worldsokayeststepmom's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
itadakinasu's review against another edition
2.0
If this isn't self-insert fiction, then I'm not sure what is. Marr studied for a few years in Sorbonne, which is a focal area for this novel. She is mixed race, just like Shayna. She has a graduate school education, just like Shayna. I'm not sure if she is a twin, but I would guess not based on the way she wrote Shayna and Angela's relationship.
The Missing Sister wasn't bad for a debut novel. If I had to sum it up in one word: unremarkable.
What I liked:
The beauty and danger of Paris and the Parisian condescension were very well-written, which is to be expected from someone who has spent a considerable amount of time there. Marr did a decent job of explaining common expat struggles to people who have never lived abroad.
Shayna and Angela's relationship was explored little by little, shifting gears about halfway through the story instead of a big info dump at the beginning. I liked this approach, as it helped the reader feel Shayna's estrangement with her sister and subsequent attempts at reconnecting.
Almost every character's reminder to Shayna that France and America don't work the same way.
What I didn't like:
Being non-white in France isn't easy, a fact which Angela literally states in one of her e-mails. But for Shayna, not only do people forgive her idiotic, selfish actions, but almost every man in a 20ft radius is stumbling over himself to get in her pants.
It felt like Marr used race to try and deepen Shayna's character and add some spice to her backstory. With only a few lines dropped in about Cantonese sounding familiar and receiving red pocket money, it feels like a cheap attempt to make a white character more "exotic." I'm aware that not every Asian-American is in touch with their ancestral roots, but if you're going to make this a part of your character, you should develop it enough to make it believable. Angela's character had some depth in this department, but as a mixed race American living abroad in similar circumstances to Angela, I wasn't satisfied with the level of depth.
The pacing was weird. I found it hard to get into and frequently lost interest until the last 40%. There were several parts that dragged due to bloated descriptions and lack of action.
Shayna is introduced as an intelligent character but rarely shows this trait. Not only does she put herself into dangerous situations with disturbing frequency, but she also refuses to go to the police despite having no reason to distrust them and constantly jumps to (wrong) conclusions. She antagonizes the few people willing to help her and follows useless "leads" while ignoring blatantly obvious clues/information. I call this "IPS" or "Idiot Protagonist Syndrome."
Final thoughts:
The Missing Sister has lovely descriptions of France and does portray life as an expat in France realistically. It suffers from lack of depth in other areas, namely characterization and believability. The ending is foreseeable and the culprit's motivations laughably unrealistic. If Marr publishes something else (not a mystery), I'd give it a try.
The Missing Sister wasn't bad for a debut novel. If I had to sum it up in one word: unremarkable.
What I liked:
The beauty and danger of Paris and the Parisian condescension were very well-written, which is to be expected from someone who has spent a considerable amount of time there. Marr did a decent job of explaining common expat struggles to people who have never lived abroad.
Shayna and Angela's relationship was explored little by little, shifting gears about halfway through the story instead of a big info dump at the beginning. I liked this approach, as it helped the reader feel Shayna's estrangement with her sister and subsequent attempts at reconnecting.
Almost every character's reminder to Shayna that France and America don't work the same way.
What I didn't like:
Being non-white in France isn't easy, a fact which Angela literally states in one of her e-mails. But for Shayna, not only do people forgive her idiotic, selfish actions, but almost every man in a 20ft radius is stumbling over himself to get in her pants.
It felt like Marr used race to try and deepen Shayna's character and add some spice to her backstory. With only a few lines dropped in about Cantonese sounding familiar and receiving red pocket money, it feels like a cheap attempt to make a white character more "exotic." I'm aware that not every Asian-American is in touch with their ancestral roots, but if you're going to make this a part of your character, you should develop it enough to make it believable. Angela's character had some depth in this department, but as a mixed race American living abroad in similar circumstances to Angela, I wasn't satisfied with the level of depth.
The pacing was weird. I found it hard to get into and frequently lost interest until the last 40%. There were several parts that dragged due to bloated descriptions and lack of action.
Shayna is introduced as an intelligent character but rarely shows this trait. Not only does she put herself into dangerous situations with disturbing frequency, but she also refuses to go to the police despite having no reason to distrust them and constantly jumps to (wrong) conclusions. She antagonizes the few people willing to help her and follows useless "leads" while ignoring blatantly obvious clues/information. I call this "IPS" or "Idiot Protagonist Syndrome."
Final thoughts:
The Missing Sister has lovely descriptions of France and does portray life as an expat in France realistically. It suffers from lack of depth in other areas, namely characterization and believability. The ending is foreseeable and the culprit's motivations laughably unrealistic. If Marr publishes something else (not a mystery), I'd give it a try.
jedamath's review against another edition
2.0
Looking back on this book I couldn’t even remember what it was about. I wish the author would have been more restrained with her lengthy and flowery descriptions, and that the book had been more fast-paced.
liveglavlove's review against another edition
1.0
DNF
When the first person POV character repeatedly tells the reader how intelligent, pragmatic, and logical she is, then proceeds to act anything but, that's where the book loses me. It was so slow moving and boring, that I didn't bother finishing.
When the first person POV character repeatedly tells the reader how intelligent, pragmatic, and logical she is, then proceeds to act anything but, that's where the book loses me. It was so slow moving and boring, that I didn't bother finishing.
anwoolson's review against another edition
1.0
No. So many times - no. The premise was OK, but there were so many things just wrong with this book. The main character is a med student who gets creeped out by old skeleton bones and deteriorating bodies. She drinks Diet Coke, then gets a sugar hangover. You cannot rip your passport in half, especially if you have just gotten stabbed in the back with a scalpel. Yes, a passport that's been torn in half would be invalid, but if you had been kidnapped, held in the catacombs beneath Paris for days, experiment on, almost murdered, had to murder your captor to get away - I think the embassy would work with you to get a new one and get you out of the country as soon as possible.
There is so much wrong in this book. Did the publisher not have someone read it before it was released?
Don't bother. Just don't bother.
There is so much wrong in this book. Did the publisher not have someone read it before it was released?
Don't bother. Just don't bother.
creaseinthespinebooks's review
1.0
Im one of the select few who didnt really like this book. I found it unsatisfyingly boring,
I enjoyed the beginning and i really was looking forward to this book.i thought this was going to be a fast paced thriller but after a few chapters i was still waiting for something and the endjng was what made it even worse..
I need to erase my brain and forget about the last few hrs reading this book
I enjoyed the beginning and i really was looking forward to this book.i thought this was going to be a fast paced thriller but after a few chapters i was still waiting for something and the endjng was what made it even worse..
I need to erase my brain and forget about the last few hrs reading this book
mmfabulous's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
alsudik's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0