I really enjoyed this book. The story started off a bit slow but picked up pretty quick and kept rolling. When Shayna finds an ominous message from her twin sister Angela who is missing in Paris, you don't know who to trust. Many twist and turns.

The Missing Sister by Elle Marr was one of those thrillers that has you gripped from the start, and I really enjoyed how suspenseful it was.

The pace was very steady, and I couldn't wait to find out what had happened to Angela and who the killer was. I think Marr did a really good job of making you suspicious of everyone and even though I wasn't super shocked by the ending, a couple of things definitely surprised me. The end merges into disturbing and a touch gory, but the majority of the book isn't like that at all so if you are squeamish I think you should be able to read this just fine.

I was captivated by the mystery, and the catacombs in Paris was such a unique and fascinating setting. I liked reading about Paris in general, but I knew nothing about the catacombs going into it and it made the book quite creepy and even more interesting.

I was also a huge fan of the twin aspect. I haven't read many books about twins, so it was nice to have something different. There was definitely a lot going on, but The Missing Sister was a solid, suspenseful thriller and I look forward to seeing what Marr comes up with next!

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book, all opinions and thoughts are my own.

The Missing Sister, by Elle Marr, is a twisty, dark journey through the catacombs of Paris and the City of Lights. Twins Shayna and Angela haven't spoken in three years when Shayna is summoned to Paris after receiving the tragic news her sister has died. When she arrives sees a message from Angela meant only for her-that she is alive and not to trust anyone. From here the story takes flight as Shayna encounters Angela's friends, fellow graduate students as well as potential enemies. Chasing vague and mysterious clues Shayna finds herself in danger, not knowing who to trust or how to find Angela. With threats closing in, will Shayna find Angela in time?

Overall, The Missing Sister is a 3.5 out of 5 star read. The premise is a solid 4-5; however the character development (or lack thereof), some plot points not addressed/wrapped up and a really long lead up to the payoff causes the story to lose some its potential. I enjoyed the writing and the descriptions of modern day Paris allow the city to serve as a silent, main character. I will definitely read the writer's next book.

Thank you to the writer, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Missing Sister starts off with all the elements of a good thriller: a missing twin sister, potential murder, Paris, suspicious boyfriends and colleagues and a serial killer!?

I enjoyed the Paris setting and how the author used landmarks throughout the story and how it became an integral part of the mystery and Shayna's journey to learn more about her sister, Angela. And I was intrigued at the beginning, trying to out the pieces together when new characters were introduced and figuring out who to trust. Unfortunately, this one ultimately fell flat for me and I struggled to connect with the characters, the suspense did not draw me in and the coincidences became too many to believe in what was supposed to be a realistic setting. Many others have enjoyed this book, so I recommend reading several reviews to see if it could be the book for you.

2

Angela and Shayna are identical twins who have been estranged on separate continents for a while. Angela receives word her sister is missing, and everyone believes her to be dead. Angela finds a clue meant for only her, leading her to believe Shayna is alive.
There is a large cast of characters, and was a quick read that will keep you guessing.

Oooooh, I liked being back in Paris while reading this book and running across so many places I have visited in the past. The story was fun and exciting and FULL of twists. I look forward to Elle Marr's next book.

i don't want to sound mean, but this book could have been so much better. If it was written by someone else.

The book started ok and for the first chapters I had good hopes for the story. But then it went downhill very fast.

A lot of things were way to predictable and a lot of aspects seemed off. they didnt fit in the story and it really felt like the writer herself had forgetten some of the plotlines.
The characters were one dimensional, I dint feel sympathy for any of them. A lot of the story was just a cliché and felt more like it were stories we already know thrown together and tried to make something out of it.

I really wanted to like this, but it took all my willpower to even finish the book.

The location of Paris is a crucial component of the well-plotted suspense identical twin device. Shayna has come to identify and return home with the body of her sister. But the message she finds in Angela's apartment contradicts the body in the morgue. "Trust no one" should mean that...but Shayna is also the damaged twin.

Angela appears to have found a more accepting "family" in the Parisian academic scene, where she was pushing through a doctoral degree. She had a comfortable safe location close to her studies--until she disappeared and "found" days later in the River Seine.

Here is my problem: Shayna has a finite amount of time to either claim the body and return home with it, or, feeling she would have "felt" it if her sister died, has the same short time to find her. And the pace slows...

Shortly upon her arrival, the reader is introduced to the first of a number of suspicious characters, red herrings, lovely jaunts through the city and atmospheric street-side cafes. In between the sojourns, she digs into Angela's papers, belongings, anything looking for additional twin-type clues. The process doesn't get really serious until near the conclusion and Shayna makes some bad choices in between.

There is shared history to examine, the relationship between the twins and the secret--that awful secret between them that instilled what appears to be a permanent wedge. In this case, I couldn't identify with either Shayna nor Angela, and while I enjoyed the travelogue, didn't the French support characters. The big reveal doesn't exactly come as a shock--you probably guessed it all along--but I did enjoy the hair-raising climax.

A meaningful effort for a debut and I can see where this author may grow into a compelling storyteller--this was a decent start. Just wish it hadn't been spoon-fed quite so sparingly. I received this digital download from the publisher through NetGalley and greatly appreciated the opportunity to read and review. 3.5/5 stars

See my full review at https://rosepointpublishing.com/2020/04/03/the-missing-sister-by-elle-marr-a-bookreview-thriller/

Shayna goes to Paris to identify her twin at the morgue, she finds a message written in twin language "trust no one" and sets out to find what really happened to her sister. This book was okay. It has all the potential to knock it out of the park, however it was a swing and a miss.

Although they have been estranged for many years, Shayna rushes to France to identify the body of her twin sister, Angela, after it is presumed that she has been murdered. Their separation from one another following past events as well as a seemingly altogether new life in a different country convinces Shayna that she doesn't really know her sister; however, upon entry into her Angela's apartment, it becomes clear to her that something is truly wrong. As twins, they have always believed they share an inexplicable bond, and it is those very innate feelings that thrust Shayna into a personal quest to figure out not only what happened to her sister, but perhaps come to finally understand her as well. Though the story spans the course of only six action-packed days, this ultimately is a slow-burning mystery about the dysfunctional relationship that exists between two sisters.

During this time of self-quarantining and lockdowns, this is an incredibly well-timed book to pick up due to its French destination. You'll travel extensively through the Paris Catacombs and visit the seedy underbelly of the red light district all while the Sorbonne, Notre Dame, the Louvre, and the Eiffel Tower sit within your periphery. The story does an amazing job of detailing the history of the Catacombs, but seeing is really believing if you've never seen it before, so please check out these articles from Atlas Obscura and the Smithsonian Magazine for visual reference and more information. Though it was not the trip you would like to find yourself in, it was fascinating to walk through this story with Shayna as she discovered so much about her sister's academic work in Paris as well as exploring a side to the city not typically discussed.

Angela's warning of "trust no one" is absolutely the best advice, especially as a stranger in a foreign country. Just as quickly as characters appear trustworthy, their actions suggest sinister motives, leaving Shayna with no one to turn to. This becomes all the more apparent as the pacing picks up to a shocking and horrific conclusion that will leave you with chills!

Overall, this is a fresh and original story within the genre. So much talent was shown within these pages and I look forward to so much more in the future!

I love a good suspenseful, thriller-mystery and The Missing Sister by Elle Marr definitely fitted the bill for me!

When Shayna Darby receives a message advising that her estranged twin sister, Angela is dead, she decides to make the journey to Paris. Once there, she finds that not everything is as it seems. She discovers a note on a whiteboard, written to her in their secret language - a language from their childhood that only they would have understood. The message it conveys shakes Shayna to her core as it indicates that actually, Angela is very much alive. Thus, Shayna opts to keep up the pretense, identifying the body as that of her twin, and embarks on a mission to find out where, and why her missing sister is in hiding...

As Shayna attempts to follow in Angela's footsteps in the hope of finding her, she is mindful of Angela's coded warnings that Shayna must trust no one. As she tries to follow this instruction, Shayna struggles as she doesn't even speak the language, but she has many offers of help, including Seb, Angela's apparent boyfriend; Jean-Luc Fillion, a liaison worker at the American Embassy; and Valentin, a police inspector, who is ostensibly searching for a serial killer.

I enjoyed The Missing Sister immensely. It kept me guessing, with its plentiful supply of twists misdirections. Elle Marr delighted me with her first-class character development, and it was difficult to identify the good ones from the bad. As well as the impressive characterisation, I really appreciated the author's descriptions of Paris and I felt as though I was in Shayna's pocket, touring the darkest parts of the city, the catacombs, brothels and the underworld.

This was a good début novel and I am keen to read more by this promising author. I highly recommend The Missing Sister.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my request, from Thomas and Mercer via NetGalley and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

Shayna Darby is familiar with loss. Her parents death turned her life upside town. Now, she is notified that her twin sister, Angela, died in Paris. The circumstances are suspicious. Shayna leaves her life behind and heads to Paris. She is instructed to identify the body and clean out Angela’s apartment.

Upon her arrival in Paris, Shayna is met by Angela’s boyfriend. A boyfriend Shayna knew nothing about. While cleaning out Angela’s apartment, she discovers her sister left behind secret clues that only Shayna would recognize. She begins to wonder if her sister is really dead and who, if anyone, Shayna could trust.

Shayna starts her own quest for the truth and comes up with several shocking discoveries.

The premise of this story grabbed my attention immediately. This is a captivating novel that makes you think and try to put all the pieces together. The author did a good job of keeping me in suspense. I was totally engrossed watching Shayna trying to unravel the mystery of her sister. I guessed part of it early on, but I didn’t figure out the whys and hows until the big reveal at the end.

The characters, the setting and the storyline make for an intriguing adventure.

I am so hurt right now. So hurt.

Shayna Darby is finally moving on from her parent's death when she is delivered with another blow: her estranged twin sister, Angela is missing. Days later, a body is pulled from the Seine- a possible work of a serial killer and is identified as Angela. As Shayna makes her way to Paris for formal identification, putting what's left of her life on hold, she finds a cryptic message by her sister in a language they made up as kids while cleaning out her sister's apartment: Alive, Trust no one.
Shayna maintains the lie by making a positive ID on the remains and starts to retrace Angela's footsteps, trying to work out where and why Angela is hiding. As the days go by, she finds herself in Paris' underbelly and possibly, near the killer...

Wow? Twins? One of them is missing? A serial killer? Cryptic messages? PARIS? This must be good... Oops, this is NOT.
I am deeply hurt and disappointed. The first few chapters are interesting and kept me on the hook until the pace dropped. It didn't feel like a thriller and I knew who the killer was in the first few chapters. There are so many issues that I found and possible plotholes. The characters felt bland, cringy, lame and utterly stupid that it annoyed the living hell out of me. Some scenes felt cheesy and clichéd. I am never this harsh in a review but I am deeply hurt because I expected better.

The only aspect that I liked was Marr's way of describing Paris, recounting its history and adapting it. Marr is a gifted writer and I hope her next works are worth reading.

I don't recommend this to anyone as it lacked the suspense and failed to make me anticipate what would happen next. I just wanted this book to end and it was really foolish of me to think at least the climax would be worth it but no, it wasn't. A complete letdown to the plot that could have been executed better. The mystery around the entire disappearance could have been focused on in the way it should have been. You can pass on this one but I have seen mixed reviews on this one so you might like this. I didn't and I don't recommend this. If you want to give it a try, you can.

The Missing Sister has me dreaming of chocolate pastries, fresh coffee in cafes, French museums, clubs, under ground catacombs, and takes place in the beautiful city of Paris. This book was super atmospheric which was well appreciated right now, and has left me wanting to go to Paris! I’ve never been, unless you count Paris, Las Vegas. I do love staying there. 😜
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The Missing Sister is the story of two twin sisters. One twin has been murdered in Paris, and her other twin has just arrived in Paris to identify the body and pick up the pieces.
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This book did a great job of capturing and keeping my attention from beginning to end. I did guess who not to trust fairly quickly, but I definitely didn’t guess the why. I was fascinated hearing all about the beauty and dark side of Paris. I enjoyed the alternating chapters between present day and past written emails. I thought this was a unique way of giving us insight into the past. I also found the ending to be satisfactory.
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I would recommend this book to international thriller lovers, suspense lovers, and those looking for an ‘escape’ to Paris. This is available on Kindle Unlimited check out this amazing debut!

I had high hopes for this book but sadly it just didn’t deliver for me.
Shayna heads to Paris to identify a body that is though to be her twin Angela. They’ve not spoken for 3 years. On arriving at her sisters apartment she discovers a note left for her. ‘Alive. Trust no one’
What happens next is shayna running round Paris trying to find out what has happened to her sister while trying to find out who she can trust.
The premise of a good story is there but I found the ending rushed and unbelievable.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the arc in return for an honest review

Thank you to NetGalley, Elle Marr and Thomas & Mercer for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this one sounded so interesting and I was looking forward to it, but I was soon disappointed. I found right from the beginning, I was already a bit bored and I didn’t enjoy any of the characters. I had unfortunately figured out the ending and the twists about the quarter of the way in. I just found it hard to read this one personally.

