ARC Review: My Sister’s Shadow by January Gilchrist

My Sister’s Shadow by January Gilchrist is a gothic thriller about twin sisters, set in 1904 in England and New York.

My Sister’s Shadow is told from the perspective of Adelaide, a quiet, introverted, and somewhat socially awkward young woman with an identical mirror twin, Victoria, who in personality appears to be the total opposite. The story opens at their home in England and very shortly it is clear that although they come from a privileged family, there are strange dynamics going on within the family, and most especially, between the sisters.

I found the story to be a bit of a mixture. It started out rather slow with a hint of gothic mystery at their home, Harewood House in England, but then turned rather ordinary for a good portion of the novel as the sisters travelled to New York, and Adelaide was introduced to the social scene there. Then it suddenly took a melodramatic turn back to gothic, suspense for the final portion of the novel.

I really enjoyed the book but for the middle portion, I really wondered what was going on, and if the description of the book was accurate. I’ll be honest, it was  a bit boring. I think the book would have benefitted from the point of view being split between Adelaide and Victoria, as we lost sight of Victoria for a large portion of the novel, and it would have been interesting to see her actions, and understand what was going on in her head throughout a lot of the story.

I also felt like Adelaide’s husband was superfluous to the story. Other than as a way to get the girls to New York, and an authority figure in one of the plot points near the end of the novel, he was barely present and I wondered why he was ever even introduced. I think his actions later in the novel would have seemed more believable if he had been more present throughout. Yes, we heard that he had done a few questionable, abusive things, but those instances were almost brushed off and seemed unimportant to the story the way they were presented.

I did find the third part of the story a bit over the top, but at the same time, it makes one wonder about the past, and how many women were gaslighted into similar circumstances in reality. I know my comments here are vague, but I don’t want to give away any important points of the plot and ruin the story.

In all I enjoyed the story, and I do recommend it, but I can’t think of any books I have read that I can compare it to for other readers. You’ll just have to take a chance on it.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

My Sister’s Shadow will be available on March 18 2025.