A long-time fan of Joyce Carol Oates, 48 CLUES INTO THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MY SISTER —is a fascinating, alluring, and intriguing mystery about a missing sister from an unreliable narrator.

Georgene Fulmer, 23 years old (the awkward younger, not-so-pretty sister), last saw her sister in upstate New York on the morning of April 1991.

Marguerite Fulmer, 30 yrs. old was beautiful and striking. She taught sculpting and served as a junior artist in residence. She was private about the men in her life.

Their father, Milton, a stockbroker, calls in the police for a missing person report. The investigation led by Leo, the PI hired by the father, goes nowhere, as well as the police investigation.

Georgene is an ordinary postal worker with no friends and is jealous of her sister. What happened to Marguerite? Did Georgene have anything to do with her missing sister? Is she a murderer?

Or was it the Wolf's Head Lake killer?

M. was an artist, and G. was a poet, despite her poems being secret.

Are the clues hidden in her art, her sculptures?

Georgene is the narrator of this dark, moody, mysterious, creepy, gothic-like, atmospheric mystery. Did she leave on her own accord? Was foul play involved? Is she still alive? Is something sinister at play?

She feels their father always preferred Marguerite and feels sad about their mother's death. Georgene is depressed and lonely.

With each page, you feel a sense of foreboding and do not know where the author is leading you. You need to enjoy the ride, taking you into the disturbing and chilling thoughts of G. Her inner thoughts are spellbinding, almost dream-like blurring lines between reality and imagination.

Thoughts from psychics, journalists, police, PI, family, friends, and colleagues—all have their opinions.

Will M. come home? There are rumors of her being involved with a man. Was she murdered by a lover? Or does it have to do with a colleague of M.'s art school, Elke? Or did she leave this small town on her own accord? Or will M remain one of the many women each year who go missing and never are found?

Character-driven, Oates draws you in with her prose, choppy sentences, and clues. Not all clues are physical, but more about reactions, speculations, feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. A dress, a mirror, art, reflections, people, places, her art world, etc. The novel is both a character study and a social commentary on society.

After twenty-two years, no answers. The answers remain ambiguous. As the reader, you will need to draw your own conclusion. Joyce Carol Oates is a prolific writer, and her latest is another example of her brilliant skill and craft.

For fans of literary fiction, detective mysteries, and character-driven novels.

Thank you to Penzler Publishers, Mysterious Press via NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Pub Date: Mar 14, 2023
My Rating: 4 Stars
March 2023 Must-Read Books

Joyce Carol Oates never fails to disappoint and that is true for this one as well. She proves again and again that she is a masterful storyteller.

**big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Solid 4 stars! It really took me a while to get into this story at first. JCO’s strange writing choices, the even stranger narrator… but once I got a “hold” on it, I was along for the ride and enjoyed it. The end result is typical Oates: psychologically drive , morally gray. If you’re not left asking questions have you really read JCO? The story’s narrator, the sister of the missing girl, is intentionally prickly and <i>odd</i>, a choice that works for what JCO is going for; said narrator isn’t exactly pleasant to be with for an entire novella (or possibly short novel). But it works. The end result—a chilling, somewhat muted tale of the missing and mystery, itself.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers/Mysterious Press for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest offering by Joyce Carol Oates - 4 stars!

Marguerite (M), a sculptor, has disappeared from the Upstate NY home she shares with her father and younger sister, Georgene (G). Police investigate but can find no clues, so only guesses and inferences remain.

Told in a unique, choppy, stream of consciousness of G's thoughts, we slowly learn of the sisters' relationship and G's feelings of inadequacy when compared to M's beauty and worth. This writing style takes some getting used to, but as typical from Joyce Carol Oates, is subtly tense and effective. If you want a novel that's tied up in a bow at the end, this isn't it, but it's eery and thought-provoking.

A story evoking darkness and foreboding, just what I would expect from Joyce Carol Oates’ unique writing style. While unsettling and most definitely not a ‘feel good’ kind of story, this twisty mystery was intriguing.

ARC was provided by NetGalley and Penzler Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

I quite quickly did not like the way this story was told, and couldn’t push through after reading the first few chapters. Although the storyline was promising, and the synopsis (and book cover) really captured my interest, this book’s execution was not to my liking to say the least. I hope others are able to connect to the narrator’s storytelling, but sadly for me it was not enjoyable and frankly annoying.
Thank you NetGalley and Penzler Publishers, Mysterious Press for the opportunity to try this ARC.

