Friday, September 25, 2026

Reivew of: Mother Daughter Sister Stranger: A Novel of Suspense" by Hank Phillippi Ryan

  


Eleven years ago, sisters Eliza and Bea Ramsey endured a horrific tragedy. Their family was on a small plane piloted by their father, and the plane crashed. The accident killed both parents, physics professor Gideon Ramsey and probate judge Faith Ramsey. The sisters were injured, but survived. Bea was 21 and a new college graduate and Eliza was 17.

Bea and Eliza's Aunt Margaret looked after them for a time, and when the girls were back on their feet, Aunt Margaret left and got on with her life.



Now, more than a decade later, Bea and Eliza still live in their home town of Boston, Massachusetts. Bea, 31, is a divorced fashion influencer with an eleven-year-old daughter named Piper, who was adopted at age five;



and Eliza, 28, is a book agent working for Whitney Hart, the founder of LexLit Literary Agency.



Eliza and Bea have an annual ritual they call Remembrance Day. Every year on August 8, the anniversary of their parents' deaths, Eliza and Bea go to the cemetery. This year, young Piper is to be included in the memorial after staying with her Aunt Eliza for a week. Eliza and Piper get on famously, and enjoy the time together.



Things go off-track when Bea fails to pick up Piper the day before the remembrance ritual, as she'd promised. Eliza needs to get back to work at LexLit, fearing her demanding boss Whitney will fire her; and Piper misses her mom. So Eliza and Piper call Bea, text Bea, keep looking out the window of Eliza's brownstone, make excuses, and grow increasingly agitated.



Long story short, Bea doesn't show up and doesn't respond in any way.

Eliza calls Piper's father Kurt, but he's in Tokyo on business, and seems disinterested. The police get involved, and when they search Bea's house, it turns out her closet - which had a fortune in clothes - is empty and her toiletries are gone.



Did Bea disappear of her own volition? Was she abducted? Is she dead? Eliza torments herself with worry while she tries to keep Piper calm. Eliza finally tells her boss Whitney what's happening, and the literary agent becomes concerned as well.

The police make no discoveries and Eliza hits on the idea that Bea may have gone to the Ramsey family's summer lodge near the Greylock Mountains in the Berkshires. Eliza hasn't been to the Berkshires in years, and she recalls - when the Ramseys regularly used the cottage - a serial killer called the Greylock Killer was active in the region.

Eliza and Piper make the long drive to the mountains, and the deceased caretaker's son Logan provides the key to the lodge.



The story, narrated in the first person by Eliza, moves very slowly for the first two-thirds of the book. Thankfully, things pick up when Eliza and Piper get to the Berkshires. Eliza makes a shocking discovery in the cottage, then Aunt Margaret shows up, followed by Eliza's boss Whitney Hart. Logan comes back as well, and once everyone's on hand, secrets spill out one after another.



For me, parts of the book don't ring true. I'll include examples with a spoiler alert.

SPOILER ALERT    SPOILER ALERT   SPOILER ALERT

[When Eliza can't find the key to Bea's house, she breaks in through a small basement window instead of calling the police for a wellness check. The break-in sets off the alarm, and there's a big to-do.

When the deceased caretaker's son Logan wants to prevent Eliza from seeing his phone, he throws it into a full rain barrel instead of just walking away. This plot point moves the story forward, but it doesn't ring true.

After Eliza finds a manuscript in the cabin - whose contents seem highly unlikely - she becomes a raving lunatic.]

END SPOILER ALERT    END SPOILER ALERT   END SPOILER ALERT 

For me, this novel is only mildly successful and I'd hesitate to recommend it. That said, Hank Phillipi Ryan is a popular author, and other reviewers like the book better than I did.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Stevi Incremona,who does a fine job.

Thanks to Netgalley, Hank Philippi Ryan, and Macmillan Audio for an ARC of the book. 

Rating: 3 stars 

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