ARC Review: The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain

Title:  The Silent Sister Author: Diane Chamberlain Publisher/Publication Date: St. Martin's Press, October 7, 2014 Genre: Fiction Format/Source: ARC, Publisher Amazon     Barnes & Noble     Goodreads Book Summary From Goodreads In The Silent Sister, Riley MacPherson has spent her entire life believing that her older sister Lisa committed suicide as a teenager.  Now, over twenty years later, her father has passed away and she's in New Bern, North Carolina cleaning out his house when she finds evidence to the contrary.  Lisa is alive.  Alive and living under a new identity.  But why exactly was she on the run all those years ago, and what secrets are being kept now?  As Riley works to uncover the truth, her discoveries will put into question everything she thought she knew about her family.  Riley must decide what the past means for her present, and what she will do with her newfound reality, in this engrossing mystery from international bestselling author Diane Chamberlain. My Thoughts I was excited when I received The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain. The synopsis sounded intriguing as it presented questions regarding Riley’s initial belief that her sister had committed suicide. I usually enjoy a good mystery that exposes family secrets. Although the story had an attention-grabbing start, I didn’t like some of the character depictions or the conclusion. Chamberlain presents a story of secrets, abuse, and a moment in time that thrust Riley’s family into a web of lies and a life of turmoil. I liked how the story alternated between events of the past and that of present day. The events of the past are told in third person as we get a glimpse of the shocking events surrounding Lisa’s disappearance and her experience after she disappeared. Other chapters were presented in first person from Riley’s point of view as she slowly uncovered the truth about what happened to her sister. After becoming aware of Riley’s occupation, I questioned whether Riley, who was supposed to be good at what she did, had very good problem solving skills. At times, Lisa’s as well as some of the other characters’ behaviors were perplexing and didn’t seem to fit with their initial depiction.  And there were so many familial and personal issues presented throughout the story that some of the problems lacked enough depth to wow me.  Rating 2/5 ***I received a copy of The Silent Sister from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ***