I really liked the premise of this but the thought the execution was a little messy and drawn out. I enjoyed this for the first half but started losing interest because it just felt like nothing was happening. I wish the characters were a little better developed so I could resonate with them a bit more. The reveal just didn't land as hard as I was hoping. Overall, I thought this was okay but not one of my favorites. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, Stephanie DeCarolis, and Bantam Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I definitely meant to write this review months ago!

After not hearing from her older sister Maddie for a period of time, Alex goes to the Hamptons to try to find her. Their relationship has been rough since before their mother died, but she knows something is wrong.
When Alex arrives and finds out that she has been living with a wealthy family, it seems that her sister may have had many secrets. She is invited to stay with the Blackwells while she continues her investigation and goes headfirst into discovering her sister's secret life.
But where is Maddie now and is her disappearance connected to the disappearance of another young local girl?

I really enjoyed this novel. It kept my attention and really had multiple twists. I was not expecting the ending but also was hoping for more. But still, I will rate this 4 stars and recommend to others!

The Perfect Sister was a fun mystery that kept me guessing. I wasn't sure who I could trust or what anyone was hiding but everyone felt shady! I really liked that there were so many different viewpoints and that we got to hear from most of the main characters. It was a great way to convey the story and give off red herrings.

The setting was great and I appreciated the details about the Hamptons. I liked being pulled into the world of wealth and power and I thought DeCarolis did a good job of intersecting that extreme with the people who serve and support them.

I listened to this book on audio and appreciated the use of various narrators. The energy and tone were great and kept the story exciting and entertaining.

There were certainly some moments where suspension of belief were necessary, but I liked how everything played out. It was fun and really well done.

Thank you to Ballantine/Bantam for the copy.

The Perfect Sister follows Alex, who, when she doesn’t hear from her sister, goes to the Hampton to find her. There she meets the Blackwell family, with whom Maddie had formed a connection. As she stays with the Blackwells herself, Alex quickly learns that the family is keeping secrets from her… and so are some of the friends she thought she could trust.

The atmosphere and setting of the book are well done, and Stephanie DeCarolis does a beautiful job with her descriptions of the oceans and cliffsides, but the storyline is far too melodramatic and soap-opera-esque to be realistic. This is a quick read for a summer escape, but too long-winded and with too many subplots to keep track - 2.5 stars, rounded to 3

Maddison is missing. Alex, her sister, has gone to look for her. Her last seen location was at Blackwell Manor. What was she doing here? This place is a mansion, and surely Maddison can not afford a room here
The Blackwells open their home and answer Alex's questions. They were sure Alex said she was leaving. And now they have offered Alex a place for the night. Besides, it is raining outside
Their adult children, Lilly and Theo, both seem kinda strange but harmless. The mom surely doesn't want Alex snooping around, and the father, James, is surely hiding something
Someone knows what happened to Maddie, and Alex isn't leaving until she gets some answers

Unfortunately, this one couldn't pull me in. There were a lot of narrations and the shocking moments fell flat for me.

I love books about the bonds of sisters and books where someone has to travel somewhere else This delivered. It was not the best book I've ever read but I have no regrets about the time spent reading it.

Alex has come to the Hamptons in search of her older sister, Maddie. Shortly after their mother’s funeral, Maddie left home and went to the Hamptons. Now no one has seen or heard from her in days. Before her disappearance, Maddie was residing in the Blackwell’s pool house. Alex goes there and finagles an invitation to stay in the pool house until she’s ready to leave. The novel, with many narrators telling their stories. Readers will find themselves reading just one chapter more. Thanks to Net Galley and Bantam Books for an ARC for an honest review.

I find it difficult to write a review on a thriller and not give away any of the twists and turns. I enjoyed the setting being in the Hamptons with a rich family and the large, beach home. As the book progressed some of the storyline might have gotten a bit far fetched and made me question some of storyline. The book did hold my attention and made for a fun, summer beach read which sometimes that makes for a perfect book for the moment in the readers life.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of The Perfect Sister. #NetGalley #ThePerfectSister #StephanieDeCarolis

I really enjoyed this book! The setting in the glamorous Hamptons and the contrast between Alex’s ordinary life and the Blackwell family’s opulent world was fascinating. The way Alex uncovers the secrets hidden behind the facade of wealth and luxury kept me hooked. The twists and revelations were engaging, and the suspense built up perfectly as the story unfolded. It’s a gripping read for anyone who loves psychological thrillers with a touch of intrigue and hidden truths.

New to me author...but the story was a bit familiar. Murdered/missing woman's sister comes to town to figure it out. Of course there is a corrupt rich family! Lots of shady characters but you may not figure this one out!

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the advanced reader's copy of this publication.
Mystery, drama it reads like a story gone bad. Not a five star read but more a three star. While I wont throw it under the bus I am not going to give it my high praise. I would pass on it but pick it up at a airport stand.

Sisters have a special bond, even when they are living apart from each other and have chosen different paths. Alex and Maddie are sisters who took care of each other as children when their mother was more concerned with becoming famous and their father left them alone. After their mother's death, Alex stayed in their hometown and got a job at a hardware store and Maddie left to fulfill her dream of medical school. One tradition the sisters had was to be together for their birthdays and when Maddie doesn't show up or even call on Alex's birthday she knows something is wrong. Maddie's last place of residence was living in the pool house of a mansion in the Hamptons and Alex is determined to find out where her sister is and why she hasn't contacted her.

I expected this book to be more exciting than it was; the many different viewpoints and flashbacks took away some the thrill factor for me. I also felt the story about the evil rich family and the bad seed children has been overdone and it wasn't until the very end that we received an interesting twist. There were also characters we didn't find out much about including Alex's boyfriend Ben who is mentioned but never a real part of the story. I did think the ending was exciting and think the author has promise in the mystery genre. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this ARC in exchange for a review.

Alex and Maddie are two sisters, incredibly close, until the death of their mom. Maddie leaves after the funeral and after an argument with Alex. After Maddie promises to never let Alex spend a birthday alone, she doesn't call, despite their argument and Alex knows something is wrong. Alex goes to track Maddie down in the Hamptons with little information to go on. But she follows what breadcrumbs she has and she finds herself at the house of The Blackwells, an investment property owner who has shady secrets of his own.

While the concept of the book is good, it feels choppily written. I had to finish it to know how the whodunit played out. Consider it an easy beach read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

“The Perfect Sister” by Stephanie DeCarolis
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Release Date: 7/16/24
Genre: mystery thriller

Thank you Netgalley for this arc! I’m a bit behind on some of my arcs, but this was worth the read! This was a mystery thriller with some suspense. I really enjoyed how this story came together. I was able to guess some of the plot twists, but overall putting the pieces together was intriguing.

What would you do if your sister went missing in a strange town? Alex Walker and her sister Maddie have grown apart since their mother died. Alex has stayed home to take care of her mother since graduating high school while her sister left to go to Med school in NY! When her sister randomly leaves Manhattan to go work in the Hamptons over the summer and stops answering her calls she has to find out what happened. She packs up and heads to the Hamptons. When she arrives she finds out Maddie was staying with the Blackwells and they were the last people to see her. What will she uncover? Where is Maddie?

Thank you to Bantam Books and PRH Audio for the copies to review.

I enjoyed this thriller about a younger sister who goes looking for her older sister when she cancels her annual trip home. It did drag on for a bit when it could have wrapped up sooner, but overall this was a good thriller that I liked overall. The audio was solid and I enjoyed listening to this one as well.

The Hamptons and a mysterious disappearance. Follow that up with a sister's search for her missing sibling and the introduction of a mysterious family who seems to be the key to figuring out what happened. This story is told from multiple points of views to tell the story of what happened before the search and after. It can be a bit slow at times, but once it gets going, it is hard to put down. A page turner as you get closer to the end.

THE PERFECT SISTER by Stephanie DeCarolis was a suspense that had all the family drama!! I was again so grateful to @prhaudio for this #gifted, cast narrated audiobook to the digital ARC given to me by @randomhouse Bantam through @netgalley!

I will admit that this cover made me think family drama more than thriller/suspense. I was not sad to be wrong a little, though this had plenty of drama in these families!

Maddie hasn't called or texted Alex, even over Alex's birthday which is not like her, even after the fallout after their mom's funeral. She knows something is wrong and heads up to the Hamptons to track her down. She ends up at Blackwell Manor where Maddie was also connected somehow. The secrets abound in this family, and there is definitely they are hiding about Maddie.

This was an enjoyable suspense that had some twists that I was not expecting! A bit of a slow burn, I enjoyed the atmosphere that was created by all the characters and their viewpoints. The audio added further enjoyment with all the voices! It was a quick read that had me fully engaged.

As a younger sister to a firstborn, I felt a kinship to Alex in many ways. I appreciated the complexities of sisterhood that were shared.

While a story featuring one sister searching for her older sister who seems to have disappeared shortly after their mother's death and a sibling fight seemed like just the kind of modern thriller I would enjoy (thoughts of a gothic type tale), THE PERFECT SISTER only partially delivered. Alex who has never left their childhood home and considers herself not as smart, pretty, or socially adept as her older sister Maddie. Yet she finds strength and stamina she never expected in her relentless quest to find her sibling. Most of Maddie's personality and reasons for heading to the Hamptons is kept hidden from the reader until late in the book, and I liked how that played out. And I think the author did a good job developing two other female characters (bit by bit) - Katherine, wife of real estate mogul James Blackwell and their adopted daughter Lily. The rest of the characters and plot of the book were too dark and jaded for me. If that is the world of the rich and famous, I never want to go there. I received a copy of this title from Netgalley.

I really, really, really wanted to love this book. The premise grabbed my attention, but the actual story couldn’t hold it.

Alex and her sister, Maddie, are close. When Maddie goes missing, Alex heads to the Hamptons where Maddie was living. Told from multiple points of view, I found there was simply too much information to process.

Unfortunately, despite a number of unexpected twists, this book did not work for me. I think someone who likes lots of misdirection will find it more enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group of the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for my unbiased review.