This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

The Winter Sister

Summary: In this spellbinding and suspenseful debut, a young woman haunted by the past returns home to care for her ailing mother and begins to dig deeper into her sister’s unsolved murder.

Sixteen years ago, Sylvie’s sister Persephone never came home. Out too late with the boyfriend she was forbidden to see, Persephone was missing for three days before her body was found—and years later, her murder remains unsolved.

In the present day, Sylvie returns home to care for her estranged mother, Annie, as she undergoes treatment for cancer. Prone to unexplained “Dark Days” even before Persephone’s death, Annie’s once-close bond with Sylvie dissolved in the weeks after their loss, making for an uncomfortable reunion all these years later. Worse, Persephone’s former boyfriend, Ben, is now a nurse at the cancer center where Annie is being treated. Sylvie’s always believed Ben was responsible for the murder—but she carries her own guilt about that night, guilt that traps her in the past while the world goes on around her.

As she navigates the complicated relationship with her mother, Sylvie begins to uncover the secrets that fill their house—and what really happened the night Persephone died. As it turns out, the truth really will set you free, once you can bear to look at it.

The Winter Sister is a mesmerizing portrayal of the complex bond between sisters, between mothers and daughters alike, and forces us to ask ourselves—how well do we really know the people we love most?

 

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

When a publicist contacted me about this book and offered me an e-ARC to read, I was REALLY excited to check it out. It sounded totally up my alley and that cover!!!!!

And while it mainly was up my alley- there was also some things that about drove me batty. Caution: Read ahead at your own risk…

 

What I Liked:

The cover. I REALLY loved it and I REALLY wish that I had gotten a hard copy since it would look so great bookstagrammed.

The mystery. Missing girl stories are kinda my jam. I usually find them filled with drama and secrets and lots of red herrings. This did not disappoint.

The details in the story about mother/daughter relationships. Megan Collins writes a pretty good mystery, but the depth she goes into the characters, particularly the differences in the relationships between Sylvie ,Persephone, and their mom- well, it’s a lot of food for thought.

 

What I didn’t love:

The mom. Listen, she had a lot of baggage. A lot of reasons for acting the way she acted. And yet, I really sometimes wanted to strangle her. Like if I could work some sympathy up for her, she’d ruin it by being so…… well mean is the nicest way to word it. Plus, the more I found out about her secrets- well… she was fully drawn out character, but she was weak. And the reason why was she weak drove me nuts.

 

Bottom line: For me, this was def readable- even with the problems I had with some of the book. Come for the mystery, stay for the study on the relationships between moms and daughters.

 

*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*

 

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Happy Reading and Bookishly Yours,

T @ Traveling With T