THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.
DO NOT CONTINUE READING IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW "THE TWIST"

I'm firmly divided between loving and hating this one.

What I loved:
The writing is spectacular! I was totally invested and flipping the pages. The constant shifting of POVs kept me on the edge of my seat and the breadcrumb clues really kept me guessing. I also loved the "rich people behaving badly" theme and the story's gothic setting.

What I did NOT love:
I didn't love "the big reveal" or major "twist" of Sarah really being Didi. It was so unbelievable as to be annoying and reminded me of Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris.

Thanks to NetGalley as well as Thomas and Mercer for this novel to read in advance. The premise reminded me of one of novels that i liked which is called "The Drowning Kind" by Jennifer McMahon. This was not as good but it was an okay read. I find it hard to break down without giving too much away. I would suggest to read the other novel over this but it was still okay.

I didn’t get this book. Haunted house, yes, I understood that, but everything else that followed, I was lost.
This book was a miss for me

A huge Thank You to The author, The publisher and NetGalley for providing the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes to everything about this book and this author!!!!!!!!!

I have to say this was a fantastic read. Very fast-paced and gripping which causes it to be a very quick read. Lindsay Marcott has a way of writing that makes this book a very easy read and easy to immerse yourself in the story being told to you. Sometimes I find a lot of thrillers that can be hard to do but Lindsay did a fantastic job and I for one appreciate it. I also appreciated the POV switches because I fell that when a book is told from multiple POVs you get a more rounded story that you can see from all sides instead of just one. I will say that if you like Jennifer MacMahon you will absolutely love Lindsay Marcott and this book.

Ava grew up in an old mansion that her mother believed was haunted. Her mother claims to have seen the ghost and has named her Cinderella. Her mother, Christina, is an artist who makes all of her own paints and has eccentric taste. Ava and Jamie had an interesting if strange childhood.

Ava was young when their mother died and struggles with remembering what actually happened. Ava is convinced that Christina was poisoned even though that was not the official cause of death.

Many years later, Ava is now moving back into the house. It is quite run down and needs a lot of work. Jamie wants to sell it. When weird things start happening Ava wonders if maybe her mother was correct and the house is haunted. Or just maybe someone is trying to make her think that.

A lot of interesting characters in this one. I had a little trouble keeping them all straight at first, but that was much easier as the book went on. I didn't guess the twist for a while, which is always a plus. This is a hard one to describe without giving too much away. Overall, it was a good book.

Thanks to netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for the arc.

Ava lived in mansion, some say is haunted and she enjoyed her upbringing there, until her mother died. Ava strongly believed that her mother’s death was shrouded with mystery and it wasn’t a natural death. Seventeen years later she returns to the mansion and is determined to finally solve this mystery. Obstacles and secrets are set in front her to deter her from the truth. Ava is a strong willed character that a reader can root for. A thrilling and suspenseful story that is a definite page turner.

Disclaimer: Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC, I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

"From the bestselling author of Mrs. Rochester's Ghost comes the chilling story of a young woman who returns to her haunted childhood home to unravel the deadly mysteries of her family's past.

Ava grew up in a haunted mansion, envied by all her friends. But when her mother died mysteriously there, the thrills of Blackworth Mansion became nightmares. Ava never accepted that her mother perished from natural causes, but no one would believe her.

Seventeen years later, Ava returns home to unravel the truth of her mother's death - and her own demons quickly follow. Her estranged and vindictive father may be stalking her. Her secretive new sister-in-law lands on her doorstep with troubles of her own. And then there's the strange girl who may or may not be haunting the grounds. Even Ava's romance with her first crush is shadowed by her suspicions.

When Ava makes a terrifying discovery on the property, she must decide just how far into the past she's willing to go. Some secrets can be deadly - especially the ones Ava's kept hidden in the dark."

Haunted homes, haunted legacies, bring on the hauntings!

What really happened to Ava's mother all those years ago? She grew up in Blackwood Manor with her brother James and a ghost they called Cinderella. Ava's got a plan but things go sideways when James arrives with his new wife Sarah- and then he disappears, This is told by Ava, Sarah, and Didi, whose own mother worked there- and it moves back and forth in time. It's not especially creepy (given that there's a ghost- or is there?)but it does have some good twists. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A fast entertaining read.

Shadow Sister by Lindsay Marcott is set to release on October 18, 2022 and is published by Thomas & Mercer. This was my first time reading this author and I did enjoy this book. I believe it’s the perfect read for the month of October as the main setting takes place in an old mansion called Blackworth Mansion that is old and creepy and thought to be haunted. It’s the childhood home of Ava and Jamie Holland. Ava returns home to live at the mansion after being away for many years to try and find answers to some of her questions as to what really happened to her mother and what caused her death. The mansion supposedly is inhabited by a ghost named Cinderella and that adds to the spookiness of the story. The addition of the secondary characters brings the story to life and although I pretty much had the plot all figured out very early on, I still really enjoyed the story. If creepy settings and somewhat crazy characters set on revenge appeals to you then I’m sure you’ll enjoy this book as well. I recommend it and think with Halloween coming right up, it’s the perfect read for this time of year. I’d like to thank NetGalley for the arc that I received off the Read Now section. I thought it was a really good story and I hope to read more by this author in the near future. I’m giving this a 4 star rating!

This book was well written, intriguing, and kept me thinking. Thrillers in haunted houses are something I have a fondness for, and this fulfilled that need.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the chance to read this book!

This is a prime example of a book that successfully weaves past and present with multiple narratives, which isn't always what happens with some authors. A story woven with love, ghosts, revenge and obsession, I found this unputdownable. I figured out the twist halfway through, but there was still enough goings-on to make me question myself and the conclusion I had drawn.
This is type of book that could become a movie, in the best way possible. I love that Ava had hope at the end, and a sense of belonging something we all both crave and deserve.

