Wonderfully unreliable narrator tells the story of her missing sister, her background and movements prior to disappearing, and the narrator’s general uneasy feelings about all the characters around her. Though the title indicates the story if about the sister, it’s really about its fascinating and mysterious narrator, and the two characters’ dynamics.

When Marguerite Fulmer (M), a beautiful sculptress and local heiress, vanishes without a trace, everyone is left wondering what could have happened to her. Georgene (G), her less attractive and less favored younger sister, is left to assemble clues as to what happened to M, starting with the diaphanous white Dior slipdress M left behind on her bedroom floor. As the clues pile up, G’s resentment and hatred of her sister is revealed.

This book will find favor with fans of the prolific and award-winning author, but it just wasn’t for me. More of a character-driven literary mystery than truly suspenseful, I found this book rather slow and I struggled to get into it. The writing style was offbeat and hard to get used to, with an unconventional sentence structure. G’s character development is the stand-out aspect of this story, nuanced and multi-layered like peeling back an onion as the narrative progresses.

This one was not what I had expected. I have read from the author before, and she is always a hit or miss. I have loved some short story collections, but this one wasn't really my cup of tea. The writing was a little too sporadic for me, and I never could really dive into the story.

Reading the prolific works by Joyce Carol Oates over the years, has become a love affair for me. As with previous stories, Oates has taken a theme from news media, this time the epidemic of missing girls and women, and explored the disappearance story of Marguerite Fulmer, sister to Georgene, from many perspectives.

Moving her story forward with non-traditional sentences, many of them Faulknerian in length, phrases and clauses jotted down as though being recalled at the spur of the moment, her story, arguably, is more style than substance.

Take the symbol opening the book, of Georgene, the narrator, recalling last seeing her sister’s reflection in a mirror, reflected in another mirror, at a specific angle lapse into an infinity of mirror images which is brilliant. Every writing technique, borrowed from writers such as Laurence Sterne, Emily Dickinson (Georgene confesses, 'I was a poet. But my poems were secrets scribbled in code for mice scrambling in my desk drawers to peruse.’), and Edgar Allen Poe, writing textbooks, and her own vast experience as professor, editor, and author, comprise a master’s guide on how a novel is put together from an array of perspectives. Statistical data, artwork, rumors reported, psychics and detectives, police and private, and the workings of Georgene’s interior high flung, high-strung diction of a bygone era, mocking the style of Laurence Sterne, her high comedy masquerading as madness, all form one woman’s thoughts. That there actually may be forty-eight, or any, clues is a mystery itself, one that eluded me. What is revealed during the reading is what guilt looks like when everyone expects the worst has happened and, without someone to point to as guilty of a suspected crime how anxiety becomes guilt, and the different types of guilt people feel, while others accuse persons randomly without reason, and others rush to find someone guilty to alleviate terror and anxiety.

An advanced copy of this book was made available to me by Net Galley.

SPOILERS INCLUDED

This is the first of Oates' books that I've read, although I'm very familiar with the name. The story is narrated by Georgene, with each chapter another clue about her sister's disappearance 22 years earlier, becoming more and more obvious that G.'s mental state is not quite right. With an unreliable narrator and a maybe ambiguous ending (Was it really G., as it seemed to be all along, and that is why she "knew" the serial killer theory was incorrect, or was it really the Wolf Lake Killer and she refused to believe it because she was genuinely convinced M. was still alive? I lean toward the first one. G. obviously had (or thought she had) a few other murders under her belt, but maybe that was just to protect M.'s privacy rather than her own involvement. Tricky little ending.), the whole thing is a little unhinged. I enjoyed this. I think I would have liked a more definitive ending, but at the same time, I don't think that's something that can be expected from Georgene. 4 stars

Interesting and well written I just personally couldn’t get into the story. Just a little slow and unbelievable at some points. A daughter goes missing. Her sister and father are confused when people come out of no where saying they were close with her, jn a serious relationship with her, etc. it is so obvious throughout who the culprit is it’s uncomfortable to continue with the book. And then - the ending. I will just say that and let you decide for yourself. Just couldn’t engage in it. Ending predictable and also way too drawn out. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Well written, intriguing and full of suspense. A bit slow to start but builds emotions with each page turned. Interesting read.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc

I have been reading Joyce Carol Oates books off and on for about 20 years. Her writing has certain themes, particularly trauma toward women and the disappearances or deaths of loved ones destroying people. She has been writing variations of this theme since 1964 with over 150 published books to her credit. She is now eighty-four, and it seems as if her production is still as steady as it has always been. The first book I read was The Tattooed Girl, when it was new in 2003, and it blew me away. The story, about a girl with a tattoo on her face who becomes an assistant to an aging author, even though her goal is to destroy him, was so incredible that I read several of her novels back to back. She has a certain style to her writing and a certain gothic creepiness that nobody else can duplicate. Since 2003, I have tried to keep up with some of her novels and collections here and there, but there really are just so many and there is so much to read in the world that sometimes her newest book slip through the cracks.

We can tell that 48 Clues Into the Disappearance of My Sister is a Joyce Carol Oates book just by the title. We already know that there has been some foul play to a young girl and that the narrator, the sister, is trying to cope with her disappearance. The thing is we do not know what direction Oates is going to take this idea. We learn quickly that the woman who disappeared is Marguerite, a beautiful woman who disappeared one morning and was not found. The narrator of the story, is Georgene, her younger, not as pretty or popular sister, works at the post office, lives in her childhood room, and is jealous and angry toward Marguerite and how their lives are completely different. When Marguerite disappears, these feelings are really amplified, making Georgene deal with these feelings as well as the strangers who are now trying to butt into her very private life. Two greatest things about Joyce Carol Oates is her character studies and her creepiness. In this case, the character Georgene is placed under a microscope and every thought, feeling, and action really explains her bitterness toward life. As far as creepiness, Oates writes many of her stories in a way that there feels like there is an undercurrent of evil in every character and in every character's actions. 

