While a story featuring one sister searching for her older sister who seems to have disappeared shortly after their mother's death and a sibling fight seemed like just the kind of modern thriller I would enjoy (thoughts of a gothic type tale), THE PERFECT SISTER only partially delivered. Alex who has never left their childhood home and considers herself not as smart, pretty, or socially adept as her older sister Maddie. Yet she finds strength and stamina she never expected in her relentless quest to find her sibling. Most of Maddie's personality and reasons for heading to the Hamptons is kept hidden from the reader until late in the book, and I liked how that played out. And I think the author did a good job developing two other female characters (bit by bit) - Katherine, wife of real estate mogul James Blackwell and their adopted daughter Lily. The rest of the characters and plot of the book were too dark and jaded for me. If that is the world of the rich and famous, I never want to go there. I received a copy of this title from Netgalley.

I really, really, really wanted to love this book. The premise grabbed my attention, but the actual story couldn’t hold it.

Alex and her sister, Maddie, are close. When Maddie goes missing, Alex heads to the Hamptons where Maddie was living. Told from multiple points of view, I found there was simply too much information to process.

Unfortunately, despite a number of unexpected twists, this book did not work for me. I think someone who likes lots of misdirection will find it more enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group of the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

Sadly this was a DNF for me. I got about 50% in before I realized I needed to put it down. I was not pulled into the story at all and found the beginning to be very slow.

2 ⭐️⭐️

The first few chapters were good but after those initial chapters the book seemed to drag on. I like multiple POV’s in books, so that wasn’t an issue for me. It seemed like every chapter would dive into the past and some of those things didn’t even pertain to the plot of the book. The characters weren’t my favorite and everyone besides Alex & Maddie are made out to be evil people. The last 20% of the book when you’re finding out what happens is the best part and the only thing that really kept my attention.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and Stephanie DeCarolis for the ARC of The Perfect Sister.

<i>The Perfect Sister</i> is about a mother's lie about your family and upbringing. A lie that can change the trajectory of your life and how your live it. Or how you're supposed to live it. When Alex sets off to find her missing sister, she finds a lot more than she ever expected. She ends up directly following her sister's tracks. Even spends her time in the Hamptons at the exact same room on the estate that were her sister's last whereabouts. And this place is filled with an unusual family - the jilted older brother, the creepy dad who seems to prey on younger girls, the mom who wouldn't let a single person see her without her makeup and steely exterior, and the daughter who is beyond awkward. And Alex still decides to stay to uncover the mystery of her missing sister.
The uncovering eventually turns a bit lame. I realized I knew who was involved, but I couldn't figure out why. It was unusual.

Thank you #Netgalley for the copy!

Just when you think you have the plot all figured out, a new point of view occurs and has you guessing! This was a great thriller, two sisters who had an argument but when one senses something is not right, she drops everything to investigate. She immerses herself in her sisters world, figuring out who to trust, who she was close with and so much more. I felt this was a quick psychological suspense read!

This is true thriller! The characters of Maddie and Alex kept me guessing on what would happen next. Their relationship is built out and intertwined in so many ways. I couldn't put this one down!

This book was a joy to read. I enjoyed the way the story flowed and I had a few moments that kind of made me question a few things. The characters were very interesting and a few times I had to questions some decisions that were made. This author really knows how to tell a story that will captivate you from the very beginning so I would recommend this book and this author.

I am such a seasonal reader so I always enjoy reading a summer thriller. I enjoyed the setting of The Hamptons. A wealthy vacation home town is the perfect place for a girl to go missing without a trace. As the story introduces more characters, I began to question all of them. I felt that they all had something to hide, and it kept me guessing until the very end. I enjoyed the multiple POVs in the current storyline, along with Maddie’s past POV. Overall I enjoyed this one and would recommend it!

Read if you enjoy:
✔️Multiple POV
✔️The Hamptons
✔️Missing person
✔️Short chapters
✔️Nonlinear timeline

Thank you @randomhouse and @NetGalley for my ARC!

The Perfect Sister
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Author: Stephanie DeCarolis

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Random House Publishing and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Alex Walker has always looked up to her perfect older sister. Maddie has succeeded in all the ways Alex has not: she escaped their hometown and seems to have put the memories of their unstable childhood behind her. But despite the different paths their lives have taken, the two sisters made a pact to spend one week together every summer. It was a promise they’d never broken. . . Until now.

When Maddie suddenly cancels her annual trip home, Alex begins to worry. But when she stops returning her calls altogether, Alex is certain something is wrong. Relying on the only clues Maddie left behind, Alex follows her sister's footsteps to the Hamptons, where she meets the Blackwell family—the last people to have seen Maddie alive before she vanished into thin air. The Blackwells seem to have it all: wealth, beauty, and a beach-side mansion on a private stretch of Hamptons real estate. It's a world unlike any Alex has ever known, but she quickly discovers that looks can be deceiving, and a life of luxury always comes at a cost.

My Thoughts: Maddie and Alex made a pact long ago, to always spend one week during the summer together and they have never broken that promise until Maddie cancels the annual trip causing Alex to worry. When Alex continues to try to get Maddie on the phone, she only gets her voicemail, which causes more concern. Alex highly suspects that something is amiss. Alex decides to retrace Maddie’s steps starting with the seaside resort, “The Hamptons,” where Maddie was staying. The Blackwell family confirmed that Maddie was there but left back to the city. Alex is not convinced. Even though the grounds are beautiful and the Blackwells are wealthy, there is a darkness that enumerates from the manor. As Alex follows the clues, will she find her sister? Or will she put herself in grave danger to get to the bottom of Maddie’s disappearance?