48 Clues into the Disappearance of My Sister is a difficult book to review. There were aspects that I really liked and aspects that I did not. For me, the highlight of the book is the writing; the story, while focusing on dark themes (the disappearnce of a young woman), is absolutely beautiful. I will admit it did take me some time to get used to it. I read the ebook version and the formatting was odd. I'd like to pick up a print version to compare. The story is told through the stream of consciousness of an extremely unreliable and unhappy narrator.

I would not classify 48 Clues into the Disappearance of My Sister as a thriller. I didn't really feel that there was much mystery at all. The book was more about G and her relationship with M and M's life. Almost from the start, the reader knows what happened (or at least knows in-so-much as an unreliable narrator will allow the reader to know). The lack of mystery and thriller aspects is what turned me off from the book. The story also dragged on towards the end.

Overall, I'll give the book 3 stars because of the gorgeous and unique writing.

I wanted to enjoy this latest novel by Joyce Carol Oates, as I've loved many of her books in the past, but I really didn't like the writing in this one.

3.5 Stars rounded up to 4. This was a literary, character-driven mystery with an unreliable narrator, Georgene. It is told mainly through her stream of consciousness over twenty-two years. As a psychological study, it reveals Georgene's dark side and disturbing thoughts. There is a creepy, eerie undertone to the narration.

Marguerite was a beautiful, accomplished sculptor when she vanished during an early morning walk from the family home. She had recently returned from living an artistic and exciting life in New York City. She was living at the upscale home occupied by her father and younger sister, Georgene, and teaching art at the local small-town college when she disappeared at age 30.

24-year-old Georgene is plain and lacks her sister's stunning beauty and talents. She has a boring job at the post office and envies her sister's glamorous life, her imagined lovers, her designer clothes, her style, and her popularity. Georgene tends to be rude, brusque and abrasive, and it is understandable that she lacks friends. The more she thinks about her now-missing sister, her anger, jealousy, and resentment grow. She feels their father always preferred Marguerite and feels sad about their mother's death. It is clear that Georgene is depressed and lonely.

There are clues, rumours, and speculation about what happened to Marguerite, who has never been found. Georgene feels her sister is dead, while their father holds the belief that she will return. She ponders the possibilities of what may have happened. Rumours abound regarding her fate. Was Marguerite abducted by a stranger and murdered? Was she killed by a frustrated, want-to-be lover at the art college? Did she flee the claustrophobic, small-town life? Did she run away with a new man? Was she pregnant and had an abortion? I thought I had the mystery figured out early, but the answer remained ambiguous.

We get a glimpse of the art world and aspiring artists in a small-town setting, part of Marguerite's life. Georgene's cousins try to keep her informed about the search and the latest news, but she is dismissive of them. It was thought that the police didn't put sufficient effort into finding what happened to Marguerite and ran out of suspects.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for this compelling ARC. Publication is due February 28.

I used to like works by this author though this was not one I cared for. The writing style (with constant parenthesis) was over the (top) and annoying as hell.
A sister was missing, or was she? No one saw her leave so did she leave on her own or not? Did she go voluntarily or not?
The sister left at home sounds like she has some serious issues that need to be worked out, but she very much resented her sister, the older one who helped raise her after their mother died.
I did not finish and have no interest in finding out any more about this story. Hated the writing style. Wonder if it got better, but I don't wonder enough to pick it back up.
Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

48 Clues into the Disappearance of My Sister by Joyce Carol Oates is a brilliant, layered mystery novel which delves into the effect of loss, conflicting emotions and family dynamics.
The narrator, Georgene (G), is a homely young adult living in a dreary mansion in upstate New York. She mourns the loss of her mother to cancer, feels little connection to her aloof father and their housekeeper Lena, and harbors conflicting love-hate emotions about her older sister Marguerite (M). When M goes missing, it sends the family and town into a dramatic whirlpool of suspicion, doubt and loss.
G, the narrator, is wonderfully complicated—snide, defensive and resentful of the attention lavished on her stunningly beautiful sister—“beauty is selfish and deserves to be punished!” Her pithy inner commentary is fascinating, but actually it reveals that she is a depressed, insecure, lonely woman.
The writing style is inventive, with unfinished sentences, poetic phrasing and at time, a stream-of-consciousness bent. G’s inner thoughts are rendered in almost dream-like passages, and the line between reality and imagination often seems blurred.
I am in awe of Joyce Carol Oates’ writing skill and highly recommend this book to readers who look for strong character-driven mysteries with plenty of dramatic tension written in a unique literary style!!

