Growing up, Alex and Maddie Walker were one year apart and were very close sisters. Their father drove a truck and their mother was a waitress and aspiring actress. Sadly, their father left them and their mother drank herself to death. Maddie went on to college with a goal of becoming a doctor. Alex was stuck in her home town working in a hardware store.

Alex has been trying to reach Maddie but she is not answering her calls. Her roommate said she was going to the Hamptons to work a waitressing job there. So, Alex heads there to find her. No one has seen her in a while but she meets a girl named Lily who said Maddie had been staying with her but had left. She then invites Alex to stay at her home, Blackwell Manor, a very large mansion. Lily’s parents, James and Katherine, welcome her and let her stay in the luxurious pool house. They also have a son, Theo, who is a party guy and heavy drinker. As Alex investigates the people who knew Maddie, she finds that she had gotten mixed up with a bad group of people. The story flashes back and forth from Alex to Maddie’s point of view. There are a lot of suspects here but who is the truly evil one?

The story shows what money can do to some people by giving them the idea that they can do anything they want and get away with it. In this case, some do. I hope not all wealthy people are like this.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thank you in advance to NetGalley & publisher for allowing me an arc in exchange for an honest review


- I believe the multiple points and pov’s sort of made the bigger plot lines become muddy, but I over all think the whole thing was entertaining.

This one wasn’t a hit for me bug I’ve read another by her and that was fantastic!

Maybe it just wasn’t my vibe, no fault to the author/

3.5/5, rounded up.

A fast paced story that kept me guessing. Alex is searching for her sister that went to the Hamptons to work for the summer and disappeared. As she digs in to the family that her sister Maddie stayed with before disappearing she keeps finding more things that don't make sense. Things came to light near the end that I wasn't expecting and I really liked this one!

I had a very difficult time trying to get interested in this book and the characters. I actually set it aside for awhile and then restarted it. I found the characters boring and the storyline difficult to follow and just could not get interested in the story. I like this authors writing and enjoyed her previous books but this one was somewhat confusing with the back and forth past and present and with the different characters. I found myself confused fairly often. Ending was good but overall I was not impressed. Thank you to NetGalley, Stephanie DeCarolis and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Alex's older sister Maddie has always been successful and polished, someone she looked up to. The two sisters spend one week together every summer, but now Maddie is missing. Alex follows her sister’s footsteps to the Hamptons and the Blackwell family, the last people to have seen Maddie. The Blackwells have wealth and privilege, everything Alex had grown up without. But looks can be deceiving, and that life of luxury always comes at a cost.

Maddie has gone missing, and after losing the rest of her family, Alex is determined to track her down. Lily Blackwell is anxious and the first to admit she knows who Maddie is, and her mother Katherine is the glamorous wife and mother in the family who is suspicious of Alex from the start. With multiple POV's and back and forth timelines, we see the relationship that Maddie and Alex had, as well as the friends she made in the Hamptons before she met Lily Blackwell and was invited to their manor home. Maddie became involved with the business, and their family, and then disappeared. Alex tries to track down her last few days, finding her friends, the places she had gone to, and the people that she had talked to. It's a fascinating look into the lives of the Blackwells and their friends; anything that potentially goes wrong is completely erased due to money and influence. It's a world Alex isn't part of, and one that makes her very uncomfortable.

The early chapters build up the suspense, because each of the Blackwells knows more than they are telling, and wants to keep their status quo in place. Theirs is a charmed, rich life, and they're willing to do just about anything to keep it that way. I had to race to finish this book because I had to know what happened next. The clues along the way and the glimpses into different characters' perceptions heightened the tension and made for a very thrilling conclusion. This is definitely a great summer thriller.

This story centers around a pair of sisters, Maddie who has gone missing and Alex who is searching for her. This story grabbed me from the start, pulled me in and held me to the end. It was paced well, interesting main characters with a twist that I didn't see coming until about 3 paragraphs before it happened.

