The Night Sister

A Novel

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

Creepy and gripping

The middle might have sagged a bit, but the rest of this story kept me on the edge of my seat. Campbell is one of the best narrators I’ve listened to in a very long time.

Creapy scarry...

Jennifer!!! You robbed me of a bunch of sleep.
But hey! It was totaly worth it! 👍

Monsters

Do you believe in monsters?
The type of monsters in the story are unbelievable. The characters are amazing and narrator did an excellent job. So much mystery throughout and things like can this be real?
My favorite character is Rose.

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!

Ok if you’re a teen

It was ok if you’re a young adult. Good narration, mediocre story. Ridiculous ending. Wanted to like it more.

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

Interesting but predictable

I always enjoy stories by Jennifer McMahon because of the fantasy involved in them. However, this one seemed more predictable than others. I found myself waiting for her to say what I already knew. I enjoyed the story very much and highly recommend it if you enjoy fantasies.

Good Story

I enjoyed listening to this. Well written and somewhat creepy. About women and children and their somewhat strange powers. Good narration.

Light and nice

Teenager type of book, light and nice to hear. Very good performance by the narrator. The story makes you wonder what will happen.

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.