Book review: Mother Daughter Sister Stranger by Hank Phillippi Ryan

3.75⭐
Genre ~ domestic suspense
Setting ~ Massachusetts, Boston & Berkshires
Publication date ~ September 1, 2026
Publisher ~ Macmillan Audio
Est Page Count ~ 342 (p+ 77 chapters)
Audio length ~ 10 hours 42 minutes
Narrator ~ Stevi Incremona​
POV ~ single 1st, present tense
Featuring ~ missing sister/mother, family secrets, 3 day story

My review:

Eliza is watching her 11 year old adopted niece, Piper, which is nothing out of the ordinary until her sister, Bea, doesn’t come and pick her up when she’s supposed to. It’s time for their annual cemetery visit to their parents grave, something Bea would never miss, so where could she be?

Bea is going through a divorce, and Kyle is not being helpful in trying to locate her. Could he have something to do with her disappearance? It’s the 11 year anniversary of the plane crash that took her parents lives, and almost her and her sisters. Is that related somehow after all these years? Every piece of clothing from Bea’s closet is missing. Could she simply have just taken off and left her beloved daughter?

Piper’s character was written so well that you could just feel her confusion, fear, and hope for her mother’s return. She didn’t feel 11 sometimes, but I’ll chalk that up to her tension. Eliza’s dedication and protection of her was outstanding, and how I would hope most Aunt’s would be.

Whitney, Eliza’s boss, was acting really shady and butting in a bit much, so I was really curious how she was involved in the overall plot.

Overall, it was slow moving at times, yet suspenseful, and a little repetitive with some many inner thoughts, especially ‘Bea is gone,’, ‘where is Bea?’, girl your guess is as good as mine. But there were some shockers, so that was nice. I, also, don’t feel like we were given an opportunity to figure some things out since the character development was low, but that’s fine.

Narration notes:
I’m very pleased with her performance. She did a great job of bringing some tension to the story. Author’s note is narrated by the author, so that was nice.

Add to your never ending TBR  ~ goodreads

I’d love to hear your thoughts if you’ve read it.

Book blurb:

What if your own family history turns out to be a terrifying lie? Every family has its story, and this one’s deadly. Two sisters. One secret. And a race against time to find the explosive truth in this twisty and captivating thriller by USA Today bestselling author Hank Phillippi Ryan.

The sole survivors of the fiery plane crash that killed their parents, Eliza Ramsey and her sister Bea share an unbreakable bond. But now, on the eleventh anniversary of the tragedy, Bea fails to retrieve her pre-teen daughter from a sleepover at Eliza’s.

Eliza knows her sister would never leave her precious Piper behind, and fears the worst. But did Bea plan her own disappearance?

The Ramseys’ lives have already crashed and burned once. Now, Eliza discovers she’s the only one who can protect her niece from the horrifying legacy of her family’s sinister history. Together, the two must prevent their lives from going up in flames once again.

A missing mother. Her frightened daughter. And a sister on a desperate search for a happy ending. But someone knows the deadly key to their shared past, and won’t stop until they’ve written a devastating final chapter. Mother, daughter, sister—stranger.

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