Was it good? Not really. Was I entertained? Absolutely. (Credit:@shelfbytheshore, instagram)
And sometimes, that is exactly what I want from a thriller.
Mother Daughter Sister Stranger centers on Eliza Ramsey, a literary assistant working for an agent in Manhattan. Eleven years ago, Eliza and her sister, Bea, were the sole survivors of the plane crash that killed their parents. Every year, they mark the anniversary as Remembrance Day—so when Bea leaves her daughter, Piper, with Eliza and then mysteriously fails to return for her, Eliza immediately knows something is very wrong.
What follows is Eliza’s increasingly frantic search for her sister, and—as any seasoned thriller reader will suspect—the story of that plane crash and the Ramsey family is considerably more complicated than Eliza believes.
This is one of those thrillers where everything is eventually a plot point. A character who seems incidental? Remember them. A random piece of information? File it away. A strange conversation? Oh, we’re definitely coming back to that.
There are secrets upon secrets upon secrets.
Did I believe all of it? Absolutely not.
Did I keep listening? Absolutely yes.
My biggest issue was Eliza herself. There were moments when she was so slow to put things together that I was practically yelling the answers at my audiobook. And listen—I am NOT the reader who usually figures out thriller twists. Authors fool me constantly. So when I’m several steps ahead of our protagonist, we may have a problem. 😂
On the other hand, there is something strangely satisfying about feeling smarter than the main character for once.
Where this worked particularly well for me was on audio. Mysteries and thrillers are my favorite audiobook genre, and this one is very easy to follow. There’s enough repetition and reminding of important details that I never felt like I needed to rewind or keep track of an enormous cast of suspects. Stevi Incremona gives a strong performance, and the missing-sister setup kept me engaged throughout.
I did think the resolution felt strangely rushed, especially considering how many revelations are packed into the final stretch. Although I’ve started wondering if I say this about thrillers because I’m racing through the last 20% to find out what happens and then immediately sitting down to write a review. Maybe I’m the one rushing. 😂
This wasn’t one of my favorite mysteries of the month, and I wouldn’t examine the plot mechanics too closely afterward. But as a twisty, secret-filled popcorn thriller that kept me entertained for eleven hours? It did its job.
Sometimes that’s enough.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 stars
🎧 Audiobook narrated by Stevi Incremona
📚 Publication date: September 1, 2026
🎧 Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the gifted advanced listening copy.
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