3.5 stars. Solid suspense book overall.

This is an interesting one because at times it felt tedious but I wanted to keep going. I was sucked in by the setting: old money San Franciscans moving to an early 1900s mansion in Monterey Bay. (Full disclosure, I am from California so I'm biased toward a story that not only mentions places I like but gets it right).

The three POVs initially confused me a lot, less as the book goes on but I still wish all chapters had the POV at the top, not just Didi and Sarah. Sometimes the dialogue felt stilted and was awkward to read, and sometimes the story dragged. Initially I thought there wasn't a lot of suspense building but seeing as I had a nightmare about this book, perhaps I was wrong. I could tell who the baddie was and yet, I wanted to see it played out. I wanted to know what happened, how Thomas and Cinderella fit in, how Ava would survive.

Again, as I was reading this I'm not sure how much I was enjoying it but once finished I couldn't stop thinking about it. I wish Ava would have some time to process everything, I think that would have made the ending more powerful.

A very light and quick thriller. It was easy for me to read with two kids under two constantly vying off my attention. With that being said, it was also something I could read without giving it all of my attention. A good beach read.

This was a great read! A great mystery surrounding a haunted house and haunted family. Quick and compelling read. Looking forward to more from this author

When Ava returns to her childhood home,, lots of questions arise. Is her home haunted? How did her mother really die? Very good read that I enjoyed!

I really liked her previous book, Mrs. Rochesters Ghost so I had to read this one too. It’s eerie and suspenseful and overall a great mystery.

This is my first book to read by this author but I cannot wait to read more by them! This is such a uniquely written story that you will find yourself thinking about long after you finish it. Highly recommend!!

Shadow Sister
by Lindsay Marcott

Pleasantly surprised! This was a really good, semi-gothic mystery novel. Plenty of twists and turns kept me up all night unable to put the book down. Recommended for fans of gothic horror/mystery. Very good read. 5 stars.

Ava, a woman troubled by her traumatic childhood, moves back to her childhood home to confront her past. Oh, and her house just might be haunted. Her brother, Jaimie, wants nothing to do with their home until…. His new wife becomes obsessed with it. Other troubled characters from their past appear to complicate things.

It’s filled with twists and turns. Some predictable, some not. But all were enjoyable. I couldn’t put this book down.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ebook ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

Years later, Sarah is going back to that hunted house that troubled her for years. Her mother’s dead story wasn’t so believable for her as everyone was trying to sell it.
Told from multiple narrators, the story was intriguing enough to make me want keep reading until I found out what’s actually happening.
The ending is not as much as a big twists as some may expect but one that was unpredictable for me.
The chilling parts where the house is hunted and some other more intense scenes brought up a lot of questions of who’s really behind everything. Because some clues were pointing to one character when in fact it was someone else altogether.
Entertaining and interesting read.

🆓📖 Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

Follow along with Ava as she goes back to her childhood home to find closure. The house is haunted by horrible memories and a ghost, Cinderella. Ava and Jamie's mother died when they were young, and she has never truly moved past what happened. Everyone believes that she died from a disease, but she can't shake the feeling that her mother was murdered. The story is also told from the perspective of Sarah, Jamie's new wife. Ava goes back and forth between believing there is something off about Sarah and that everything is causing her to become extremely paranoid. The third perspective is told from Didi from years ago - making you believe that maybe she had something to do with the murder. Just when I thought I knew was happening, Marcott gives you just enough information to know that you're wrong. At the end of the story, I felt like I had the right idea, just not everything which kept the story intriguing and left me satisfied with the ending.

Great read! There’s murder, haunting sand mysteries! Love this type of book! I love how Ava continues to seek answers despite what’s being thrown at her! This was a quick read! Love it!

Would be a thriller read I love and remember a long time for sure. The way the author writes made the book feels fast paced because it was gripping and I fly through the pages, I just wanna keep flipping. The characters are ones I genuinely 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 personally am not someone who's a big fan nor critical about a twist, it can be there or not be there for me to love a book, 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.

If you love Jennifer McMahon, I think you'd love this too. The story writing was nice, it's a thriller but it also makes you feel warm at times about the tragic family and sibling bond.

(NetGalley provide me an eARC copy of this book for me to review.)

I loved everything about this book! I did figure the book out part way through, but it didn't dampen my enthusiasm for finishing it. A creepy old family home, slightly bizarre characters and an old-fashioned gothic feeling kept me reading. I will warn a potential reader that if they are uncomfortable reading about mental illness, this book isn't for you.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the copy of Shadow Sister. This book started out great, it was atmospheric and creepy. This was still a great read because the writing really drew me in, it was just the execution of the ending that was disappointing to me.
I had a feeling about the big reveal and I was right, but was disappointed with the way the reveal happened and I wish it hadn’t been so obvious. I’m not sure I liked any of the characters except for maybe Ava’s mother, but at least they were all interesting! 3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to read this book. I liked it, and would like to read more by the same author!

Way too slow paced for me. I had the big reveal figured out at about 35% of the way in, so the rest of the book seemed to really drag for me. I was so glad when I finished the book.

I guessed one of the twists but what a phenomenal book! The story was detailed enough that I didn’t feel like I was missing anything, but pressed enough that I wanted to race through it. Prefect combination of thriller and ghost story!! I could not put it down. Read it in a day.

Returning to your haunted childhood home, spooky

Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review your titles. I really not the opportunity!

I do appreciate it and continue to review books that I get the chance to read.
Thanks again!

I would definitely recommend reading this book. If you love mysteries, a bit of romance, & are not afraid of discussing or reading about mental illnesses then this is the book for you.

The first few chapters of this book confused me as there are actually two time lines. The first is from Ava, James, & Sarah's point of view. On the other hand Didi's timeline is in the past slowly merging to the present.

Somehow all the characters are connected to each other one way or another. The connection slowly unfolds as the story progresses. When the first plot twist is happened I already had a feeling that something like that would happen & I was proven right. The revelation & confirmation of the plot twist itself caught me by surprise. The second plot twist caught me off guard because I never expected it to happen. I absolutely love that Ava still got her happy ending though.

Although the first few chapters of this books greatly confused my once I got the hang of it this book has become one of my favorites. A must reread book. I hope to read more books written by Lindsay Marcott.

Shadow sister is my first read from this author and I really enjoyed it. The novel is absolutely chilling, thrilling and horrifying. The synopsis of the novel was the main reason which engrossed me and honestly after reading the novel I'm fascinated.
Overall it's a good story with fast paced and well written and also the story was quite predictable though.