This is a thriller I will remember for a long time for sure. The way the author writes made the book feels fast-paced because it was gripping making it easy to fly through the pages, I just didn't want to put it down. The characters are ones I want to root for and care about, each has motives and stories that are not too overwhelming, just realistic enough to be understood.

The plot twist. , I like a good plot twist but it needs to be believable enough and this book did just that. I'd say it's a smart one and impactful enough, but then again, not a big plot twist frenzy so I might not be the best judge for it.

Ava grew up in Blackworth Mansion, a very haunted home. Her mother died there under mysterious circumstances and Ava never accepted that she died from natural causes like everyone else believes. The plot has a very gothic spooky feel to it. The main twist of the story was kind of easy to figure out but it was still an enjoyable read overall. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.

Shadow Sister by Lindsay Marcott is a chilling thriller, that was a little out there for me. I basically had it figured out from maybe halfway through the book. The main characters in the book are Ava and Jamie (siblings) each struggling with issues surrounding their lives growing up. The book is told in 3 points of view, which I really don't like in a book so that I am sure colors my opinions of a book. Having said that I do recommend others read the book, because not everyone enjoys the same writing style.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read and review. The opinion expressed here are my own.

2.5 ☆

Shadow Sister is a thrilling book with moments that kept me on the edge, with a chilling atmosphere that made me hold my breath, a writing that had a mix of creepy and beauty and questionable characters all around was a novel that held me in and got me hooked. Although the pacing was off sometimes, felt a little repetitive and the timeline got me a little confused sometimes it didn't fail to keep my attention since i read basically 80% of it in a day.
However not everything is perfect and i did predict the twists which wasn't the worst part for me, i really didn't like the ending, it felt rushed and I really didn't know hot to feel or process it.
What really caught me off guard was the use of the t slur in the middle of a chapter that had no purpose except being there, it didn't matter to the story and the character never showed up again, I honestly had to reread it three times to make sure i wasn't seeing things. Even before writing this review I made sure to go back into it to see if it was actually there and I remembered it correctly, but yeah, it was. Plus there was quite a lot of fatphobic quotes. So that kind of ruined it for me.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

TWS // use of t slur (transphobia), fatphobia, suicide, sexual assault.

Shadow Sister's twisting point of views, haunting manor, and spine-chilling ghost will keep you riveted to the page until the very end.

There was a great creep factor in this book! The set-up in the beginning really solidifies the mystery of Ava's mother's death and drives the reader towards wanting to understand what happened all those years ago. I also really enjoyed the idea of a ghost haunting this manor and the way it impacted both kids as they grew up in a very clearly toxic household with parents who were struggling heavily. The "ghost" was a great representation to show the weight each family member carried after losing someone close to them as it often appeared during moments of stress for the characters.

This book was very dialogue heavy. It's my first novel by the author and I found myself struggling to stay grounded in scenes as a majority of the text is dialogue between characters and very rarely contains scene descriptions. I do feel like this book could have been tightened up in that aspect and scenes shortened, some of the character interactions feel lengthy and slow the pace of the book down even further. Unfortunately, the excitement and mystery of the beginning is somewhat tamped down in the middle and I found myself struggling as the plot dragged. I also feel like my enjoyment of this novel was impacted by me figuring out the twist early on. I loved the split point of views, but it made it very easy for me to deduce where the ending was going.

I also wished there had been a content warning for some of the plotlines and throwaway additions in this book. Going into a thriller, I don't expect a lighthearted plotline, but I think some of the more uncomfortable implications of Didi's backstory should have been warned about like sexual abuse and fatphobia throughout. A simple one page warning with some of the content wouldn't take away from the impact of said content in the novel, but it would help readers understand this isn't a simple ghost story.

Overall, I enjoyed the author's writing! I think Marcott has a great voice, but I struggled with some of the decisions made in regarding to plot and character. I went into this book hoping for a haunted house story with a little more of a punch and instead got a revenge tale. I would be willing to check out more by the author at a later time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with a copy for an honest review.

Ava goes home to her childhood house seventeen years later. It’s always been haunted. Now there’s more than a ghost, but a new mysterious sister-in-law and an eccentric girl from the past who may be creeping around.

My favorite part of the book was the haunted house and the ghost. It was the best element in the read but I felt it could have been more deeply explored. I enjoyed Didi’s parts a lot more than the others and found myself looking forward to those chapters. It was a quick, easy, and entertaining read.”

Shadow Sister comes out 10/18.

If you like a horror mixed with thriller, then this book will be a perfect choice.

Ava grew up in Blackworth Mansion, which is believed to be haunted. But when her mother died mysteriously, Ava believed that her mother was murdered although no one believed her. Seventeen-years later, Ava returned back to her childhood home. Her vindictive father might be stalking her and her brother married Sarah, a mysterious woman with a past.

It was an OK thriller in my opinion. The first part was slightly boring and the story was told in multiple POVs--Ava, Sarah and a woman named Didi who worked in Blackworth mansion in 2003, the year Ava's mother died. It was quiet a slow burn in my opinion with a hint of haunted stories about the mansion. The ending was interesting however and the twist at the ending was quiet unexpected.

Overall, if you like a thriller with a horror element in it, this book is one for you. Worth 3.5 stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is absed on my honest opinion only.

#ShadowSister by @LindsayMarcott is total fun! Lots of creepy moments and a twist I definitely didn't see coming! It could be any of this twisted and devious bunch! Terrific read, highly recommend.

P.S. Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC.