In Paris, her twin sister has vanished, leaving behind three chilling words: Trust no one.Shayna Darby is finally coming to terms with her parents’ deaths when she’s delivered another blow. The body of her estranged twin sister, Angela—the possible victim of a serial killer—has been pulled from the Seine. Putting what’s left of her life on hold, Shayna heads to Paris. But while cleaning out … while cleaning out Angela’s apartment, Shayna makes a startling discovery: a coded message meant for her alone…
Alive. Trust no one.
Taking the warning to heart, Shayna maintains the lie. She makes a positive ID on the remains and works to find out where—and why—her missing sister is hiding. Shayna retraces her sister’s footsteps, and they lead her down into Paris’s underbelly.
As she gets closer to the truth—and to the killer—Shayna’s own life may now be in the balance…
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Between the inexplicable silent communication bond/link that twins share and an active serial killer on the loose, I stayed up to the wee hours of the morning to discover the bizarre motive for a trail of bodies. Satisfying to the very last page, I highly recommend this book.
THE MISSING SISTER will transport you to Paris and take you on an unforgettable journey through Montmartre, the Catacombs, and the city’s underground nightclub scene. Experiencing Paris through Shayna’s eyes was a sensory experience. This book was written by an author who spent a great deal of time in Paris, and it shows.
As Shayna investigates the disappearance and supposed murder of her estranged twin sister, the plot takes as many twists and turns as a Latin Quarter street. The mystery was well-crafted and kept me guessing right up until the end! Elle Marr perfectly portrays the contentious-but-loving bond between sisters as she lays the groundwork for Shayna’s quest. Her determination to find out what happened to her sister demonstrates the deep
connection Shayna has with her twin—and how much she’ll risk for that love.
I enjoyed this twisty tale of a sister trying to find her twin in another country and figure out if she’s dead or alive. There are so many suspicious characters that she doesn’t know who to trust. Unpredictable!
Talk about a fantastic page turner! This is one of those books that you just don’t want to put down. I have never read this author before but I can guarantee I will read her books again. My advice to you is hurry and pick it up and read it! Thanks for writing such a great book!
Shayna’s sister is missing, and she hasn’t spoken to her in years. Imagine: your sister is missing, and she is your twin. Your sister is missing, and you are afraid of her, but still, you need to find her because, above all else, you love her.
Shayna’s sister is missing, yet she leaves you clues, and she tells you not to trust anyone. And yet you do.
THIS is The Missing Sister. It kept me on the edge of my seat. It led me through the catacombs and brothels of Paris; it introduced me to people both good and nefarious.
I loved it. You will too!
Twisted mystery full of family failings. Amazingly brilliant siblings who just happen to be twins in the dark side of Paris. Can’t wait to read her next book!
I loved this! The Missing Sister works on so many levels: strained family relationships (in this case between sisters), plus a scary thriller set in the fabulous city of Paris with twists, suspense, and meticulous descriptions of settings which most tourists don’t get to see – the Catacombs, for example – super creepy. I LOVED the Paris location, the characters are well drawn, and the final twist took me by complete surprise. If you hanker a mysterious thriller set in an exotic locale, you will definitely enjoy this. Highly recommended! Five stars!
My new favorite thriller! The Missing Sister has it all: intrigue, family drama, twists galore, suspense, and a richly drawn setting that enhances every element of the story while adding to the creepiness factor. I LOVED the Paris location and enjoyed learning about so many of the historical elements that the author has meticulously researched. Clues are placed in a manner that’s fun to follow and identify without being obvious, and the final twist took me by complete surprise even though I was sure I’d figured it out. On top of all of that, it’s a feast for the senses that pulls you in to Shayna’s perspective seamlessly. Obsessed!
Wow! I had no clue how this woild end until it happened! Wow!
The Missing Sister by Elle Marr was one of those thrillers that has you gripped from the start, and I really enjoyed how suspenseful it was.
The pace was very steady, and I couldn’t wait to find out what had happened to Angela and who the killer was. I think Marr did a really good job of making you suspicious of everyone and even though I wasn’t super shocked by the ending, a couple of things definitely surprised me. The end merges into disturbing and a touch gory, but the majority of the book isn’t like that at all so if you are squeamish I think you should be able to read this just fine.
I was captivated by the mystery, and the catacombs in Paris was such a unique and fascinating setting. I liked reading about Paris in general, but I knew nothing about the catacombs going into it and it made the book quite creepy and even more interesting.
I was also a huge fan of the twin aspect. I haven’t read many books about twins, so it was nice to have something different. There was definitely a lot going on, but The Missing Sister was a solid, suspenseful thriller and I look forward to seeing what Marr comes up with next!
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book, all opinions and thoughts are my own.
****** AUDIOBOOK REVIEW ******
Welllll…. I was beyond shocked with how much I enjoyed this audiobook. It looks as though The Missing Sister by Elle Marr is her debut novel and it made me love it even more. There are several well-to-do authors that are on bestsellers list that don’t create such thrilling stories, stories that make you wonder the entire time. This is a story of great mystery. The writing was incredibly developed. The characters were so interesting. I wasn’t sure who to trust and who not to.
Ellen Marr was very creative in the development of the characters as well as the was the story was put together. I feel like I got a bit of a history lesson in the catacombs and I was taken on a tour (ableit a virtual tour) through Paris which was really fun since I’ve never been. I really don’t want to go through much more in the storyline. The possibility of ruining the plot is way too plausible if I continue my ramblings. There is some slight issues at the end where some things happen that don’t seen possible. For the most part the author really kept the story pretty plausible. It slipped a bit for me on those last chapters.
So… the narration Sarah Naughton was a great narrator. I feel like she portrayed the characters while still giving them individuality and not altering her voice and making it uncharacteristic. The main character Shayna runs a gambit of emotions and I feel like Naughton was able to really get into character. I found it an enjoyable audio narration. I’d happily listen to this narrator again and again, no issues here.
Thank you to Brilliance Publishing for sending me a complimentary copy of The Missing Sister. I was not required to leave a favorable review. The opinions expressed in this review, are just that… my opinions.
I received a free electronic ARC of this novel from Netgalley, Elle Marr, and Thomas & Mercer. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I am happy to recommend Elle Marr to friends and family. She writes a tight, intriguing mystery with understandable, interesting protagonists and with excellent backgrounds and timing.
The Missing Sister is a tale of coastal California identical twins, raised to emphasize their sameness. We meet them in fairly modern times, their late 20s, some three years after the death of their parents. The accidental death of their parents affected the girls differently, and their relationship since has been sporadic and cold.
Angela has been for the last four years living in Paris, working now on her Master’s Degree with her research work on the Parisian catacombs and their roll in modern people trafficking nearing completion. Paris’ Roman catacombs are five stories deep and eleven thousand square meters in surface area. Many people are familiar with the skeletal remains arranged in patterns and designs over the centuries as the long-buried dead from Paris graveyards is cycled into the catacombs to make way for the newly dead. In this way, there are six million Parisians buried in the Catacombs but still many unexplored acres down there, as well. Angela is sure the people brokers of the world are using those unexplored areas as hiding places for hostages.
Shayna is ready to start training for her medical degree in southern California when she receives a notice from the American Embassy in France that her sister Angela is missing and presumed dead in Paris. They need a family member to identify the remains. With less than a week before her classes begin, Shayna flies over to Paris to identify her sister officially, receive her remains and head back to San Diego in time for that first class on Monday.
But of course, it’s not gonna happen like that. Four plus years apart have allowed them both to evolve into the adults they were meant to be. There are clues in twin speak that Shayna uncovers as she sorts through her sister’s apartment for evidence the police may have overlooked in their investigation of Angela’s disappearance. The first clue, written on the corner of her whiteboard, translates into “ALIVE. TRUST NO ONE.” But when did Angela write it? Before, or after she trusted the wrong person?
The appointment with Inspector Valentin, the policeman investigating Angela’s case, with the mortician does not go well. She is told there have been several murders that follow this same pattern, and Angela is actually wanted by the police as a possible protagonist in another murder case. The body on the coroner’s table, a corpse that spent 4 or five days in the busy Seine River, could be Angela. Shayna reluctantly gives them a positive identification though there is an essential piece of identifying matter missing. And wouldn’t she just know, if Angela was dead? And if Angela is really alive, whoever is killing women in Paris may still be after her. If she is labeled “deceased”, everyone will stop looking for her. Shayna changes her return flight to mid-week and begins her search of Paris and the catacombs, keeps the police on point, evades Angela’s boyfriend, and her upstairs neighbor, and tries to connect with Angela’s friends. But it is Madame Chang, the ancient concierge of Angel’s apartment building, who stands with Shayna in her exploration for the truth concerning her missing sister. Madame Chang, who reminds her so of their maternal grandmother, even down to the Cantonese swear words.
And who would have thought this sweet little old lady would know the catacombs like the back of her hand?
The Missing Sister is such an exciting thriller! I was drawn in right from the start. Imagine. Your twin has been pulled from the Seine in Paris, and as her only living relative, you’ve got to go positively identify her body. So, you head to Paris, thinking you’ll be there two days to collect the body and clear out the apartment. What you don’t expect is a secret message on your sister’s whiteboard…one only you can read because it’s written in your special “twin language.”
Who can you trust? No one. Does no one include the police? You assume it does, but you’ve got to go with the inspector to identify the body. You’re warned that the body was submerged for quite some time, and it may be hard to identify her. You pull the sheet back and look for her birthmark…
It’s her. That’s what you tell the ME and the inspector, but you know it isn’t her. And they know it isn’t her! But since you insist it is, they’ve got to go by what you’ve said. You begin to search for more clues and slowly begin to find them. Angela’s boyfriend wants to help you follow her last steps. You begin to trust him, but then something seems off. The guide you’ve been assigned from the embassy begins to worry about you, so he begins to help you. Every lead you follow seems to lead to more mystery. Where is your missing sister? You quit trusting your guide because of clues you find. Now you’re even more wary about who you can trust, and it looks like you’ll be on your own.
You’re frantic, feverish, not sleeping. Finding Angela is your only priority, so you begin to neglect your own safety.
If you are a fan of thrillers, you have got to read The Missing Sister! I love how well written the characters are and not knowing who to trust! I felt so immersed in the story that it was as if I were Shayna, and I was losing my mind! You may even start wonder if you can even trust Shayna! Is she a reliable character or is she imagining things?
Add The Missing Sister to your TBR piles! You will love the crazy ride!
Shayna Darby has received a horrible email informing her of the death of her identical twin sister who has been living in Paris for several years.
Leaving her California home and flying to France, she is surprised by Angela’s boyfriend, who has a key to Angela’s apartment … just something else Shayna didn’t know about her sister. Much to her amazement, there is a message … meant only for Shayna. As twins and as young children they invented their own secret language. The message, written in this secret language only says …. ALIVE. TRUST NO ONE.
Is her sister actually still alive? Why would she be in hiding?
Shayna retraces her sister’s footsteps and finds herself the possible target of a serial killer, who supposedly murdered her sister.
Who can she trust? Her sister’s boyfriend she never knew about? The embassy liaison who incidentally lives in the apartment above where her sister lived? The police who seem not to be telling her anything?
Lots of action, lots of suspense leads to an unpredictable ending.
Many thanks to the author / Thomas & Mercer / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
This one started out strong, but devolved in the final third into a series of eye-rolling coincidences, implausible choices, and tropes that left me unsatisfied… The setup was intriguing. I wasn’t expecting a life-changing experience, but things were engaging and suspenseful and I was curious where the author was going. Then the revelations started and it felt like a series of unbelievables thrown against the page to see what stuck. I can’t exactly pinpoint when it started to fall apart, but it was well past the point where I felt like I *had* to see it through, so kept reading just to see what the author was doing. It felt rushed and thrown together in a way that belied the more careful crafting of the mystery of Angela, and ultimately lost me (and stars) as a result… Still, I can’t say it was “bad” – I really did enjoy most of it, just found the answers unsatisfying in the final wrap up. If you don’t mind a little schlock (and honestly, in a book about twins, you almost have to expect SOME), and can suspend disbelief mightily, it’s not a bad read – just not the more engaging one it started out as…
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my review copy.
Shayna arrives in Paris to identify her dead twin sister’s body, but instead receives a message in “their own secret language” telling her to trust no one. For all the intelligence we are frequently told that Shayna has, she certainly makes some ridiculous choices. I gave up caring whether the twin sister was alive or dead long before the end of the book. Don’t waste your time.
This book just never hooked me. I did read all of it, but I could have read so many other better books.
The book had no flow and the characters were not sympathetic. None of the characters seemed real.
After most of the book is over, one of the characters does a monologue-type speech and explains all his actions. Wasn’t that what the book itself was supposed to do?