There were a few more twists at the end that were also satisfying. This was an easy and fun read, I only wish that we got a bit more interaction between Alex and Ben, I think that was a missed opportunity.

The Perfect Sister has an intriguing premise that immediately drew me in... Alex's sister, Maddie, is missing, and it becomes immediately clear that people in the town know more than they are letting on. It's a multi-faced mystery, but not necessarily a heart-pounding thriller. The story is told through Alex's. present day search as well as Maddie's experience before going missing. It takes a few bizarre, unexpected turns and while some will find the ending satisfying, it honestly made me roll my eyes. Some will LOVE this book. For me, The Perfect Sister was an entertaining, decent summer read.

Thanks to NetGalley for early access.

I really enjoyed this book, but I wasn't crazy about the ending and how it took so long to get to the point. I feel like the ending was kind flat and just ended. I wanted more of the investigation and I wanted more of the father daughter relationship as well. I did like that we truly didn't know what happened to Maddie and definitely kept me guessing but the ending just felt rushed. hearing that he was Maddies father was wild and definitely made me gasp wasn't expecting that's for sure. all in all it was a good book but I just wanted a little more.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion. Where to start with this book? I was excited to read this book but I had a hard time getting through it. However, as I got further involved with the story, my attention was captured and the twist towards the end… well I didn’t see it coming, The story is about Alex Walker who is trying to find her missing sister Maddie. Alex is able to trace Maddie’s whereabout in the Hamptons and discovers the family that she was staying with. The Blackwell family, James, Katherine, Theo and Lily have their own secrets and as we get into the book, we find out the connection with Maddie and this family. There are two story lines intertwined here and I didn’t like where one of the stories was going, but I will say the author did a good job of tying the loose ends together at the end. I did give this book four stars for the surprise twist. Enjoy!

Ahhh family. They are the people who make you, well you. There are all different families. The ones that are boisterous, noisy bunch, they always seem like they have it together. The families that do not vibe, or just feel off. The families where the parents either disappear or slip into addiction. Each of these families bring up children in their own way. Making them strong and independent, or the exact opposite, standoffish and timid. Alex and Maddie were always there for one another. Irish twins, so close in age everyone thought they came out as a pair. Having to grow up quickly in order to care for their mother who spiraled out of control when their father walked out the door, never to return again.

Maddie has big dreams, to become a doctor, and make it out of their small town. Alex had to take care of her mother and their home as everything crumbled around her. Alex is 100% there for Maddie, until she gets a troubling message that she will not be home for their birthday. They have a pact to always be together on that day. When Maddie is unreachable. Alex heads to the last place she was, the Hamptons. The exact opposite of the place she ever thought Maddie would be. She finds ties to a rich family that has more money than you can possibly imagine. They are off, everytime Alex is near them she feels the urge to run. But what happened to Maddie?

I loved all of the twists and turns in this book. I had about half of it figured out, but I did not go deep enough. The Blackwell family and Manor is a fantastic addition to the book. Making me want to devour it in one sitting. Thank you to Stephanie DeCarolis and Bantam for my gifted copy of this sensational read.

This is a solid thriller that I really enjoyed! I loved all the twists and turns and overall this book is very well done. The ending seemed a bit ridiculous but I love how she wrapped the ending up.

This was a very intense read from an author that is new to me. I will definitely be looking for more of her works. There’s a lot of suspense and mystery and every time I thought I might have the answer, it wasn’t right.


I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I voluntarily listened and reviewed an audio of this book via NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating: 3/5 Stars
Publishing: July 16, 2024
Pages: 336

This a first time read by Stephanie DeCarolis, new author to this reader. “The Perfect Sister” begins with Alex, who never misses a birthday with her sister, unfortunately now has to go on a mission to find her missing sister, Maddie in the Hamptons. Her sister’s last place of residence was the Blackwell’s mansion; however, no one has ever heard from Maddie in days. Alex then goes on a mission seeking help from anyone who may have had contact with Maddie. This book had too many dynamics going on to really concentrate on the central pat of the story. Some parts made you wonder off into the deep end of thought as they seemed too uncommon. This story dragged that I had to put it down and pick up again to bring it to completion. An okay read but on the borderline of boring for me.

