Lisa Childs generates a suitably mysterious mood in the latest Eclipse Gothic romance, The Substitute Sister, but the story’s flaws keep it from being anything more than an average read.

Sasha Michaelson hadn’t spoken to her twin sister Nadine in five years, ever since Sasha made the mistake of inviting Nadine to her wedding – only to get left at the altar when the groom ran off with her sister. Sasha cut Nadine out of her life completely. Then she received a call from Sheriff Reed Blakeslee on isolated Sunset Island in northern Michigan, informing her that Nadine had been murdered.

Nadine left behind a two-year-old daughter Sasha never knew about, as well as a number of enemies. Several years earlier, one of the island’s wealthiest residents died. The woman’s wealth and her mansion went to Nadine instead of her family, something that raised more than a few eyebrows. Now the house, the money, and custody of Nadine’s daughter all go to Sasha. The mansion’s staff is unwelcoming, and young Annie doesn’t understand that Sasha isn’t Nadine and keeps calling her “Mommy.” Meanwhile, strange things begin to happen inside the creepy old house, and Sasha begins to wonder if Nadine’s ghost is trying to warn her of danger.

The sheriff is the only trustworthy person on the remote island. But Sasha suspects Reed had feelings for her sister. When he begins to express an attraction for her, she has to wonder if she’s really the one he’s interested in, or if she’s merely a substitute for her sister.

The author finds the right kind of moody tone for this kind of story. The isolated island, complete with the drafty old mansion, is a fitting setting for a gothic tale and is well-used here. Unfortunately, the character development is close to nonexistent, even if Sasha and Reed are sympathetic enough within the constraints of this story. I’m not the biggest fan of children in romance novels, but Annie’s presence here was a nice touch (even if her babyspeak may drive the truly kidphobic up the wall). Her inability to understand that Sasha isn’t her mother is touching. For his part, Reed has been like a father to her, and his frustration at seeing her possibly taken away why a complete stranger is effective.

In addition to the lack of character development, the romance simply isn’t believable. It happens way too quickly and the characters’ reactions are never convincing. I didn’t buy it for a second. While there is the occasional nice moment, the love story eventually becomes bogged down in a lack of communication and lame misunderstandings, with each of the characters believing the other wants different things than they really do. As the story goes on, there are several instances where the author tries too hard to make the romance really emotional. Instead, it becomes melodramatic.

There’s also a certain vagueness to the story that became increasingly frustrating as it went along. Some very relevant story elements are left murky and unexplained for too long, and some questions that the characters should be asking go unsaid. I don’t want to risk getting into spoilers, but this is one of those books where we ultimately find out that certain things were not as they seemed. Except that I was never really clear on what they seemed to be in the first place. It’s one thing to keep certain story elements unexplained to maintain interest in the mystery, but often the narrative is just unnecessarily sketchy. There are also some things that didn’t make sense to me. For instance, the household staff worked for the mansion’s previous owner and hated Nadine after she inherited the house. So I didn’t understand why she would keep these people employed, so they’d keep hanging around the house hating her. With only her and her daughter living there, it’s not like she needed a staff anyway.

The Substitute Sister offers a gothic mood and mysterious setting, but its romance is forced and the story is too sketchy to generate more than a passing interest in the proceedings. Diehard Gothic fans could do worse – but that’s about the best recommendation I can make.