Who killed her sister? The question you’ll be asking yourself until you read the last page. A wonderful thriller.

When they killed her sister, they made it personal. As this young woman returns to a place she thought she'd left behind for good, her only thought is to catch her sister's killer. She'll face many of the reasons she left in the first place while investigating the community that seems so changed, yet the same. A good thriller with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing through the end.

I found this a little unbelievable at times, and struggled with the number of characters introduced, but it did keep me entertained.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me an early look at this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5⭐⭐⭐



- the book honestly got me hooked from the first pages, until i wasnt .
it gotten to the point that it has to be combine with two scenes that i couldnt understand and nearly dnf.
Apparently , i tried to finish it and it was worth it the end .




+ thankyou netgalley for the opportunity .

Honestly, I don’t know where to even begin with the hot mess that is this book.

1. Victoria Wharton, a “highly skilled detective” from Chicago PD returns to her hometown after her twin sister, Rebecca, is found murdered and is working with local detective Steve McCade to solve the crime.
*There is absolutely no way any reader can or should suspend disbelief on any level to think that any law enforcement agency would allow a detective to get anywhere close to an investigation involving a close friend or family member. Not going to happen and I find it highly insulting that the author would do this.

2. The author throws a bunch of characters at the reader in rapid succession without any rhyme or reason. Who are all these people and how do they fit into the story?
*Besides Victoria and Steve, who the reader is led to believe are the main characters and have history, the reader is given bits and pieces of Rebecca, Victoria’s mother, Vera, John Gardner, John Gardner’s mother, Victoria’s friend, Janet, Victoria’s father, the Jenkins family and on and on. How does the author expect the reader to develop any connection or bond with the main characters? When the reader is introduced to so many people it feels like I’m lost in Grand Central Station.

3. With so many characters to keep track of, no time is spent making these characters multi-dimensional.
*The reader is given brief glimpses into the characters and their past relationships and current situations but not enough time is spent developing these characters. They felt cardboard to me and as a result, I felt no connection with them.

4. The story structure is very choppy. The plot is all over the place, making it nearly impossible for me to follow, keep up or understand.
*Victoria turned her father in for… (seriously? The author can’t just tell us what he was turned in for? I have to wait several pages for Victoria’s inner monologue to tell me he used to creep into her bedroom?) At this point, if this book were in print format, it would have been a wall-banger.
*Victoria doesn’t like to be touched and demonstrates nervous apprehension around John Gardner. If she’s supposedly a highly skilled detective in Chicago, of all places, I find it completely unbelievable that being in close proximity to a man, even with her background, would cause her to react this way. How did she manage to pass her psych evaluation to get hired by Chicago in the first place if this is the case?
*At the 25% mark, Victoria tells her friend, Janet, that she thinks Steve might be interested in more than friendship, but nothing in the story up to this point remotely suggests this.
*Steve interrupts John Gardner in his veterinary operating room during a surgical procedure. Not only is this beyond inappropriate, but quite tacky and doesn’t fit. Additionally, the reader is led to believe that out of the blue, there’s bad blood and hostility between the two due to Steve attacking John prior to the story beginning. If the author wants to refer to previous events, then build up to it. Please do not throw it at the reader as an afterthought.
*Gavin Jenkins rats out his parents and the bogus lawsuit they filed against the hospital Rebecca worked at and then tells Victora that his father, Maurice, had a thing for Rebecca, and either one of his parents could have been the killer. I get that kids may not always like or even love their parents, but to go to the lengths that Gavin does didn’t ring true for me.

My Final Verdict: Overall, this book did not work for me on any level, unfortunately. The choppy and uneven flow of the plot, one-dimensional characters and pointless red herrings made this book one I cannot recommend to anyone. The only character I did feel the slightest bit of empathy for in the beginning was Rebecca.

Chicago police detective, Victoria, returns home after her sister is murdered to help catch the killer. When she is met with characters from her past that she's tried hard to forget, things quickly get messy.
The ending, though surprising, felt totally chaotic to me and ultimately I was left disappointed.

It was my first book.of 2022 I enjoyed it, it kept me hooked from start to finish & the ending was a twist

This was an ok read. I found it a bit slow paced and the investigation seemed to lack any urgency. I wasn't really drawn to the main lead either.

I like the premise of the book. But I just never got pulled into the story. The emotions of the characters seemed to override the mystery of who killed Becky. The guilty party was a good twist so I am being generous with the rating.

Set in USA Returning to New England with a determination to find her sisters killer Victoria finds herself reawakening feelings for Detective Steve McCade. Fighting with emotions and demons from her past Victoria then starts to receive death threats. Someone has a secret and they don't want it uncovered.

This book was ok. Victoria is a Chicago-based detective returning to her childhood home, Hancock, NH, to investigate her sister's death.

