The Winter Sister

Recently laid off from her job as a tattoo artist in Providence, R.I., 30-year-old Sylvie O’Leary, the narrator of Collins’s tepid debut, has no excuses to not return home to Spring Hill, Conn., when her aunt calls with the news that her alcoholic mother, Annie, has cancer. Mother and daughter have been estranged since the murder of Sylvie’s 18-year-old sister, Persephone, 16 years earlier. The case remains unsolved. The most likely suspect, Persephone’s boyfriend, Ben Emory, the son of the town’s mayor, was quickly cleared by police after a brief investigation. Coincidentally, Annie is being treated at the cancer center where Ben works as an oncology nurse. The three people who loved Persephone the most—Sylvie, Annie, and Ben—confront themselves and each other as the truth slowly unravels, revealing the part each played in the events that led to Persephone’s murder one cold winter night. This psychological thriller starts strong, but the story veers off along tired plot lines, leaving readers as adrift as the characters. Agent: Sharon Pelletier, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Feb.)