I did enjoy the mystery of figuring out what happened to her sister. There was so much going on and so many people that were acting suspicious. In fact, it felt like all of the characters had a dark side. There were definitely some twists that I did not see coming.

This story involves so many points of views and I think that is one of the reasons I struggled to fully connect to the story. I think there is more suspense when we only get one person’s point of view and then maybe get other points of view later to explain what happened. It just felt like there was too much filler and not enough suspense.

Overall, I think this was a good story, but it didn’t have the ‘edge of my seat’ suspense I was expecting.

The Perfect Sister by Stephanie Decarolis is a mystery, but not a typical one. Alex has come to the Hamptons to find her sister, Maddie, from whom she hadn’t heard recently. It had been her birthday and Maddie would not have not been in touch. It turned into a convoluted mess but not one any reader would guess. There were plenty of people who thought they knew what was going on, not that they would share, but they were all wrong. It is astounding to know how far people will go to protect what they cherish, be it people or things. Alex kept pushing. Someone knew about her sister. And, she was going to find out who and what. She was a good character, given that she’d grown up with an alcoholic mother. She’d stayed to take care of her. Maddie left. And as she asked questions she found out Maddie had told plenty of lies. To her. Why?

I don’t normally loved psychological thrillers and this really didn’t turn out to be one, although it certainly had elements of one. It was a complicated whodunit. Well-plotted; nerve-wracking. It had way too much to do with privilege, of which Alex had none. But, interestingly, privilege comes in different forms. And Alex discovered that her mother had had an earlier life, one that possibly sent her down the path she took. It was intriguing and captivating. Thanks Stephanie for this story!

I was invited to read The Perfect Sister by Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #RandomHousePublishingGroupBallanatine #StephanieDecarolis #ThePerfectSister

The perfect sister or is she. Maddie cancels her annual trip to meet her sister Alex. The story takes place in the Hanptons making this a perfect beach read. I was hooked from the start. A missing sister a manor in the hamptons and a weird family . Told from different character perspectives always makes for a fast read for me because II need to know what happens. and with each chapter everyone becomes suspect!

What a perfect summer read! This is exactly what I mean when I saw I want to read a thriller. The Hamptons setting was perfect for a summer thriller and the Blackwell family were so entitled I was dying to know what horrible things they were hiding. I enjoyed the multiple POVs and different timelines. Each character had their own demons to hide and I was eager to see how it all came together in the end.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and Bantam for the ARC.

The perfect read to take with you on vacation, sure to keep you captivated for hours while working on that perfect tan. DeCarolis did a good job of building tension, and the story is worthy of a true-crime mystery. Maddie has disappeared, and Alex is determined to track her down, quickly falling into a world of mystery, danger, and facades that often hide the truth. We get to see both the past and present, giving more depth to everything. I loved the multiple POVs, including the mysterious ones, as it allowed me to experience the story from many angles while trying to piece together the truth behind Maddie's disappearance alongside Alex. The characters are well-developed, and while you may not like all of them, they're all quite interesting. For the most part, the story moves along at a smooth, decent pace, but there were a few lulls. (I promise it's worth pushing through the lulls!) The ending wrapped everything up nicely, and although I was sad to reach the end, I was happy with how it went (but no spoilers).

A decent read. I can’t say that I love it though. It kept my attention enough to finish the book but barely. Given the premise, one would think that it would be more fast-paced but this was slow-burning and can be a bit boring at times. I can appreciate the fact that it was an easy read as sometimes, you just want a storyline that is not too complicated.

This was the first book that I have read by Stephanie DeCarolis, and it did not disappoint! The Perfect Sister was a complex thriller that kept me guessing and with an interesting twist that I did not anticipate. I look forward to pickig up more books by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Random House Publishing for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review.