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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
I listened to this one. it was a little spooky but a bit predictable.
dark
mysterious
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really liked this book. It was a total page turner and kept me interested to the very end. I liked the subtle, creepy suspense throughout. The mystery was well written and I liked how she used the three different times (50/60s, 1989, & 2013) to weave the story together slowly. I loved the backdrop of the motel, moving back and forth from its prime to its decay. It definitely felt like an Alfred Hitchcock movie.
Rating: 4/5 Stars
“But she’d never been there alone at night, in the dark. The walls felt closer. She could smell the damp stone. She felt completely engulfed by the darkness, as if she really had been taken into the mouth of a giant.”
The Night Sister, a chilling and eerie story, slowly creeps up on you. After a dear friend dies tragically, Piper can’t move on. She goes searching for answers at the scene of the crime. But will Piper be able to stomach the answers she discovers? The Night Sister will make your heart race until the very last page.
Jennifer McMahon carefully develops a story that is complex and intricate. She weaves in a family history with vivid details pertinent to the plot. The characters are well-developed. Rosie and Sylvie are sisters with polar opposite personalities. Sylvie is beautiful and charismatic, while Rose is quiet and rather odd. Rose is obsessed with her sister, fearing she is not what she seems. Even though it was a little difficult to alternate between past and present at first, it really helped the development of the story. There were details or an event that happened in the past between Rose and Sylvie, then something connected to that detail or event would be relevant to Piper in the present, trying to understand the death of her friend. McMahon flawlessly developed a chilling tale.
A couple of prominent themes present throughout this story are family and secrecy. An accident gone wrong in the 1950’s clings to a family motel over the next several decades. What seems to be a terrible coincidence may actually be an ugly inherited family trait. Sometimes covering up the past is the best way to protect future generations… or is it?
Although I really enjoyed this book, it isn’t what I expected. The story had great depth and development, a subtle build for an intense climax. However, I didn’t feel like the intense climax ever came. It was also difficult for me to juggle between characters and what year it was.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book!
“But she’d never been there alone at night, in the dark. The walls felt closer. She could smell the damp stone. She felt completely engulfed by the darkness, as if she really had been taken into the mouth of a giant.”
The Night Sister, a chilling and eerie story, slowly creeps up on you. After a dear friend dies tragically, Piper can’t move on. She goes searching for answers at the scene of the crime. But will Piper be able to stomach the answers she discovers? The Night Sister will make your heart race until the very last page.
Jennifer McMahon carefully develops a story that is complex and intricate. She weaves in a family history with vivid details pertinent to the plot. The characters are well-developed. Rosie and Sylvie are sisters with polar opposite personalities. Sylvie is beautiful and charismatic, while Rose is quiet and rather odd. Rose is obsessed with her sister, fearing she is not what she seems. Even though it was a little difficult to alternate between past and present at first, it really helped the development of the story. There were details or an event that happened in the past between Rose and Sylvie, then something connected to that detail or event would be relevant to Piper in the present, trying to understand the death of her friend. McMahon flawlessly developed a chilling tale.
A couple of prominent themes present throughout this story are family and secrecy. An accident gone wrong in the 1950’s clings to a family motel over the next several decades. What seems to be a terrible coincidence may actually be an ugly inherited family trait. Sometimes covering up the past is the best way to protect future generations… or is it?
Although I really enjoyed this book, it isn’t what I expected. The story had great depth and development, a subtle build for an intense climax. However, I didn’t feel like the intense climax ever came. It was also difficult for me to juggle between characters and what year it was.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book!
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can rely on Jennifer McMahon to write something atmospheric and creepy, and this is no exception. But the ending was baffling and left me asking what the point of the book was. I'll still keep reading McMahon, but this is definitely my least favorite. This is the lowest score I'd give to a book that didn't offend me, but that I will not ever revisit.
Since this was my first novel by Jennifer McMahon, I really had no idea what to expect when I picked it on Netgalley. It sounded rather intriguing, and I like dark mysteries - especially when ther's a hint of the supernatural.
And I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed reading it. There was nothing predictable about this book - and it's rare that I don't figure out what's going to happen at the end quite early on. The Night Sister was written from the various perspectives of several characters, so we never got quite the whole story. Instead, we got snippets from each person's experience. Looking back, it's clear to see how the ending was foreshadowed but while reading I was totally wrong (when I wasn't in the dark). I loved how McMahon seamlessly took us between three different timelines. It would be easy to get confused with that kind of complexity, but I always knew what was happening and when it was happening.
I ended up closing the book (or rather, turning off my iPad) before I went to bed because I was worried about reading about blood and monsters just before falling asleep. That's silly because it really wasn't that scary - but it was so suspenseful that I stayed on the edge of my seat. Who killed Amy? What happened to Sylvie? Is Rose really crazy? Are there really ghosts? And what is the 29th room?
Luckily, every single one of my questions was answered in the end. I hate it when books don't answer all of the questions they raise - but in this case, I got very satisfying closure.
The book I keep thinking of as comparison is Gone Girl - but that's not quite right. There's not a twist of that magnitude, and the plot has virtually no similarities... but I can't shake the comparison. I think it's because it's dark, it does involve murder, and there's a mystery that you're trying to solve before you get to the end.
I thoroughly enjoyed Night Sister, and you will too if you're a fan of suspenseful mystery. This may have been my first novel by McMahon, but it certainly won't be my last.
And I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed reading it. There was nothing predictable about this book - and it's rare that I don't figure out what's going to happen at the end quite early on. The Night Sister was written from the various perspectives of several characters, so we never got quite the whole story. Instead, we got snippets from each person's experience. Looking back, it's clear to see how the ending was foreshadowed but while reading I was totally wrong (when I wasn't in the dark). I loved how McMahon seamlessly took us between three different timelines. It would be easy to get confused with that kind of complexity, but I always knew what was happening and when it was happening.
I ended up closing the book (or rather, turning off my iPad) before I went to bed because I was worried about reading about blood and monsters just before falling asleep. That's silly because it really wasn't that scary - but it was so suspenseful that I stayed on the edge of my seat. Who killed Amy? What happened to Sylvie? Is Rose really crazy? Are there really ghosts? And what is the 29th room?
Luckily, every single one of my questions was answered in the end. I hate it when books don't answer all of the questions they raise - but in this case, I got very satisfying closure.
The book I keep thinking of as comparison is Gone Girl - but that's not quite right. There's not a twist of that magnitude, and the plot has virtually no similarities... but I can't shake the comparison. I think it's because it's dark, it does involve murder, and there's a mystery that you're trying to solve before you get to the end.
I thoroughly enjoyed Night Sister, and you will too if you're a fan of suspenseful mystery. This may have been my first novel by McMahon, but it certainly won't be my last.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I am such a fan of the way jennifer mcmahon writes horror/thrillers!! I’ve never read a paranormal or like a sci-fi book like this & I can honestly say it was so interesting.
each page really had you wanting to know more & more of the story, I thought I had it almost figured out but you get so shocked at the end. great fall read!
each page really had you wanting to know more & more of the story, I thought I had it almost figured out but you get so shocked at the end. great fall read!