3.5-3.75 Stars
A thriller that's part coming-of-age story and part family tragedy. This novel reveals the plot one clue at a time like peeling back the layers of an onion. Interesting character dynamics, solid writing and pace for a debut author, although the ending could be better. It's definitely a page turner and I will look for other works by the author in the future.

Net Galley Feedback

This was a great debut book! Suspenseful and just kept me wanting to read. I look forward to more from this author.

A solid debut, The Winter Sister is a well written whodunit, rich in detail but that fell a little flat for me. Sylvie’s sister was murdered when she was a teenager and the case eventually went cold. Sylvie is positive that the boyfriend did it, but she is hiding many secrets. After the murder, Sylvie’s mom unravelled and their relationship was destroyed forever. Told from Sylvie’s point of view, she is a likable character who blames herself for her sister’s death, but her mother is such a despicable person that it was hard for me to relate to Sylvie’s plight to get close to her again. Yes, she has cancer and who can possibly root against someone undergoing chemo... well, turns out some characters are so irredeemable that even being at death's door can't make them sympathetic. The plot also relies too heavily on coincidence, rather than have the characters earn the knowledge they seek. Except for some places where there were too many details that made my attention wander, the rest of the story held my interest, so it is entertaining enough, just not my cup of tea.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Atria Books!

It’s been sixteen years since her sister Persephone was murdered. Sylvie has created herself a new life, far away from home, but now she has to return to her hometown and confront her seriously ill mother. It doesn’t take long until all that happened that winter night comes back to her, especially when she meets Ben, her sister’s boyfriend, her sister’s murderer. Yet, Ben insists in his innocence. But can she trust him? And what about her mother who always refused to tell the girls who their respective fathers are and who also refused to talk about that night. Is it time now to open Pandora’s box and let the truth out?

Megan Collins’ debut is at the first glance a typical murder case: an 18-year-old girl is strangled and the murderer has been running free for sixteen years. However, at the second glance, it is much more a story about family relationships, about secrets and about love and trust. The small family of three females lived on secrets and lies, had they ever been open and honest with each other, the death of one daughter could have been prevented. Yet, that’s how human beings are, sometimes they lack the necessary courage to do what is right and thus risk to lose all they love.

The novel is well-created, even though at a certain point it is quite obvious how all the dots are linked, I found it full of suspense. Telling the story through Sylvie’s eyes gives you a certain bias at the beginning, but the missing pieces and gaps add to the thrill and the big questions marks Sylvie herself feels can also be experienced by the reader. Collins’ biggest strength is certainly the creation of the characters who all act convincingly and appear quite authentic. I am looking forward to read more from the author.

4-5 stars. A beautifully, chilling look at how families bury secrets, and how a loss can destroy many parts of that secret. A great read for those who love family dramas and chilling and thrilling reads.
Will highly recommend to the members of Chapter Chatter Pub.

I read an early copy of this debut novel by Megan Collins and there's a letter from her publisher at Simon & Schuster saying how blown away they were, commenting that they finished reading the novel in record time and couldn't wait to put it into the hands of their colleagues.

I probably wasn't quite as enamoured but certainly enjoyed the this book which offers some great character development and a few twists you may not see coming. 

I really liked Sylvie. We meet her when Persephone goes missing so we get the chance to identify with the 14yr old who's struggling with guilt over secrets she's kept and things she's done. Naturally these fester so when we meet her again 16 years later she hasn't entirely emerged from her childhood unscathed.

Sylvie and Persephone's mother Annie completely breaks down (to the point of being incapable of looking after her younger daughter) after Persephone's death which is quite a surprise as Sylvie has (almost obviously) always been the favourite. In fact this was a common gripe of Persephone's though Sylvie tried to deny that it was the case.

"Sometimes, Persephone would say to me, it's like you and I have two different mothers. But we didn't. We had one mother one woman who had birthed us both. Maybe it was just the two of us who'd been different - one who saw her clearly, and one who saw her impossibly, as a garden constantly in bloom." p 191*

It's weird then that her mother lets Sylvie disappear from her life and is consumed by the loss of one of her daughters. But not the other.