Thank you to The Mysterious Press/Penzler Publications and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review

I have been a fan of Joyce Carol Oates since I was in high school, and I must say that 48 Clues into the Disappearance of My Sister certainly did not disappoint! The beginning takes a few pages to really get into, but once I did, it was impossible to put this book down! I thoroughly enjoyed it.

If you are already a JCO fan, you will love 48 Clues into the Disappearance of My Sister. If you are a new reader, you may struggle with her writing style, and you would be better off with a difference novel from her. But please don't let her writing style keep you from reading other novels from her. They are simply amazing.

Uniquely written, this mysterious disappearance of a beautiful 30 year old talented sculptress seems to go unsolved. It is narrated by her younger and less physically blessed sister. It becomes apparent that this sister is unreliable as she deals with her own sadness, guilt, jealousy, and anger. The novel is both a character study and social commentary on society, I.e. rumors, value of “art”, those who seek to profit from knowing the victim, etc. The writing style took a few pages to get used to with lots of stream-of-consciousness inserts but was certainly effective in the development of the sister’s personality.

Thanks to NetGalley and The Mysterious Press for the ARC to read and review.

Surprisingly, this was my first ever full-length Joyce Carol Oates read. I very much enjoyed it! A slow-burn that was a lot more subtle than I expected. It's been a long time coming, but I am finally an Oates fan.

I've read several of Joyce Carol Oates books and have enjoyed them all to various degrees. This newest one, 48 Clues into the Disappearance of My Sister, could best be summed up with "48 Clues into An Unreliable Narrator."

M, the beautiful older daughter of a well-known family in a college town who had returned after her mother's death, has gone missing. She had lived in New York as an artist, having a life of her own, having affairs with men, and buying beautiful clothes and expensive accessories. She returned to take care of her younger, less beautiful, less...everything sister, G.

As time passes, G, our unreliable narrator, reveals more about herself and her true feelings about her older sister. G is full of resentment and anger.

The ending is vague and pretty much left up to the reader, but....it's fairly obvious from the beginning what has happened. It's okay, but JCO has written better.

Born into affluent New York state society where reputation means everything, Georgene narrates a story about her sister Marguerite's disappearance. G at 24 works at a mundane post office job and is less attractive than M who is a 30-year-old beautiful sculptress and one day vanishes. Where is she? The reader is taken on a weird and whacky ride through resentment, jealousy, unhappiness and dark aspects of the art world.

Though this book was not enjoyable to me, author Joyce Carol Oates did get my attention with her deliberate choice of unusual choppy writing which is full of underlying angst. It certainly is not a happy story. Those seeking something original and unsettling without resolution may find this appealing. The premise intrigued me but the reality did not deliver. In my view the author took a risk as she does at times which can be a good or bad thing.

My sincere thank you to Penzler Publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this novel which will undoubtedly stand out in my mind as the strangest read of the year.

The suspense of this book kept me up all night reading! A unique writing style that I was unsure of at first but honestly was so fitting for the book. I loved it!

I really did try to make it through this book but the language was so convoluted that I gave up. Each page had one actual sentence and the rest of the sentences were qualifiers for that sentence— that is to say, etc.
I’m not going to rate/review on GoodReads as it would be a very negative review so I’ll keep my thoughts here. It’s been a while since I last read a Joyce Carol Oates book so this could be on me for not being able to wade through the murky, overly descriptive waters.

Joyce Carol Oates is one of our literary treasures and 48 Clues Into the Disappearance of my Sister adds positively to her enormous body of work. Familiar themes of abused women and mysterious crimes are elevated to new levels by Oates’ ability to develop characters. Set in upstate New York, where Oates was raised, the story is unreliable narrated by G, the younger sister of the prettier, more talented,, and better educated M, who disappears mysteriously. Gorgeous writing, a compelling story, and an ambiguous ending all add up to a novel that, while it may not appeal to a wide audience, is among the best of the best.

Disjointed and slow, this might appeal most strongly to die-hard fans of Joyce Carol Oates. I struggled to finish and would not recommend.