The Franklin Hotel is the common denominator of the parallel stories of women's deaths both past and present.  In this story we get to hear about both of them by flipping back and forth in time.
   Val Ritter learns that her sister, Sylvia, has committed suicide but she will not accept that fact. A trip to the library to do research leads to a random pairing up with a retired detective, himself with history with the hotel, to prove otherwise. There are several interesting characters that are introduced and could have committed the crime but Val and Terry have to prove it.
   The “past” character, Bridget, invites a peek into how women were treated and expected to behave back in the ’20’s if you were monied and status was important. A forced marriage by her impoverished parents to a rich but sadistic man, made for an eventful honeymoon.
   The author provided two interesting plots simultaneously and tied them both together, while expected, with a jolt at the end. Her descriptive narrative of the hotel brought the reader back and forth in time.
   The readers were excellent and defining the various voices.
   Definitely worth the read.

Two very different time frames with deaths in the same hotel. I admit I was a little confused at the beginning but figured they the tales would eventually come together. They did but I sure didn't see the twist that brought them into the same tale. A sister, reporter, tries to figure out what happened to her sister and she doesn't believe she committed suicide, as the police claim. Another women weds and immediately realizes that her husband is a monster. Both are associated with deaths at the same hotel. I listened to this one and have to say I would definitely recommend listening.

I enjoyed the dual story lines in this book. They paralleled each other a bit, but were also wildly different. I would have enjoyed reading a physical or ebook copy of this book as well. However, the narrators were amazing! They really brought the story to life. Thank you for an excellent tale!

Val is investigating her sister's death in a hotel room, she can't believe it's s*icide. Terry is a retired detective who befriends her and tries to help. There's also a plot line from 1921.

I listened to the audiobook, the voice acting was fine but the presentation irritated me - we have chapters from Val perspective, including the female voice actor doing Val's voice and Terry's voice, then we have Terry chapter, with the male actor doing Terry's voice and Val's voice. It screws with the continuity.

I have a general preference for females narrators, they typically do male voices better than male actors doing female voices, which often sound a bit 'Sesame Street' to me. That's my moan about the voice presentation over.

I'm not sure why Terry even has chapters, his character isn't particularly well developed.

Then there's the 1921 chapters, I found this story fairly one dimensional. Obviously it will has some relevance to the main plot, but the connection is made fairly late in the story.

I enjoyed it more towards the end, even though mystery itself is fairly straightforward. There are other deaths in the history of the hotel, but these are pretty much mentioned in passing and I felt there was a lot of untapped potential.

Thanks to Netgalley and CamCat Publishing

🎧3⭐️

My first book by this author, a US mystery/ suspense.
I had the audiobook read by Rachel Fuginiti, Kate Rudd and Curt Bonnem. I didn’t find having three narrators was an advantage for this book as it makes it harder to follow when each is also doing the other voices so it doesn’t feel like there’s any continuity with the voices making it harder to keep track.

When her sister is found dead in a hotel room reporter Val Ritter is devastated. She teams up with retired detective Terry Martin to dig into what happened based on nothing more than a hunch. The police are convinced that there are no suspicious circumstances. I know Val was grieving, but she was obnoxious. I’ve no idea how Terry put up with her.

There’s a second historical thread
about Bridget on her honeymoon.
I preferred that thread, I wish there was more on it.

This book didn’t really grab me, It concentrated more on Val’s story. I wasn’t convinced about how the threads tied together it seemed overly convenient without enough breadcrumbs throughout the story to make it a realistic explanation. Shame as it was leading towards a satisfying ending. That could have been developed a lot more. I couldn’t be sure whether the author dialled back on that element, or added it in for a convenient twist. Either way it fell flat for me.

I found it an easy listen. The lead up to the end came together well, but felt too much was left to pull together in the epilogue.

It’s something a bit different with the different time lines, and the added extra element.

Thank you to NetGalley and CamCat at Publishing for the audio copy of Her Sister’s Death by K.L. Murphy.

This was an interesting story but I was rather confused through most of it with the time hopping back and forth. I didn’t really enjoy this one.

Her Sister's Killer by KL Murphy
Is really good. The explanatoty epilogue was the weakest bit. I was lucky to be given an audio copy and the two voices worked really well. One male, a former cop, one female the victim's sister.
The interwoven 1920s case is well done and isn't too intrusive when the present day narrative gets more gripping.
It would easily have made a film set in the 1950s despite modern text messages being quite pivotal to the story.
I heartily recommend it.

