The Night Sister

By: Jennifer McMahon

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's Summary

The latest novel from New York Times best-selling author Jennifer McMahon is an atmospheric, gripping, and suspenseful tale that probes the bond between sisters and the peril of keeping secrets.

Once the thriving attraction of rural Vermont, the Tower Motel now stands in disrepair, alive only in the memories of Amy, Piper, and Piper's kid sister, Margot. The three played there as girls until the day their games uncovered something dark and twisted in the motel's past, something that ruined their friendship forever.

Now adult, Piper and Margot have tried to forget what they found that fateful summer, but their lives are upended when Piper receives a panicked midnight call from Margot, with news of a horrific crime for which Amy stands accused. Suddenly Margot and Piper are forced to relive the time that they found the suitcase that once belonged to Silvie Slater, the aunt that Amy claimed had run away to Hollywood to live out her dream of becoming Hitchcock's next blonde-bombshell leading lady. As Margot and Piper investigate, a cleverly woven plot unfolds - revealing the story of Sylvie and Rose, two other sisters who lived at the motel during its 1950s heyday. Each believed the other to be something truly monstrous, but only one carries the secret that would haunt the generations to come.

©2015 Jennifer Mcmahon (P)2015 Random House Audio

Don't want to spoil anything, BUT ...

Without giving too much away, I wish I had known this book was going to be more fantasy or sci-fi than mystery.
Narration by Cassandra Smith was very good.
(much better than her recent reading of ''Pretty Baby")

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Poor imitation of a worthwhile thriller

I should have listened to the negative reviews, but the premise intrigued me so much that i cashed in a credit anyway. Not a credit well spent.

The best thing this story has going for it is the premise. The execution is just ... boring.

It's like a lesser M. Night Shyamalan film: seems promising, and then lets you down with a weak, somewhat absurd plot resolution.

The end made me feel like I was in a completely different book: a preposterous parody of itself.

The book did keep me mildly entertained for several hours. But only mildly.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Spooky a bit creepy but oh so good!

This is a hard one to review because I don’t want to give anything away. This book is full of secrets and half-truths but I can’t tell you any of them without spoiling the story. Goodness this review is hard to write!

I loved the letters to Hitchcock that Silvie wrote; they added this neat historical side to this story. Especially since Rose & Silvie’s family home is an old roadside motel where mysterious things happen, “did you get the idea from me?” Silvie asks Hitchcock.

There are 3 time frames for this story 1961 with sisters Rose & Silvie, the 80’s when Rose’s daughter Amy and her best friends and sisters Piper & Margot are teens and present day there are also chapters from James the young man with a crush on Amy when they are teens but who is now married to Margot. The jumps in time were well written and I was never confused as to which time period I was listening to.

Something happens that summer though and splits these friends up, then when something terrible happens in the present it brings up memories from that summer and what went wrong between these friends. It may be the same thing that broke up Rose & Silvie’s relationship too, how can something cause generation after generation to fall apart? What is going on in this creepy old motel?

Cassandra Campbell’s narration was spot on as always, I liked how you could tell it was teen Piper & Margot speaking and when they were adults also a good job at the older Rose, also the narration of Amy’s daughter Lou was very well done. I waited for the audio version of this one and Cassandra didn’t let me down!

This would be a great October read, it has good spook factor and keeps you guessing.

4 stars

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

For those who want a realistic review...

I was hesitant to purchase this one because of the bad reviews. I have to guess that some people just didn't finish the book! I first heard of this author when I listened to the Winter People, which was amazing BTW.

This story was so well fleshed out, I felt as if I had lived at the motel in both the late 50's as well as the 80's! I love any story that puts me in the past and let's me experience life through the eyes of its characters. This is one of those kinds of books. It has a great mystery that will keep you guessing until the final chapters.

The mystery was so gripping that I scarcely took a break from listening. Don't let the naysayers convince you otherwise, this is an excellent book. I dare say it is even better than the Winter People because it was more relatable in some ways due to the time periods, and the suspense kept me glued to my headphones!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Not as good as The Winter People

I had hoped for something as awesome as The Winter People. (You know, I think The Winter People ruined me.) This one had the requisite isolated Vermont setting that works so well for McMahon, but the only time I really engaged with these characters was when discoveries were being made by the teenage girls at the creepy Tower Hotel in 1989. Otherwise, I just wasn't itching to run outside with my headphones on.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Sat at the edge of my office seat the entire last 4 -5 hours!!!! Outstanding, had no idea.....

Where this was even going. If you want a great suspenseful book to read that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat from the time you turn it on till the very last sentence this is the book. It's one of those books where you think you know but then your like wait no way could she have hold did he do it, is there a such do you think the...I mean in this book anything can happen it makes you think that anyways!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great Mystery

Narration was great. Story kept me in suspense. Recommend this book to all who enjoy mysteries.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Literary pop

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Not really. Not a good story.

What was most disappointing about Jennifer McMahon’s story?

Dumb story.

Have you listened to any of Cassandra Campbell’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Campbell was not the problem--she can't help it if the story's bad.

Was The Night Sister worth the listening time?

NOT REALLY

Any additional comments?

Writiing is both an art and a craft. This author has the craft down--I wouldn't say it isn't well written--but she needs to work on her art. Doesn't matter how pretty it is if the essence of the story is prreposterous.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Read at night bc its a sleeper

This book was HORRIBLE. It is so boring I litterally had too force myself to listen to it. The plot is more than silly(I don't read fantasy novels but I do love the Tradd Street books and it contains ghosts and medium so I am not stuck in the "it has to be something that can actually happen" frame when I am picking out books). It takes FOREVER to get to the reveal and by then I didn't really care but was happy I was FINALLY at the end of this dumb ass book. The only thing that made this book bearable was the narriator. Casandra Campbel is really great at what she does. If you are questioning whether to use a credit on this book... Don't unless you suffer from insomnia and want to go to sleep without the help of medication.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Keeps you guessing

I HAD NO IDEA what I was walking into when picking up this story. It's fabulous, and going to keep you guessing for a bit. Then the unfolding of it all will all make sense.