The Sullivan Sisters

by Kathryn Ormsbee

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

Having sisters must be wild. In fiction and in reality, there is always a story with sisters. And with The Sullivan Sisters, there certainly is one. And it's changed over the years as the girls have gotten older, developed their own lives, and drifted a bit away from one another. But a chance letter revealing a relative they never knew existed thrusts them back into each other's orbits.

I absolutely loved that they had this chance to reconnect. There is a lot of love among these young women, of that I had no doubt. But there is also a lot of pain. Their mother works so much to provide that she's basically absent and each sister is on her own. Eileen, the oldest, is a mess, she's become an alcoholic, and sees pretty much no future for herself. Claire tries to overcompensate by being the best at all the things and assumes that she needs to be some perfect version of herself. Murphy, the youngest (and my favorite) is lonely and lost, but such a genuinely delightful character. So off they go to a quaint town on the water to an old, inherited house.

The atmosphere of this place is perfect for both a mystery and a rediscovery of sisterhood. As it's a small town, the sisters have little choice but to sort out their problems, and the clues of their ancestors. And while I won't say too much about either journey, it's wonderful to see the parallels between the mystery and their own reconnection.

It's obviously a very family-focused story, but also a story about self-discovery too. For the sisters will never be able to properly patch their relationships if they first cannot heal within themselves.

Bottom Line: Atmospheric and full of love and heart, this mystery-slash-sisterly love story is one not to be missed!