The Winter Sister

Fast paced thriller read! Sylvie's sister was murdered sixteen years ago and she now has to go back home to take care of her mother who has cancer. Ever since her sister was murdered, her mother and her have had a very strained and distant relationship. She is not sure how she will face the past and knows that memories and guilt she's locked away for the last decade and a half will be forced to surface again. With the case still being an opened but now cold case, Sylvie decides she is going to try and push the detectives a but and see why in her mind the prime suspect was never arrested. She soon comes face to face with that suspect and she is finding herself reliving that night sixteen years ago as she searches for the truth of what show more happened to not only her sister but her mother as well. I will be reading more novels by Megan - I had a love hate with some of the characters, but that helped to fill the storyline and I loved how she played it all out. show less

The Winter Sister
by Megan Collins
due 2-5-2019
Touchstone/ Simon & Schuster
4.5 / 5.0

Sixteen years ago in Spring Hill, Connecticut, young Persephone went missing for 3 days, and once her body was recovered, it became a murder case that was never settled or closed.
Slyvie, Persephone's sister, a tattoo artist in Rhode Island, returns to Spring Hill to care for her mother while undergoing chemo therapy for cancer.
Absorbing and suspenseful, I immediately felt an interest
in the characters and was drawn into Persephone's murder, Sylvies secrets and past and their mother, Annie's dysfunctional lifestyle and cancer. It felt as if I was reading about people I knew, with brilliant twists and surprises that kept the story fresh and the momentum show more fast. Complicated, obsessive and totally accessible, this is a story of secrets, consequences and a study of how each of use respond and react to tragedy.
Great story, looking forward to more from Megan Collins.
Thanks to Touchstone and Megan Collins for this e-book ARC for review.
#NetGalley #TheWinterSister show less

It’s been sixteen years since her sister Persephone was murdered. Sylvie has created herself a new life, far away from home, but now she has to return to her hometown and confront her seriously ill mother. It doesn’t take long until all that happened that winter night comes back to her, especially when she meets Ben, her sister’s boyfriend, her sister’s murderer. Yet, Ben insists in his innocence. But can she trust him? And what about her mother who always refused to tell the girls who their respective fathers are and who also refused to talk about that night. Is it time now to open Pandora’s box and let the truth out?

Megan Collins’ debut is at the first glance a typical murder case: an 18-year-old girl is strangled and the show more murderer has been running free for sixteen years. However, at the second glance, it is much more a story about family relationships, about secrets and about love and trust. The small family of three females lived on secrets and lies, had they ever been open and honest with each other, the death of one daughter could have been prevented. Yet, that’s how human beings are, sometimes they lack the necessary courage to do what is right and thus risk to lose all they love.

The novel is well-created, even though at a certain point it is quite obvious how all the dots are linked, I found it full of suspense. Telling the story through Sylvie’s eyes gives you a certain bias at the beginning, but the missing pieces and gaps add to the thrill and the big questions marks Sylvie herself feels can also be experienced by the reader. Collins’ biggest strength is certainly the creation of the characters who all act convincingly and appear quite authentic. I am looking forward to read more from the author. show less

Sylvie O'Leary's older sister Persephone, seventeen at the time, never came home one night. When Persephone was out she was with a boyfriend that her mother forbade her to see. It was three torturous days before her body was discovered. It is now sixteen years later and her murderer was never found.

Sylvie has been estranged from their mother for several years. When she does return home to care for her other, Annie, as she is undergoing cancer, Sylvie runs into Persephone's former boyfriend Ben. The reason Sylvie is caring for her mother is she is in cancer treatment. Ben is now a nurse at the cancer center. Shocked, Sylvie doesn't know what to do because for all of those years she was completely convinced that Ben is the one that killed show more her sister and then got away with it.

On the one hand, she still blames Ben, although the police never had enough to charge him. However, she also has her own guilt about her sister's death, so at the very least, she is desperate to find answers, and these answers go a long way to revealing secrets. It takes a lot of work, questions and angst, but things eventually begin to come clear about that dreadful night.

As mentioned, Sylvie was estranged from Annie. Their relationship is painstakingly examined all the while Sylvie thinks hard about her relationship with Persephone while they were teens. Presently she must deal with being around Ben and exploring any connection he had to the murder.

Along with the connections made between Sylvie and Annie, and even Sylvie and Ben, there were some surprising twists and turns, as well as other suspects. No doubt I was desperately intrigued while reading this book. I was shocked at some of the reveals, but especially as to what actually happened to Persephone. This debut novel by Megan Collins proved to be an excellent read.

Many thanks to Atria and to Edelweiss for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion. show less

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. Her murder remained unsolved.

In the present day, Sylvie has returned home to care for her estranged mother, Annie, who is going through cancer treatment. Their close bond disappeared in the weeks after Persephone’s death. Taking her mother to the hospital for treatment, Sylvie finds that Ben, Persephone’s boyfriend is now a nurse at the hospital. Sylvie has always thought that Ben was responsible for her sister’s death, but she has her own guilt about that night as well that keeps her from moving forward from this tragic past.

As Sylvie starts show more to work around the complicated relationship with her mother, she starts to uncover secrets that still fill her old house and what really happened that night. Once you get into this book, you will continue to turn the pages until the end. Very well done! show less

THE WINTER SISTER, by Megan Collins, reveals Sylvie, a young woman who still haunted by the murder of her sister, Persephone. Sylvie escaped her hometown and her family and her heavy memories, only to be dragged back when her dying mother suddenly needs a caretaker. The more Sylvie is home and the more people she finds from her past, the more she believes that his sister's murder did not happen the way she thought it had.
There is a lot of clearly connectable imagery in THE WINTER SISTER. Collins does a good job of connecting images to emotions and then describing those visceral reactions characters have to certain images, as many people do in real life. Collins keeps the characters real; they all possess strengths and weaknesses and show more make good and bad choices. A fascinating approach to portraying the murdered sister, Persephone, is that the reader's perception of her vacillates from beautiful and pure, to dark and damaged and everywhere in between. It's a rollercoaster of a ride, with it ending somewhere in the middle, but I found it uniquely enjoyable. The plot progresses nicely and gains momentum, but he ending is fairly predictable and once the big reveal happens, there really isn't any more twists and turn, it just feels like going through the motions to finish the book.
I read THE WINTER SISTER quickly and I think reading this book fast is best because the emotionally heightened feelings don't have a chance to whither away. I found the book a haunting and enjoyable mystery to check out.
Thank you to Touchstone/Atria Books, Megan Collins, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! show less

3.5-3.75 Stars
A thriller that's part coming-of-age story and part family tragedy. This novel reveals the plot one clue at a time like peeling back the layers of an onion. Interesting character dynamics, solid writing and pace for a debut author, although the ending could be better. It's definitely a page turner and I will look for other works by the author in the future.

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