In London, Vermont, there’s a small motel off of Route 6 that used to be the go-to place for travelers. But when the highway was built across town, the motel started to decline and it eventually closed. Charlotte, an Englishwoman, ran the place with her husband, who built a tower behind the motel so his wife could enjoy her very own Tower of London. Their cute and clever daughters, Sylvie and Rose, used to entertain and amuse the guests.
Amy, Rose’s daughter, grew up playing in the motel’s abandoned rooms with her friends, sisters Piper and Margot. However, one day they discover a suitcase the contains the belongings of her mysterious Aunt Sylvie, who went missing so many years ago. Rose eventually left too, unable to handle living in the old motel, leaving Grandma Charlotte to raise Amy.
Now, in present time, Amy is dead and stands accused of murder-suicide when her husband’s and son’s bodies are also found. Piper resolves to find out what really happened in the Tower of London, whether or not Amy lost her mind and killed her family, and what this strange family is really all about. She also cares for Amy’s only living child, Lou, who survived Amy’s supposed night of terror.
Again, Jennifer McMahon captured my attention immediately and I read this book in a day. This was after reading The Winter People, so I knew it was going to give me goosebumps. This writer doesn’t play. She takes readers all the way to the edge and then gently nudges them over.
Buy The Night Sister here.