I was excited to read this book, as it sounded like a nice psychological thriller, a genre I enjoy but don’t read much of. Nico Morris’s older sister, Sarah, disappeared four years earlier when she was fifteen and Nico was eleven. And now she’s back.

Or is she? That’s the question. Nico isn’t sure if it’s her sister or an imposter.

As I’m trying to write this, I’m noticing that it’s actually kind of hard to describe the story without giving anything away…

Still, when the book opens, Nico tells us she knows in her bones that her sister’s dead, despite desperately wanting to believe she was alive. That there was a chance. She talks about the early days after the disappearance and all the false sightings and false hopes. Now, four years later, they learn that a girl claiming to be Sarah has been found in a Florida shelter. She’s damaged and is suffering from retrograde amnesia.

Nico’s story is interspersed with chapters from Sarah’s life that start to hint at who she is. So even before the big reveal, you basically know what’s going on.

Most of the book is comprised of the developing relationship between Nico and her returned sister. Because Sarah’s definitely different. But that’s to be expected, considering what she went through. Throughout, Nico wonders if it’s Sarah or not. Then some of Sarah’s old friends come onto the scene and shake things up a bit, making Nico choose sides.

Despite my high hopes for the book, I have to admit I was underwhelmed by the end. I didn’t feel particularly surprised at the revelation of what actually happened when Sarah disappeared, even though I hadn’t specifically anticipated the exact circumstances. I think that’s one of the things with psychological thrillers and mysteries. So much hinges on surprise (but only surprise that in retrospect was inevitable). I also didn’t find the voice that engaging—I wasn’t totally drawn in by Nico, even though I did sympathize with her plight—and it made the book drag a little for me. Out of curiosity, I peeked at some other reviews on Goodreads and found that the book did totally work as intended for a lot of people. So it’s going to come down to individual taste.

You might enjoy this one if you enjoy psychological thrillers/mysteries and don’t mind kind of knowing the what even if you don’t know the why.