I enjoyed listening to this audiobook that I finished it in 24 hours. The narrator of this book keeps you wanting to keep listening. The story keeps you guessing till the end and on the edge of your seat. Just wanting to figure it who it was. This story is very well written.

Thank you Netgalley for this advance audiobook.

This was a good book I will put a warning about spousal abuse for it in case there's that triggers you I enjoyed the book and it was interesting the way it was put together present day and past time two different stories running and sequence I did stay intrigued with the book as it went along and would recommend it for others

This novel kept me intrigued the whole time! Caught up in the mystery and the history, so captivating! And of course, I thought I figured it out - but no!! Well done!

This book has me torn. I enjoyed the writing a lot, the author is very talented and draws you deeper in. The subject matter however went bounced around from an intriguing story in the modern day, to a woman being married and abused by her new husband in the 1920s. It all wove together in an intriguing way, but I had a hard time getting through this one. A warning that it was going to go more in depth on certain subject matter would have been appreciated, but that said nothing was overly graphic. ***See spoiler below.
Overall this was a well written book with an interesting story, I just don't know that all of it was for me.


***SPOILER
TW for abuse and marital rape. When I say it wasn't overly graphic, the author describes the blows dealt to the wife and what she feels as well as her emotions. Specifically during the marital rape scene, nothing was described in detail beyond the husband disrobing and the wife dissociating. I appreciated that, I'm not here to read a play by play of someone's assault, but it was still a little too much for me between all the scenes where she is beaten (2 major ones, more minor ones where he is hurting her and she comments it will bruise later) and the two rapes.

Her Sister's Death started out strong with not one but two mysteries that hinted at intriguing parallels. I was listening to the audiobook and the three narrators covered the perspectives of the different characters well.

Val had recently learned that her sister had committed suicide. Devastated at the news and disagreeing with the verdict she set out to utilise her skills and experience as an investigative journalist to uncover what really happened. Terry, ex cop now security consultant coincidently was along for the ride in supporting the investigation, using his contacts to find out more information at the scene of the crime - The Franklin Hotel. Our final POV is Bridget a newly wed married to a brutish depraved oaf who is spending her honeymoon at the same hotel in the 1920's.

I got to raise the following point as an observation and trigger warning for others The detailed depiction of domestic violence was repeated and didn't, in my opinion add value beyond he first incident. Less would have been more. I don't believe the reader needed the graphic nature of each attack.

The first incident shocked me. My notes at the time stated "What he did on their wedding night is one of the cruellest depictions of domestic violence, emotional and coercive control that I've read. I lived the dread of the wedding day. Kudos to the author"

The historical story conveyed dread and it is evident that this situation will deteriorate and not end well.

In the present day, it's as if grief has made Val lose her professionalism and good manners. She's rude, judgemental and adds nothing to the investigation with her attitude and jumping to conclusions. And where was the evidence of her famed research skills? If she's spent an hour in the library or on her laptop researching the main characters, it wouldn't have taken a circuitous route to find out what happened to her sister.

There are elements of this story that worked for me, but most did not. Particularly after listening for 8.5 hours, a paranormal slot was bolted on. Leaving me to conclude that I've been listening to the attempts of combining two unrelated storylines with the thin agent of perfunctory mystery as the bind.

There's a good short story in here with one timeline.

My thanks to Netgalley for a copy of a the audiobook in exchange for a candid review

Thank you NetGalley for this audio ARC.

This was a good book! Loved this mystery/thriller. The storyline was great and the twist.. you didn’t expect that. I loved the back and forth timeline and loved the duel POV.

I don't give many books 5 stars. It was incredibly well written and had a twist I definitely didn't see coming. A book I wish I could read again for the first time!

This historical mystery thriller does not disappoint. When Val Rtters sister is found dead of an apparent suicide in an old historic luxury hotel Val knows she must investigate. She knows her sister was not suicidal. With the help of a retired local detective Terry Martin, she begins to retrace her sisters steps the days before her death. What she and Terry discover is not at all what she was expecting, and frankly neither was I. There is also a parallel story at the same hotel being told from the year 1921. How these two stories compare is another part of the mystery. Great read, recommended.

