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

The Perfect Sister is a perfect suspenseful novel that keeps you anticipating what will happen next as the secrets keep twisting and alluding to another suspicious character that leads to the disappearance of Maddie and the murder of Becca. Wow! I didn't want to put it down until the surprising ending.

Love the cover. I am always interested in reading books set in the Hamptons. When I visited, I found the wealth and area intriguing. This was a great atmosphere for DeCarolis's story about sisters. It moved fast, and I liked how it unraveled. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

#ThePerfectSister #NetGalley
Awesome.
Alex Walker has always looked up to her perfect older sister. Maddie has succeeded in all the ways Alex has not: She escaped their hometown and seems to have put the memories of their unstable childhood behind her. But despite the different paths their lives have taken, the two sisters made a pact to spend one week together every summer. It was a promise they’d never broken until now. When Maddie suddenly cancels her annual trip home, Alex begins to worry. But when Maddie stops returning her calls altogether, Alex is certain something is wrong. Relying on the only clues Maddie left behind, Alex follows her sister’s footsteps to the Hamptons where she meets the Blackwell family—the last people to have seen Maddie before she vanished into thin air. The Blackwells seem to have it all: wealth, beauty, and a beachside mansion on a private stretch of Hamptons real estate. It’s a world unlike any Alex has ever known, but she quickly discovers that looks can be deceiving, and that a life of luxury always comes at a cost.
I loved it so much.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam for giving me an advance copy.

i've heard good things about both of her other books, but haven't been able to check them out yet. this book makes me want to move them up on my TBR, though! while i found a little bit of this book predictable, i also was hooked and did not see all of the twists and connections at the end! i also loved the setting - we need more beach thrillers!

Oddly, I'm drawn to books about The Hamptons and Cape Cod, but then inevitably realize how it is clearly divided into the haves and have nots. That said, I enjoyed this book. The book is told through various perspectives, but in a unique way. Some characters have a lot of chapter perspectives, some just a few. They all come together though so that I was able to put everything together.
The characters are well done, but I wish I'd have had more insight into the missing sister. (not a spoiler...this happens right away.)
I didn't like about half the characters, but I understand why they were necessary to the plot.
I was drawn into the mystery, and guessed a few parts, but not others, which is one of the marks of a good mystery/thriller.
Thank you to Random House/Ballantine and NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

There are so many interesting elements of The Perfect Sister — the small-town atmosphere, the beautiful descriptions of the Hamptons, the mysterious circumstances driving the plot — but after finishing it, I feel a bit frustrated.

The many, MANY perspectives had me feeling skeptical at first, but optimistic they would pay off. Unfortunately, the ending proved my suspicions; this story would have been much more interesting had the author been selective with the different narratives and time jumps, allowing the reader to uncover the mystery rather than having the answers handed to them. Given the amount of work taken to keep all the perspectives and timelines straight, I hoped for an ending that justified the structural choices. Again, I felt a bit let down by how everything unfolded. As a reader, I want to feel like the characters' choices were inevitable, and in this case, so much complication could have — and should have — been avoided.

Even though I was frustrated by a lot of this book, I really did enjoy the writing and how easily the reader is pulled into this world. I would absolutely read another book by this author.