Now, forced to return home and care for her mother, Sylvie's reminded of the past and confronted by the boy, now man, she believes killed her sister.

But... there are secrets. More and more secrets which are slowly revealed and, though I guessed at one or two, I was still horrified at the behaviour of some of those involved.

think this would be a great bookclub book as the relationship between Ben and Persephone (and how it played out) would be ideal for discussion (or debate). This is a bit of a spoiler-alert, though we learn about it very early on in the book: Persephone often arrives home from dates with Ben covered in bruises. She commits her sister to secrecy and of course that's just another reason Sylvie feels guilty that she didn't reveal what was happening.

And now, Ben offers up a plausible explanation... but I couldn't help but wonder if it's the same kind of excuse domestically violent men use to justify their behaviour or how they rid themselves of any guilt.

Having said that, although we didn't meet young Ben I liked older Ben.

I thought Collins did a good job with the characters, from Sylvie, her mother and aunt as well as the detectives who investigated her sister's case. I probably would have liked a little more from the detectives, but Sylvie was a worthy lead and her 'journey' (sorry!), family secrets and revelations the strength of this debut novel.

I look forward to more from Collins.

Excellent debut novel, incorporating great character development, well paced story and unexpected twists. Highly recommended.

Thank you to Net Galley and Touchstone Books for this advance read in exchange for my honest review. This is a debut novel and a very, very good one. I was drawn in from sentence one and I didn't want to put it down until I'd finished it. The characters were well done, and the plot was intriguing. I was very impressed, and I've already marked the author down as one I'll be following.

This was the perfect mix of psychological thriller and family drama! Can't believe this was a debut by this author!

The Winter Sister by Megan Collins was sent to me by Net galley in exchange for an honest review.

This book captured my interest in the very beginning . A book about the diferent famaily dynamics with sisters , Moms and sisters and father and son. And it just proves that you never really know anyone the way you think you do . There is also a reason people feel and react differently weather it be right or wrong , with the wrong motive or is it the right one?
This one kept me interested until the end with well developed characters and a faced paced well developed story. Yes I do recommend.

Excellent debut novel. I loved that it was an original storyline and it drew me in right away. I thought there might be more tension towards the end of the book as the main character drew closer to the truth but it didn't need it because of the tension in each of the relationships.

I received an advanced copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book had me on the edge of my seat the whole time! It was definitely a book that kept you thinking! I would definitely recommend this book to fellow readers. Thank you!

A gripping story that highlights the hidden past of the families involved.

A tangled web of family secrets may have bigger repercussions than anyone could ever have imagined.

A suspenseful, character driven drama that explores a complicated relationship between a mother, Annie and her two daughters, Sylvie and Persephone.

Sylvie has plenty of reasons to feel guilty (at least in her mind) about her sister's unsolved murder. There is a reason she feels the guilt. I loved the close bond the two sisters shared. Sylvie did her best to watch over Persephone. almost like she wanted to be her guardian angel.

The story line jumps between sixteen years ago on the night Persephone never came home to present day and her case is as cold as ever.

Sylvie returns home years later, as an adult, to care for her ailing mother. Her ever present guilt drives her to start asking questions about Persephone's murder. Can she find the answers that the police failed to come up with? Who has kept secrets for all these years? She may have secrets of her own.

A haunting story of love, obsession, and a search for redemption. I was able to predict some things early on, but enjoyed the well developed characters and the emotional journey. I'll be interested in what this author writes next!

The Winter Sister by Megan Collins Isn't an edge of your seat thriller. It quietly gets under your skin, where you feel compelled to continue reading, wanting to know the entire story. Twists and turns and some back and forth in time make The Winter Sister a story that will linger. I was given an early copy to read.

