Once the thriving attraction of rural Vermont, the Tower Motel now stands in disrepair, alive only in the memories of Amy, Piper, and Piper’s kid sister, Margot. The three played there as girls until the day that their games uncovered something dark and twisted in the motel’s past, something that ruined their friendship forever. 
     Now adult, Piper and Margot have tried to forget what they found that fateful summer, but their lives are upended when Piper receives a panicked midnight call from Margot, with news of a horrific crime for which Amy stands accused. Suddenly, Margot and Piper are forced to relive the time that they found the suitcase that once belonged to Silvie Slater, the aunt that Amy claimed had run away to Hollywood to live out her dream of becoming Hitchcock’s next blonde bombshell leading lady. As Margot and Piper investigate, a cleverly woven plot unfolds—revealing the story of Sylvie and Rose, two other sisters who lived at the motel during its 1950s heyday. Each believed the other to be something truly monstrous, but only one carries the secret that would haunt the generations to come.

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Welcome to an (almost) all female cast. Except Jason. Jay-Jay. The friendzone dude.

We have Sylvia and Rose – sisters in the 60s, one wanting to be a famous movie star, writing letters to Hitchcock, the other jealous of her sister’s good looks and looking to find out if she was a shapeshifter monster, like in her Oma’s stories.

We have Amy (Rose’s daughter), Piper and Margot, three little girls exploring the summer together and trying to decipher the mystery around Sylvia’s disappearance. Ghosts and haunted towers. Three almost teenagers kissing boys and each other, sexuality mixed in with fear of the unknown.

We have Lou (Amy’s Daughter), Piper and Margot (now expecting a baby) trying to figure out how that old mystery in the hotel tower is now linked to the bloody murder of Lou’s entire family.

The only person to link all three generations, is Rose. She’s in an adult care home, apparently suffering from dementia – claiming that someone in Amy’s family was a monster.

I liked the mystery. The “are they crazy or is there really a monster” questioning?

The author jumps between the three time periods and puts things together, leaving crumbs of information for the reader to draw their own conclusions.

Is Sylvie really wicked? Did she run away? Was she murdered by her jealous sister?

Fantastic start which pulls you in all to lead to an ending that falls short.

*SPOILER*

Yes, Lou killed her family by transforming into a monster when afraid as she didn’t want to be locked in and Rose was also a monster. Apparently the “mare” skips one generation.