I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This book sounded like something right up my alley. A woman searching for Her missing sister? Family drama/mystery, sounds good. Psychological thriller? Love it! But it took me awhile to read it, I found I was not making the time to read it. Sometimes I felt I had to force myself to read it. I found it be kind of meh. As soon as Lilly was introduced I figured. she killed Maddie and I knew her mom was covering it up. I didn’t know that Maddie was James’s daughter - although looking back it does seem obvious or that Gilroy was Mitch’s dad. I did not like the multiple points of view - there were way too many to keep track of (7). Although I do think the author did a really good job of demonstrating how different people viewed the same event and she did a good job of keeping straight what each character knew. Once I got through the first half, I did find it more enjoyable. Either the book found its footing or I did.

This mystery was GOOD!

When her older sister disappears and misses their promised birthday celebration, Alex knows something is wrong. Using her roommate, a series of texts, and photos, Alex tracks Maddie down to the Hamptons, and what she finds is a mystery much bigger than she'd ever imagined.

Interesting characters, and an intriguing plot, this one was a page-turner!

I enjoyed reading this book. Lots of story twists that were not expected. I also liked that they didn't all come st the end. It made me want to keep going.

This was such a good story. I was hooked from page one I enjoyed all of the characters. Really loved how the author developed all of the characters and the story line. The book guessing my guessing until the very end and had me up reading later than I intended on because I couldn't put turn off my kindle!

Great read. This book is pretty fast paced and gives a fair amount of backstory in order for us to really understand the characters and what is going on. Its full of thrills and strange rich people which somehow makes the story that much more exciting! I am so thankful to be afforded the opportunity to read a new author that I hadn't before. I am looking forward to more from DeCarolis. Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam Books for the ARC.

This was my first experience with author Stephanie DeCarolis. It won't be my last.

"The Perfect Sister" is both well written and enticing. Once you start this one, you'll find ways to quickly return. Ms. DeCarolis is a master of the adjective. The people, scenes, and events are beautifully described for the reader's aid. She is a superb tablesetter. The adventure is winding, but realistic. If you like mysteries and thrillers, buy this book.

I gave it five stars!

Stephanie DeCarolis has written a book so perfect for a summer read that I am convinced it will be next summer's big hit! It's got everything in it! The Hamptons, wealthy people, lots of sex, sexual perversions, more rich people, more sexual endeavors, missing sisters, screwed up brothers and sisters, an unhappy wife, love affairs!!!...you name it, and it is delicious reading! I couldn't put it down and had to stay up half the night to finish the book. It kept me on the edge....read it and enjoy every short and entertaining chapter!! Bravo Random House...fabulous!

Maddie and Alex, two sisters raised by their mother after their father abandons the family when they were at an early age, are told by their mother that they will always have each other. And as they are growing up, they are very close, having learned to rely on one another as their mother spirals further into depression and alcoholism. However, Maddie, the eldest by three years, leaves to go to college and then medical school and never returns except for the occasional visit home on Alex’s birthday. When the two sisters are reunited at their mother’s funeral, old resentments on Alex’s part for being left behind to take care of their mother alone causes them to fight, creating a wedge between them that hadn’t existed before. However, when Maddie doesn’t call Alex on her birthday as she has always done, Alex becomes worried. After repeated failures to reach Maddie, Alex decides to set off for the Hamptons, Maddie’s last known location where she was working over the summer.

Alex eventually discovers that Maddie was living in the pool house at the exclusive home owned by the wealthy Blackwell family. Alex manages to get invited to stay at the same pool house where Maddie was last seen as she tries to unravel the truth behind her sister’s disappearance. She soon realizes that there is evil lurking beneath the Blackwell family’s poised facades and she doesn’t know who to trust or who might be responsible for Maddie’s disappearance.

As the tension ratchets up, and new revelations are uncovered, Alex comes closer to the secrets each family member tries to conceal. The surprises and twists continue right up until the very end of this highly suspenseful novel.

Beautifully written with well-drawn characters and carefully maintained tension, this suspense novel will appeal to all thriller fans who love a well-constructed story with a strong protagonist and an interesting, picturesque location.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam Books for providing me an ARC of the novel in exchange for my honest review.

Young Alex is trying to find her older sister Madison. The sisters had always been close, always celebrated birthdays together, but now Madison has disappeared with no forwarding address and is not answering her phone. Madison was last sited in the glamorous Hamptons staying with an uber wealthy family but they say she left days before. As Alex searches for her sister she discovers the less than shiny side of all that wealth and just how much people are willing to spend to keep their secrets.

The storyline jumps around quite a lot and at times I think goes off on tangents that don’t add much to the plot. That said it would be a good vacation or beach read. Just be prepared for lots of twists and turns.

Great thriller that I really enjoyed the story also. The twists and turns were well planned and the story itself was well thought out.

WOW! It was a stay up past your bedtime to finish reading kind of book. Unlike a lot of other thrillers, I never really felt like I truly knew what was going to happen. There was always one little thing that made me think “Well, that theory can’t possibly be right if *that* is happening”.

Most often with thrillers, they lead you down one path, make you believe it, and then blow your mind at the end. Every time I turned around, this book threw a spark in there that made me rethink my theory.

A deeply rooted sibling friendship, a missing sister, rich kids in the Hamptons, not so rich kids in the Hamptons, and murder.

It checked so many of my boxes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“The Perfect Sister” delivers a gripping mystery that keeps readers on the edge of their seats until the very last page. Set against the backdrop of the exclusive Hamptons, the novel follows the intertwined lives of two sisters as they unravel a web of secrets and deception.

The dynamic between the two sisters adds depth to the story, as their contrasting personalities and motivations drive the plot forward. From the glamorous parties of the Hamptons elite to the secluded beaches where dark secrets lurk, the setting is vividly rendered, immersing readers in a world of wealth, privilege, and deceit.

One of the twistiest plot lines is also one of the best.

I honestly suspected everyone of them from the beginning, but the truth was a definite ‘WHAT?’ moment!

When Alex’s sister, Maddie goes missing, she heads to the Hamptons to find out what is going on.

Maddie has been secretive about a lot since their mother died, and Alex knows something is up. Maddie and Alex made a pact years ago to always be together on Alex’s birthday. Maddie didn’t show. Only a sister knows how wrong that is.

Maddie has been staying at one of those houses in the Hamptons. And when Alex rings the bell, they are all in shock thinking it’s Maddie! They all act guilty. And they should. The secrets these people have are unreal! But did one of them hurt Maddie?

Alex is determined to find out but she may end up dead!

Like a complicated puzzle that takes forever to solve, and I enjoyed that tremendously!


NetGalley/ RHPG/Bantam July 16, 2024

I absolutely loved this book!! Stephanie DeCarolis is such an amazing writer, I really felt like I was in the scene with the characters. One of the best books I’ve read in awhile! Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was a quick and easy read. I don’t regret reading it, but I think I was expecting more from it.

One thing I loved about this book was the vibes and the beach setting. I loved being in the Hamptons with a bunch of rich characters. It let me live out a fantasy that I was there and living that lifestyle. Until the bad things started happening, then it wasn’t so good to live that life. It really felt like I was there, and I appreciated that.

I love books with unreliable narrators and this was full of them.

There were a lot of POVs, some I could have done without, but I think it helped the story flow a little bit so you got glimpses of what was going on but not the full picture.

Take Lily for example. We barely got to know her but she played such a big roll in the grand scheme of things. I think if she was going to get the ending that she got, we needed to get more of her throughout the novel. We had Lily invite Alex in, but then she just left her to do her own thing most of the time, which didn’t coincide with her obsessive personality. I didn’t care about her at all because I wasn’t able to connect with her since we barely saw her in the novel.

We probably didn’t need Theo’s point of view either. He was important to the story, but I didn’t really feel like we needed to be in his head. I think it would have worked out better if we mainly had Alex’s point of view and we watched her journey interacting with these characters. She lived with them, which would have been the perfect opportunity to have Alex get to know each character and their motivations from her observations. So we didn’t have to rely on getting a point of view for every character to learn what they were like and why they did what they did.