The story is told from multiple POVs. The chapters alternate between Alex, Maddie (past tense), Katherine, James, Theo, Lilly, and The Wharf. The narrative includes a backstory of the sister’s childhood and mixes with the present. The Blackwell family includes Patriarch James, Matriarch Kathy, and their two children, Theo and Lilly, and they all seem to have secrets and withhold information on Maddie’s disappearance. As we follow the path of Alex investigating her sister, Maddie’s disappearance, there is a long history of secrets and deceit that goes back many decades. The characters, even with the multitude of them, were well developed with depth, mystery, they were secretive, and their backstories were sufficient to flow into the plot. The author’s writing style was complex, multifaceted, suspenseful, twisty, and mysterious. The characters backstories evolved through the story, the plot was developed in layers and even some subplots were explored. Some of the story was far-fetched and over the top, some of the events diluted the plot lines. Having said that, the ending was satisfying and was better than I thought it would be. There were a few plot holes left, but it does not detract from the story.

This was a slow burn mystery that kept you engaged. The author does a stellar job at setting the tone, detailing this charming town, and keeping the reader engaged. With the multiple POVs, it was sometimes hard to connect to particular character, and the character crossover sometimes diluted the plot. However, this was an enjoyable read and I would read other books by this author. I would recommend to other readers.

This was such a thrilling read! There were so many twists and turns and some of them had my jaw dropping.

I loved that we got multiple perspectives in this book. It allowed us to really get into the heads of the characters and figure out their part in all of the mystery.

I am definitely looking forward to more from this author!

It’s very hard to juggle a plot that makes sense with this many characters in this many perspectives however this was beautifully done.

When her sister goes missing, after months of not speaking, Alex follows clues to find her sister Maddie. She ends up in the Hamptons, at an eerie manor of a wealthy family. There’s lots a red flags here, between the scorned wife, the overly friendly husband, the party-boy, overly privileged son, and the withdrawn, troubled daughter… but Alex ends up their house guest, in hopes to find her sister.

Everyone has secrets, which was a delight to read!

The Perfect Sister was reminiscent of a sally Hepworth novel, in that it’s emotional, intense, and wildly atmospheric — a must read!

A summer thriller set in the Hamptons, sold! This is the story of two sisters, Alex and Maddie who survive a traumatic childhood and now as adults, promise to spend a week together every year in their childhood hometown. This is a tradition they uphold for years- until they don't one summer when Maddie suddenly cancels her trip home and stops responding to Alex all together. Alex must trace Maddie's last steps, which brings her to the Blackwell family, a wealthy family with deep ties in the Hamptons and the secrets they may be hiding.

I really enjoyed the multiple POVs and storytelling of this thriller and feel like the look into the sisters' past told a well-rounded and suspenseful mystery. I wouldn't describe this as "fast-paced", but I enjoyed the story arc and POVs of all the characters. There were some extraneous plot elements and relationships that I thought the story could have lived without, and made it feel a bit longer than it needed to be. Overall, this is a good mystery/thriller to read during the summertime, especially if you a beachside.

It's ok... nothing particularly memorable for me. The cover was giving me tension and suspense way more than the story did. I wasn't feeling the stakes. The plot build up was slow, the level of emotional investment was weak. It's just not a standout in the genre.

2.5⭐️

I liked the premise of this book - A woman travels to the Hamptons to search for her sister, who is missing. Unfortunately this book was just so-so. The first part was very slow, and while I enjoyed the multiple POVs, I didn’t find myself reaching for this book to find out what happened next. It did pick up somewhat in the end but overall it was somewhat predictable and not very memorable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴏʀʏ: After Maddie fails to call her twin sister on her birthday for the first time ever, Maddie heads to the Hamptons to figure out what happened to her sister.

ᴍʏ ᴛᴡᴏ ᴄᴇɴᴛs: This was a solid thriller. It was engaging and intriguing, it definitely kept me reading late into the night.

It was pretty easy to figure out Alex’s connection to the family she was staying with, but I read a ton of thrillers. That didn’t take away from the story either because I was dying to find out if I was right and there was still a twist or two that completely took me by surprise.

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮:
👯 love a sister bond
👯 enjoy connecting the dots between characters
👯 want the Hamptons summer vibes

This was my first book from Stephanie DeCarolis. Probably won't be my last. I gave this book 4 stars. It had a really good story line but I do think it drug on a bit and then the ending was a bit rushed.

Wow! Who saw all these twists coming? I was rolling along with each character that we were lead to believe "killed" Madison, and then there was another wrench.

Very much liked the writing style of this author (first one I've read by her) and I've set up on Amazon to follow for upcoming novels.

I thought I would mind that Madison was still alive, but I was able to swallow it. I had issues initially with all the threads that kept coming up, but was very satisfied with how everything wrapped up, and the causes for the characters actions.

I have never read anything from this author previously but I am so glad I read The Perfect Sister. This book was a suspense thrill ride from the beginning to the end. Stephanie does an excellent job with developing her characters and this is the perfect book to read in one sitting. If you read this book, be prepared to cancel all of your other plans because you will not want to stop until the satisfying and stunning conclusion.

A Revenge-esque novel in atmosphere. Loved the decadent setting and rich people behaving badly. A smart, fun thriller.