This novel is written in 48 clues that adds to the story, but not all of the clues are physical things. Some are reactions, feelings, and behaviors. The mystery is how this all adds up. Clues in her novels never fit perfectly together, and it is up to the reader to decide what really happened to Marguerite. We are given the tools but we have to build the conclusions ourselves. This makes for a novel that is equal parts fascinating and disturbing. For as much as people like true crime podcasts and documentaries, it is a wonder why Joyce Carol Oates is not having a resurgence. Much of her fiction is built in a way where the reader is to draw their own conclusions. 48 Clues Into the Disappearance of My Sister is one of those mysteries that can really lead to a debate with a group of friends over what really happened to Marguerite, because the clues point to several possibilities. This is the type of fiction Oates has been writing for a long time, and this makes stories just as interesting now as they were decades ago.

I received this as an ARC through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Recommended for readers who like character-driven novels, 48 Clues into the Disappearance of My Sister by Joyce Carol Oates delves into the lives of two sisters: Marguerite Fulmer, age 30, and Georgene, age 24, commonly referred to as simply M and G. In this March 2023 offering, M, who is a gifted artist, has vanished from a small town in New York where she teaches at an arts college.

Where is she? everyone asks. Since neither G nor her father know where M is, the rumors start to fly. The town wonders, was she pregnant? Had an abortion? On a trip? Surely not foul play?

As the police investigate the missing person case, the unattractive G slowly reveals that she hates her sister M, who is pretty, perfect, and the favorite daughter. An admittedly “not a nice person,” G envies her sister’s occupation, art studio, private life, and her talent. Expressing that she, on the other hand, has no life, G drags herself to a dead-end and boring job at the post office while she has no friends.

But M’s life has not always been sunshine and roses as she had been attacked by a man while a teen. Not wanting any negative light shined on the Fulmer family, the parents truly brushed the incident under the rug while M never fully recovered. What are the chances that M’s attacker returned? What is the possibility that G has harmed her sister? What about her mentor at the college who has created paintings that resemble M but one more grisly than the next? Or will M remain one of the many women each year who go missing and never are found?

Joyce Carol Oates has won many awards for her writing, including the National Book Award for her novel them in 1969, and two O. Henry Awards for her short stories. Oates continues to live and write in Princeton, New Jersey, where she is Distinguished Professor of Humanities at Princeton University.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting December 12, 2022.

I would like to thank W. W. Norton & Company and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

Since I have read several of Joyce Carol Oates’ books, I knew to expect mysterious darkness, and this book sure delivers on that. Unique, well-written, and suspenseful. I enjoyed it!

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Joyce Carol Oates has a way of presenting milieu with a dripping, foreboding, dreadful sense. I love an unreliable narrator story. This title is typical Oates kicked up a notch. I would recommend for readers who are looking for a bit of twisty mystery.

I absolutely love this author. This was a fantastic read and can’t wait for more! Thanks for allowing me the chance to read and review.

48 Clues into the Disappearance of My Sister by Joyce Carol Oates was a good suspenseful story.
I was pulled by the cover and interesting description.
Oncei opened this one up I found it to be a tad bit slow for my liking.
But once I pushed through it I found it to be an interesting story.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Penzler Publishers & Mysterious Press,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC!

Told through the somewhat unreliable narration of Georgene, or "G", I thought her interpretation of the events of her sister's disappearance were like the last glimpse she had of Marguerite, or "M", through the double mirror described in the beginning of the book-- distorted and somewhat dreamlike. The author's writing style took a little getting used to, but it helped to make G's perspective more real. I really enjoyed this mystery by a new to me author.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

3.75 ⭐️ Quirky yet compelling. Original story & narrative voice.
I've not read much Joyce Carol Oates but the description appealed to me and delivered in the reading experience ... her writing was expressive & evocative.

With great thanks to NetGalley & W. W. Norton & Company for this e-ARC.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately the writing was too offbeat for me and I quickly lost interest in the story.

This was a creepy and unsettling thriller that left me anxious until the very end.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61432862

This one was surprisingly good! I didn't have high expectations as it was my first Oates. It will not be my last! I thoroughly enjoyed the pace of this story.

Oates is the master of suspense.. well-decoped ot, excellent pacing and characters that defy description. A fantastic, creative, and intriguing read!

Marguerite, M, a heiress goes missing from her small, upstate New York town. Georgene, G, her sister at first doesn’t worry. Perhaps M went somewhere to get away? As more and more time goes on, she starts to realize maybe her sister was abducted. The police start investigating many people in the small town including Elke, an artist at the same college M taught and apparently her mentor. Elke keeps being brought in as a suspect, but will anything come of it? Then there’s Walter, who works in a lab at Cornell and loved M, serial killers and many other women who have went missing who look like M. Will G and her father ever find out what happened to M?
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This book was so meh I probably wouldn’t have finished it if it weren’t for me needing to finish every book I start. The writing in this book is so quirky and made it really hard to follow along and keep my attention. I have read other reviews that this is the author’s style, so I took that into account. I did like that the book showed G having a lot of hatred for her sister. M was the beautiful, likable one and G was not pretty, unlikable, seems to be stuck in her boring job at the post office and seems stuck in life overall. As the book goes on, 22 years to be exact, you see G change as she starts to miss her sister and she wants to know what happened to her. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this book. If you have read other books by the author, you might be more used to the writing style and enjoy it