I found this book by accident. I was just looking around, trying to find a audiobook while I was putting up my Christmas,. This book is written very well, and has a nice twisty Turny ending, would definitely recommend to others who like this type of book.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐+⭐
Her Sister's Death by K. L. Murphy, an audiobook narrated by Rachel Fulginiti, Kate Rudd, and Curt Bonnem was a heart-breaking, blood-boiling, nerves-touching, and truly emotional psychological thriller that will shatter your world!
I wanted to scream, shout, and cry about how angry and emotional some parts of the book made me. The author and narrators completed a miracle by making every single part of this book so real! I felt it in my bones!
My emotions were so strong that I couldn't finish this book in one go because I needed a break! I just could not take it anymore! And for me, this is the definition of an excellent book.

This book follows two timelines: nowadays and 1921. Up to the end, there is no explanation of why and how these two stories are related but at the end reader will get all the answers. So bitter-sweet!
And the final twist left me with an open mouth! I didn't see that coming in millions of years.

Reporter Val Ritter can't accept that her sister ended her life and opens her own investigation. Luckily for her, she meets Terry Martin, a retired detective who is happy to take part in this journey. Val doesn't know that Terry is dedicated to solving this case to get some answers for himself. No one believes them so are they against everyone.

Trigger warning for the 1921 timeline: domestic abuse
Each girl's dream - a beautiful wedding day turns into a dark nightmare. Bridgit knew things didn't feel right but she didn't dare to protest...

I can't express my gratitude for this book, it was truly a magical, even so, emotional journey! Thank you NetGalley and CamCat Publishing for this book!

Her Sister's Death by K.L. Murphy
Narrated by Rachel Fulginiti, Kate Rudd, Curt Bonnem

There are two stories here, a murder at a ritzy Baltimore hotel in 1921 and a present day suicide in the very same luxury suite a century later. After the 1921 murder the hotel has more deaths over the years giving the hotel a gothic, dark vibe although the hotel may not have needed much help with the gothic vibe due to much of its creepy decor, especially in the Juniper room. There is the tiniest hint of the supernatural with this story until the time it's not so tiny after all.

Beware the 1921 timeline because the domestic violence is brutal. That story is creepy all on its own, with a trapped young woman tied down by rules of wealth and the times. She is to marry an older man, a man who is so obviously a monster that he seems evil personified.

In the present day timeline, domestic abuse might be a problem, too, but we aren't sure. Val Ritter's sister died in that fancy suite and events surrounding her death are unclear but the police are ready to label her death a suicide and be done with the case. But Val can't believe her sister, a happy mother of two young children, would kill herself. She'd finally decided to start dating after a rough divorce and she was devoted to her children.

I like that three narrators provide us with three POVs. Bridget is the meek one and caught in something she has no chance of escaping. Val is determined to discover what has led up to her sister being dead and she's not going to quit until she has exposed who has hurt her sister. Ex-detective, Terry Martin, has his own reasons for helping Val with her search and I liked his calm demeanor and wise advice throughout the story.

Thank you to CamCat Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC.

I listened to the audiobook of this one and I have to say the narrators did an excellent job bringing this story to life. I really liked the dual timelines and how they came together at the ending (although I did guess how they would come together). I found the present tense mystery to be fascinating and full of some good twists, but I honestly was more hooked on the past tense story. It was very compelling. Present tense - Val Ritter is distraught when her sister dies because the police believe it to be suicide and she is certain that her sister would not have killed herself. Val has a run in with retired police detective Terry who then helps her to investigate what truly happened the night her sister checked into the Franklin, a hotel with a history for people dying. Past tense Bridget is on the cusp of marriage and while she knows she should be feeling lucky there is something she can’t articulate making her nervous. I found Val and Terry’s journey to move a little slower than I would like, but overall I thought this book was excellent.

A very well written and thought out plot. Val cannot accept the verdict of suicide when her sister is found dead in a hotel and decides to investigate herself, with the help of Terry, a retired detective, who is keen to help. Lots of twists and red herrings are thrown our way as Val looks into Sylvia’s life and discovers she didn’t know as much as she thought she did!

The timeline switches between present day and 100 years ago, with the marriage of a young woman to an older man. I was really intrigued to find out what linked these two storylines and really enjoyed them both.

The link between the two stories was a bit “out there” and that did let the book down slightly, but I really enjoyed it nevertheless. Excellent narration and a male/female cast is always appreciated.

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, K. L. Murphy and CamCat for an ARC in return for an honest review.