I realize human nature is sometimes unpredictable, but there were characters in this story whose motivations didn't seem particularly believable. A mother who loved her child so much she treated her like crap? Okay, that didn't ring true to me, nor did the reason behind the ultimately revealed murder mystery. And perhaps, the most irritating feature was the sister's name of "Persephone." A strange complaint, I know, but that name popped up multiple times on every single page and it drove me nuts ...maybe because I had to keep figuring out how to pronounce it!

Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

This one is tricky. I didn’t love it or hate it. I liked it. I wasn’t consumed by the story, but it kept me interested in order to find out what exactly and had happened to Persephone. And who killed her.

The narrative is okay...and Sylvie is reliable as a narrator. I enjoyed her voice and perspective. She was easy to sympathize with regarding all aspects of the story.

One of the hardest pieces of the story to relate to was Annie, Sylvie and Persephone’s mother. Perhaps relate is the wrong choice, but I didn’t despised her character. And even after finishing the book, I don’t think she ever redeemed herself for what she did, things she said, etc. Regardless of being ill, I couldn’t give her behavior a pass in the past or present day. She was essentially a terrible human being.

I loved Ben...despite the accusations against him. And as I got to know him the more the story progressed, he was definitely one of the better characters. I felt his guilt. His pain. His love.

As for the mystery: it wasn’t hard to figure out as clues started appearing. Most suspects were far too obvious and therefore I felt that they may have been guilt of other incidents, but not murder. The one aspect I couldn’t piece together was a motive. And really, considering the big (not shocking) reveal the girls’ mother had been hiding, it was disturbing. Not so much in the why, but just as a “how could this person do this?” There is another part of the story that completely grossed me out and had me once again pissed off at Annie and also Ben’s father. That was also the turning point of the entire tale, as well.

Anyhow, I did enjoy unraveling the story. Like I said earlier, it’s nothing completely captivating, but it’s enough to keep the reader engaged. I did think parts dragged as it had pacing and plot issues. A lot of nothing taking place often. But overall, a good read.

AMAZING, AMAZING, AMAZING! Literally y'all, you HAVE to read this book. I was shocked at the ending but the best part was that this story kept my attention until the very last word. I cannot say enough good things about this novel. And oh my the characters were truly some of my favorites. I hope that Megan Collins writes another one soon because I need to read more of her stories!!! Seriously, read this book, you will finish it in one day.

For the first 80%, i was loving this book. I was concerned early on that it would be going in a certain direction but was relieved that it was not—-until 80% in where the plot went there. The topic addressed in the twist is not one I find entertaining and It also led the book to lose all credibility for me. What two characters allow to happen in order to protect themselves (one in particular) is vile. The book is well written and was on track to receiving a 5 star rating from me until the twist. I enjoyed the writing style and will read her next novel because I figure she won’t pull this certain topic out of her hat twice.

The story behind an unsolved murder slowly starts unravelling. Lots of secrets and lies. It's a well written book and it grabbed me from the start. I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone that enjoys mysteries and thrillers.

Sylvie O’Leary’s 18 year old sister, Persephone, was murdered 16 years ago. Persephone was last seen getting into her boyfriends car on a snowy evening—as opened and closed as the case may have to appeared to Sylvie, no one was ever charged with the horrible crime.

After all these years, Sylvie has come back to her hometown to help take care of her mother, Annie, as she battles cancer. After Persephone’s death, Annie had a breakdown and from that point on Sylvie’s relationship with her mother was severely severed.

Being back in the house she grew up in has stirred up old wounds. The biggest wound being the fact that Persephone’s murder is still unsolved. Determined, Sylvie starts digging for clues on her own and little does she know what she will uncover!!!!

What a fantastic read! I adore when I get completely lost in a novel and The Winter Sister definitely delivered that— unputdownable! Megan Collins tackles the intricate relationship between mothers/daughters/sisters and in doing so has created an addictive and edgy storyline! The Winter Sister is a complete 5 star read that will have you hooked the entire way through. I have to say I was shocked to learn that this is Megan Collins’ debut novel because she writes as if she is a seasoned veteran! This is an author that everyone should keep on their radar—I cannot wait to read what she has up her sleeve next!