I didn't feel there was a whole lot of "investigating" going on just a lot of things that happened to Victoria while she was in town that eventually led her to figuring out who had killed her sister.

Being from NH, I actually know where this town is and Victoria and some friends attend an event at the Keene Country Club, which I have been to.

Interesting murder mystery with partial twist in the tail, enjoyable read though not sure you would ever re-read in a few years once is enough

This was awful! Victoria comes back to her hometown to investigate the murder of her twin sister. Right away, she doesn’t strike you as a good detective, even though she has a great reputation as one in Chicago. The entire book was ridiculous. The “investigation” was almost nonexistent because the story centered around her “romance”. Which was so juvenile it’s laughable, towards the end gag inducing! The “investigation” itself was one of the worst I’ve ever read. The characters were one dimensional and cringe worthy. Just an eye rolling experience. I’m sorry I read this.

This story was a struggle to finish, there were just so many issues.

To begin with, there is no way that any police department would allow the sister of a murder victim to investigate said murder. Not even as an "attachment" or a "partner" to the lead investigator.

Secondly, I never felt any real depth to these characters. Victoria is meant to be one of the "best homicide detectives in Chicago", but she felt so incredibly one dimensional and... well stupid if we're being honest. She never questions certain actions, never takes a deeper look at things that are said, or how people are acting. And her whole "relationship" with Steve was downright laughable. We are told over and over that she doesn't "do" relationships due to a past trauma involving her father (that is hinted at, but never goes into detail about), but suddenly a guy she knew from her past looks at her sideways and she's smitten with him?

It seems all of the characters suffered this same ailment; there was nothing that made them stand out. The mother was described as a bitter and manipulative woman who can't be bothered to postpone the funeral of one child until the other can arrive. Most of the men (aside from Steve of course) are portrayed as stalkers, or having nefarious purposes, and little of the plot makes sense as the book is written in a disjointed type of way.

This one wasn't for me, but if the synopsis peaks your interest, please don't let this stop you from giving it a try. What didn't work for me might just work for you.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this.

When her sister is murdered, Chicago homicide detective, Victoria Wharton returns home to find her sister's killer. She hasn’t spoken to her mother or sister since she left to follow her dreams. But now she’s back to get justice for her sister.

I found this a quick and easy read. There is one part in the book for me that basically gave the answer away. But despite this, I still enjoyed the read.

Her Sister's Killer by Michelle S. Smith was a very quick and easy read and a good mystery with lots of twists and turns. that had me guessing right till the end when you find out who it is.

Big Thank you to NetGalley and publisher Joffe Books for the ARC.

I am very familiar with Hancock, New Hampshire. The story was short but was fast paced and hard to put down. There were many twists and turns and not until the last few pages was the mystery revealed. So well written.

If there’s one thing that I like doing it’s discovering new authors. Michelle S. Smith is certainly a new author for me. I read the synopsis for ‘Her Sister’s Killer’ and it certainly sounded like the kind of crime thriller that I particularly enjoy reading. So I settled down on the sofa with my Kindle in one hand and a cup of tea in the other. Oh boy, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Her Sister’s Killer’ but more about that in a bit.
It didn’t take me long at all to get into ‘Her Sister’s Killer’. In fact by the time I got to the bottom of the first page, I knew that I wasn’t going to be doing anything other than reading for the next few hours. I must be psychic (or psychopathic) because that’s exactly what happened. I was intrigued by the story and by the characters. I had my own theory as to how the story was going to turn out so of course I had to keep reading to see if I was on the right track or if I had wandered down the wrong path entirely. The book isn’t particularly long so I managed to read the book in the space of a day, which is pretty good going for me. I found ‘Her Sister’s Killer’ to be a gripping read, which kept me guessing and which kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.
‘Her Sister’s Killer’ is superbly written. The author has one of those writing styles that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with. For me, the story hit the ground running and maintained a fairly fast pace throughout. Some of the characters got on my nerves a bit whilst others set little alarm bells off in my mind. Reading ‘Her Sister’s Killer’ felt like being on an times scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with several twists and turns along the way. I felt as though I was part of the story myself and at the heart of the action, which is all thanks to Michelle’s very vivid and realistic storytelling.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Her Sister’s Killer’ and I would recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Michelle’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

Victoria is immersed into the reality of her sister’s death, investigating this mystery will bring old family wounds to the surface. I loved the storyline and found the characters relatable and easy to connect to.
A fabulous read that kept me entertained and wondering until the end!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book, thanks to Joffe Books. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A Catalogue Of Chilling Events…
Can a Chicago homicide detective investigate the death of her own twin sister? Estranged from her family to follow her own path in life she returns to seek justice and so begins a catalogue of chilling events. A promising debut.