This book begins with a young woman, an identical twin, arrives in Italy, and has to identify the body of her murdered sister. Can’t even imagine, and there are a pile of hurts and family dynamics all hang out here, but there is also the twins special bond and language.
There is a lot of history here, and we experience some of it, in a rather scary way, the underground, the burial ground for thousands, and brothels. A rather scary place, and a lot of the story takes place in this dismal place.
There are answers here, but I kept changing my mind as to whom to trust, and when I finally made up my mind, wow, I was surprised, and along with the reason why bodies are appearing, and with the markings.
While the book wasn’t what I was expecting, and was a bit drawn up, I did keep reading to the end for answers.
I received this book though Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours, and was not required to give a positive review.

I am finding this hard to review, I loved the setting I loved the premise of the story but I just could not connect with Shayna in the slightest I found it difficult to warm to her and in fact I don’t think I did once through the whole story.

Shayna has gone to Paris after receiving word that her twin sister Angela is dead and to identify the body. They have been estranged for several years since their parents death and whilst in Angela’s apartment Shayna discovers a secret message written in the twin code that they come up when they younger. Shayna believes that her sister is still very much alive but doesn’t know who to trust in order to find her.

She has a limited amount of time in Paris so a lot seems to happen in the upcoming days making it fast paced, but due to the lack of connection I had with Shayna I found it a long read. We have Sebastian who was Angela’s boyfriend being very pushy to find out the truth, which did flag up some dangerous signs for me and Shayna, but what transpired with him and then the ending just fell a little flat and seemed totally unbelievable.

I gave this 3.5 – rounded up to 4 stars as whilst I did not connect with the characters or the ending I did love the story and the setting. I loved Elle Marr style of writing and look forward to reading more her.

I received a free electronic ARC of this novel from Netgalley, Elle Marr, and Thomas & Mercer. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I am happy to recommend Elle Marr to friends and family. She writes a tight, intriguing mystery with understandable, interesting protagonists and with excellent backgrounds and timing.

The Missing Sister is a tale of coastal California identical twins, raised to emphasize their sameness. We meet them in fairly modern times, their late 20s, some three years after the death of their parents. The accidental death of their parents affected the girls differently, and their relationship since has been sporadic and cold.

Angela has been for the last four years living in Paris, working now on her Master's Degree with her research work on the Parisian catacombs and their roll in modern people trafficking nearing completion. Paris' Roman catacombs are five stories deep and eleven thousand square meters in surface area. Many people are familiar with the skeletal remains arranged in patterns and designs over the centuries as the long-buried dead from Paris graveyards is cycled into the catacombs to make way for the newly dead. In this way, there are six million Parisians buried in the Catacombs but still many unexplored acres down there, as well. Angela is sure the people brokers of the world are using those unexplored areas as hiding places for hostages.

Shayna is ready to start training for her medical degree in southern California when she receives a notice from the American Embassy in France that her sister Angela is missing and presumed dead in Paris. They need a family member to identify the remains. With less than a week before her classes begin, Shayna flies over to Paris to identify her sister officially, receive her remains and head back to San Diego in time for that first class on Monday.

But of course, it's not gonna happen like that. Four plus years apart have allowed them both to evolve into the adults they were meant to be. There are clues in twin speak that Shayna uncovers as she sorts through her sister's apartment for evidence the police may have overlooked in their investigation of Angela's disappearance. The first clue, written on the corner of her whiteboard, translates into "ALIVE. TRUST NO ONE." But when did Angela write it? Before, or after she trusted the wrong person?

The appointment with Inspector Valentin, the policeman investigating Angela's case, with the mortician does not go well. She is told there have been several murders that follow this same pattern, and Angela is actually wanted by the police as a possible protagonist in another murder case. The body on the coroner's table, a corpse that spent 4 or five days in the busy Seine River, could be Angela. Shayna reluctantly gives them a positive identification though there is an essential piece of identifying matter missing. And wouldn't she just know, if Angela was dead? And if Angela is really alive, whoever is killing women in Paris may still be after her. If she is labeled "deceased", everyone will stop looking for her. Shayna changes her return flight to mid-week and begins her search of Paris and the catacombs, keeps the police on point, evades Angela's boyfriend, and her upstairs neighbor, and tries to connect with Angela's friends. But it is Madame Chang, the ancient concierge of Angel's apartment building, who stands with Shayna in her exploration for the truth concerning her missing sister. Madame Chang, who reminds her so of their maternal grandmother, even down to the Cantonese swear words.

And who would have thought this sweet little old lady would know the catacombs like the back of her hand?

An unpredictable ending! Finally!! So many "thrillers" have been lackluster and predictable in 2020, but this one threw me for a loop and I loved it!

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.