The Night Sister by Jennifer McMahon + Make it a Gift

The Night Sister by Jennifer McMahon


Review by Lauren

Source: copy for review; all opinions are my own

Official Summary: 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 that 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.

Review:  This was my first book by McMahon, but it will most definitely not be my last. The Night Sister is such an intriguing story. It’s one where you find yourself really caring about the characters, but at the same time, you aren’t sure if what is happening is supernatural or related to mental illness or something else.

The book is broken into three parts, yet these sections go back and forth. At one point you are in the present (2013) with mostly Piper’s point of view. She is back in town to be with her sister, who is pregnant and due soon. Their childhood friend, Amy, and her family is dead and they are saying that it was Amy who did it. Another section is when Piper, Amy, and Margot are young. Amy lives in the Tower Motel with her grandmother and they happen upon a mystery. Piper isn’t sure if Amy is making things up to create an adventure, but she doesn’t care. The final section takes place in the 1950’s and 1960’s when Amy’s mom, Rose, is little. These point of views are mostly Rose, but we do get letters that Sylvie, Rose’s older sister, writes to Alfred Hitchcock.

There is a mystery that weaves its way through all of these decades, and as you go back and forth between the years and the point of views, more and more is revealed. I won’t try and explain this mystery, because I think it’s important to read the book and discover things for yourself. I found myself questioning a lot of the characters through the book, especially Rose and her daughter, Amy.

As for the setting, this book takes place around the Tower Motel that starts to lose customers when Rose and Sylvie are young, because of a main highway being built. Sylvie talks about her motel in letters to Hitchcock, so when the film Psycho comes out (featuring a very similar motel that loses customers), Sylvie thinks that maybe she helped inspire the film. If you have seen the movie Psycho, then you can kind of picture this idea of a run down motel where mysterious and deadly things happen.

The Night Sister was such a great novel. I read it quickly and would definitely suggest you find a good time to dive in. You’re sure to keep reading until all is revealed!

As I already mentioned the similarities to the film Psycho above, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the DVD is what I am suggesting you add to this novel to truly make it a gift!

You can buy Psycho on Amazon now for a little less than $10!!