Lost Sister

I read, and loved, SISTERS OF MISERY last summer and couldn't wait to get my hands on THE LOST SISTER! Both stories revolve around "mean girls" and the power they hold over the unlucky ones they choose to harass. But this story isn't just about bullying. It's about love and fear, faith and trust, honesty and the power of hope. It is a beautiful story about the power of female friendship and sisterhood, but also illustrates the dark side of jealousy and envy. Megan Kelley Hall has written a dramatic, exciting and beautiful portrayal of the uncertainty of life and the power certain girls can hold over their "friends." Hall's writing style and amazing ability to craft a flawless story is reminiscent of Alice Hoffman and Jodi Picoult. I couldn't put it down!

At the conclusion of Sisters of Misery we learn that Cordelia is still alive, and she plans to come back to find Maddie. In this sequel, The Lost Sister, we find out what led to Cordelia's disappearance, and where she's been hiding for the past year. All the major players in this drama have received a tarot card, which seems to convey an eerie warning. Death is in the air, and the evil won't stop until certain people are finally removed from Hawthorne, once and for all. Is this story taking place in our modern century, or have they returned to the witch trials of Massachusetts? Magic and mystery surrounds them, blending both eras until almost indistinguishable from each other. But why is all this death necessary? For what end? Maddie will find out when she faces her enemy in the final showdown. Once again, author Megan Kelley Hall has created a haunting novel of madness in a small, affluent New England town. In this sequel, she ties together the loose ends left open when Cordelia vanished. Although it's not quite as well written as Sisters of Misery, readers will still enjoy this conclusion to a chilling story. Reviewer: Alice Berger

This review starts by stating it was incredibly difficult to write a detailed summary of the over arching story because there are so many good plots, twists and turns that shouldn't be revealed. There are just that many secrets that spoiling even the smallest part would take the fun out of experiencing it; and experience it you should. Knowing that to be the case, it can be said that the author did an excellent job of formulating an interesting and thought provoking mystery. Her ability to construct a story that utilized elements of mysticism and witchcraft accompanied with local history made for an intriguing read. It was certainly difficult for this reader to put the book down for fear of not getting to know the answers soon enough. Hall has also written dynamic characters that are somewhat larger than life. Showcasing a typical class based system of haves and have-nots the animosity between groups is palpable. As one would expect there is constant positioning, one-upsmanship, back stabbing and general down and dirty cat-fighting. Fighting, that at the heart of it all, spurns resolution to the larger mystery. If you are looking for a good whodunit with a dash of the supernatural that includes compelling characters that you'll want to revisit in the future then The Lost Sister is definitely for you.

Ever since the disappearance of her half-sister Cordelia, Maddie Crane has been wracked with guilt and plagued by nightmares of that fateful night that forced Cordelia to flee. Even when she transfers to a boarding school in Maine, far from her hometown in Hawthorne, Massachusetts, Maddie can't escapt from the blame she's pinned on herself. Although Maddie will take the guild any day over facing the demons she's left at home, she knows she can't hide forever, especially after receiving news of her mother's cancer--and the tarot card for Death from an unknown sender. And so she returns to Hawthorne, to a home torn apart by her sister's disappearance, to a town scarred by dangerous memories and filled with sinister secrets. Maddie realizes that it's time to start cleaning up the whole mess, but what she doesn't know is that this mess may have moved beyond her control and into the hands of someone--or something--far more cruel. The Lost Sister is the sequel to Sisters of Misery we've all been looking for, but while it does address many of the questions its prequel left unanswered, the novel was not quite as spectacular as I thought it'd be. Let me make this clear, The Lost Sister is without a doubt a thrilling story filled with danger, the scandal of recently uncovered secrets, and the mystical wonder of witchcraft and extrasensory perception. But as enthralling as the story is, I often felt the characters were mere puppets of the plot instead of people within a story. Maddie and a select few other characters do experience some growth, but none of these characters ever felt quite real to me. In all actuality, the spirit sightings and other unexplainable events were more believable than the characters. This is because although Hall does a fantastic job of making this novel's plot exciting and unpredictable, she didn't dedicate the same care to developing her characters. I didn't know them and could hardly relate to them most of the time. This doesn't make the story bad; in fact, I found this story quite enjoyable. But I did find it a little odd that there were so many loose ends left untied by this novel's finish even though the story just felt like it was over. The Lost Sister could've been greater had it been refined better, but it is still a good read and a page turner. Fans of Hall's debut Sisters of Misery will not want to miss its sequel The Lost Sister. Hall's writing is sure to be enjoyed by fans of Swoon by Nina Malkin, Distant Waves by Suzanne Weyn, Blue is for Nightmares by Laurie Faria Stolarz, and Revealers by Amanda Marrone.

It has been one year since the Hawthorne, Massachusetts based SISTERS OF MISERY tried to kill Cordelia LeClaire on nearby Misery Island, but somehow she survived. While she seeks her estranged father Malcolm Crane, whom she blames for the tragedies that have devastated all the females in her family, Maddie feels guilt and remorse for not helping her new friend out of fear of retaliation by the Sisters. She is away at school struggling with her weakness especially her failure to help Cordelia. Haunted by neurotic trepidations she returns to Hawthorne when she learns her mother is dying from cancer. When a Sister dies at a party hosted by the Endicott family to announce their plans for a new hotel on the site of the Ravenswood Asylum, the police arrest Finn and Reed, who are still suspects in the cold case of the disappearance Cordelia as murder suspects. Cordelia returns so one charge against Finn and Reed is dropped. Meanwhile The Endicott Hotel construction is stopped due a blaze destroying what has been built. The townsfolk are divided in opinion between a human or an otherworldly arsonist. Maddie and Cordelia team up to investigate who burned down the partially constructed hotel and killed the Sister, but neither trusts the other for good reasons; they better move past their suspicions of one another as something is stalking them. The second Sisters of Misery young adult fantasy will appeal to older readers as well due to the character driven tale containing a deep Gothic feel and haunting foreboding atmosphere that hooks fans of all ages. The lead amateur sleuths are terrific as they invesitgate while doubting the sincerity of one another at a time they better get over it or else. With strong ties to the late seventeenth century Salem Witch Trials, THE LOST SISTER is a super thriller as evil comes in all packages. Harriet Klausner