James was a crappy person, but I couldn’t hate him when he protected his family. He was a sleaze ball, but did good when it mattered most. It was kind of odd because we saw him as a nasty man from everyone else’s eyes, but then when we had his point of view or when it came time to do the right thing, he did. I thought in the end he was a confusing and complex character, and I would have liked to see more of that.

Same with Katherine. People may look down on her for her choice, but I don’t blame her for sticking with him. Maybe because I felt bad for her, but I didn’t hate her either. Honestly she was one of my favorites even though we didn’t see a lot of her. Maybe because I felt like I understood her and the actions she took. I also thought it was admirable that she took care of her family and that was most important to her.

Alex was a fine main character, but she didn’t really have a personality other than wanting to find Maddie. I thought their family dynamic was very interesting; learning about how her mother treated them and took care of them while she tried to become a star, and seeing how Maddie looked differently at their mom than Alex did was an interesting plot point. But Alex herself didn’t show very much of anything else.

There was a random romance plot that didn’t need to be in there at all. Not that it really affected the story, but I’m like not every book needs a romance, and this one certainly did not because it didn’t serve any purpose at all.

I could guess some of the things that happened, but there were other twists that caught me off guard! I thought the book did a nice job of guiding you along so you could follow what was happening, but really there were so many other things at play.

At first I thought the ending was a little dull once you found out what was going on, but then so much happened at once that it was pretty crazy!

With all that happened very quickly at the end, it ended super abruptly. I could have used a bit of an epilogue or some more conversations. We were introduced to so many POVs and in most of them we never got any closure. Even if I didn’t connect with Lily, it still would have been nice to learn more about her. I wanted to see what would happen with James and Katherine, or learn how Alex moved on with everything. But it just ended in a couple of pages. I wasn’t a fan of that.

This wasn’t my favorite read, but it wasn’t a difficult read at all. I think it’s worth giving it a shot because you may enjoy it! It wasn’t bad by any means, I just would have changed some things up.

I will be posting my review on Goodreads on 3/13/24: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6316209879

I will also post my review on Amazon on the release date: 7/16/24.

I enjoyed this book. It was a good story and while I figured out some things before they were revealed, I was still surprised at others. The story as a whole was well thought out and I didn't feel like it just kept going on unnecessarily. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys suspense or mystery.

This is a really good book that I finished over a few hours. It centers on Alex, who goes to the Hamptons in search of her sister Maddie, who uncharacteristically stops answering calls and texts. Once there, she is drawn into the world of the rich family with whom Maddie was staying. Told primarily from Alex’s point of view with some chapters from Maddie before the disappearance as well as other members of the family, the author weaves together a suspenseful mystery where everyone is hiding secrets.

Alex and Maddie are both likable characters and their dynamic feels very authentic. I enjoyed the flashbacks to their childhood that helped me understand their relationship. There were some really good twists in the book, most that I didn’t see coming; all made sense and the loose ends were tied up well. I liked the ending of the book and thought it all came together well. I also am always fascinated by books that take place in the Hamptons, for some reason.

Overall, this was an engaging and suspenseful read and I really enjoyed it. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an entertaining, suspenseful read! I enjoyed the easy writing style, the beachy Hampton setting, and the short chapters. Each chapter revealed a new point of view and another surprise to keep me guessing as to what happened to Madison. I did not guess any of the twists or revelations. The ending was satisfying. All in all, I highly recommend The Perfect Sister.

P.S. I will post this review on Goodreads, B&N, and Amazon at the time of publication. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this wonderful novel!

Loved reading this book. It is set in the Hamptons and I think this is a great summer beach read. Two sisters are estranged after their mother's funeral and one goes missing. There are many twists and turns as the other sister tries to unravel her disappearance. There are many characters and back and forth, but I enjoyed the mystery and how it unfolded. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Very good family drama/mystery with a lot of plot twists and turns that kept me reading all day. Good development of many character lines.
four stars