twists. This was a miss for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Her Sister’s Killer by Michelle S. Smith that I read and reviewed.
Where do I start? First off this book started off fairly well but by the end it went totally off the rails. The twist at the end was even a little more twisted then I like my books to be. The book also was written very slow and choppy. As I reader it just did not flow for me so it was really hard to make any connections to the characters. Overall, this book just did not do it for me at all.
Unfortunately, I can only give Her Sister’s Killer two out of five stars.

Victoria Wharton's mother tells her that she shouldn't have left every time she calls. But this time she'd calling to say that Vicky's twin sister, Becky, has been murdered. Vicky is one of Chicago's best police Detectives. She thought she'd never return to her tiny New England hometown. But she needs justice for her sister.

Vicky returns home to try and solve her twin sister Becky's murder. Her family is quite dysfunctional. Vicky is not a strong character considering her job as a Chicago Detective. Her hometown is full of secrets. I did not like any of the characters who were a bit one dimensional, It was also a bit predictable. With just a little bit more effort, this could have been a really good read.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #JoffeBooks and the author #MichelleSSmith for my ARC of #HerSistersKiller in exchange for an honest review.

This book was provided to me compliments of #NetGalley for my honest opinion.


It’s a story we’ve told over and over. Sibling returns to hometown to help solve murder or sibling. Family relationships are strained. Nothing special stands out or makes this one unique. It’s a good read though.

Reading the synopsis for this book, you would probably be forgiven for thinking you have read this book before. Sibling returns to her home town and estranged family to solve a murder mystery. It's been tried and tested a number of times.

Here, Victoria returns to solve the murder of her sister Rebecca and must deal with the fractious relationship she has with her mother.

All in all the book was enjoyable - that may damn the book with faint praise but I think three stars (possibly three and a half) is a fair score. The problem for me was the story was plot driven rather than character driven. I don't feel we learned enough about the protagonist's back story to really care too much about her and her journey.

The ending was good, if a little predictable, but it was a pleasurable way to spend a few hours. It is an author I could see developing over time to become a very good novelist.

Thanks to Netgalley and Joffe for the ARC

I received an advance copy of, Her Sisters Killer, by Michelle S. Smith. Victoria needs to find out who killed her sister and bring them to justice. This was a good book.

The main character is a detective and when her twin sister gets killed, she investigates the murder and seems not to display any emotion whatsoever. It is rightly disturbing. Instead right from the start she is more interested in getting attention from her fellow detective. It is also odd that she is allowed to investigate her own sister's murder (unduly influence on the professional judgment, conflict of interest, anyone, no?), and she doesn't seem to be a very competent detective, for example, she asks a witness if the witness is sure that the victim was murdered. Wait, what??! Isn't it a coroner's job to determine the cause of death and not from the external appearance observed by a witness?

The character is one dimensional, the book has many characters right from the beginning that are confusing and dialogues that are not very interesting. There is some early hint that the main character was sexually abused by her father but it is not properly introduced nor explained that it made me wonder if this book is one of the series and I should already know about it.

This book is like one big mess and I could not pass 20%. Some books just should not be published. I should have looked up other reviews first but at least I didn't lose any money.

Thanks NetGalley for a free copy in exchange of an honest review.

The basic plot of Her Sister's Killer is good: Chicago detective Victoria Wharton returns to the small New Hampshire town where she grew up when her sister is murdered. She finds a town full of secrets, most of them related to her own family. Although the fact that she is seconded to the local police force to work the case seems unusual, to say the least.

But the characters in the novel are ill defined and just not credible. Too many are one dimensional, with budding romances among all the key suspects to muddy the waters. Vicky herself shows no real investigative skills, none of the smarts she must have shown to become a city detective. The hunt for her sister's killer is more a gentle inquiry than a homicide investigation. She is scared by the simplest thing - surely not the response of a Chicago detective. And when she stumbles across an assault she screams for help rather than calling for back up.

Her Sister's Killer is a short novel that shows some promise and the writing is generally good. But overall it lacks both depth and believability.