It’s Not Her by Mary Kubica

 

Happy #bookbirthday to It’s Not Her by Mary Kubica!

What is the best thriller or mystery that you have read lately?

Courtney Gray is vacationing with her family and her brother’s family in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.  The mostly peaceful family vacation is shattered when she discovers that her brother and sister-in-law have been murdered and her niece Reese is missing.  Did Reese have anything to do with the murders?  Where is Reese? Why were her parents murdered?

My thoughts on this book:

·       The story is told with short chapters from alternating viewpoints that keep the action moving.  It was a very engaging story.

·       Reese’s point of view (POV) is from the start of the vacation moving forward while Courtney’s POV is from the murder forward.  It was an interesting way to change the viewpoint.

·       Reese hates Wisconsin and describes everything at the resort as terrible.  I thought Mary Kubica did a great job of getting into the mind and character of a sullen teenage girl.

·       There were a lot of twists, turns, and red herrings that kept me surprised up until the end. 

·       I have enjoyed other Mary Kubica books in the past and this one was another great one by her. 

·       This novel was a great suspense thriller and domestic drama.

·       Courtney really starts to wonder if she can trust anyone.

·       I don’t want to spoil the book by going into more details, but it was excellent, and I couldn’t put it down.

Overall, It’s Not Her by Mary Kubica is a riveting suspense thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Book Source:  NetGalley.  Thank-you!

She’s Not Sorry by Mary Kubica

 

What is a recent thriller that you have read and enjoyed?

Meghan Michaels is a divorced ICU nurse in Chicago.  She’s a single mom taking care of her teenaged daughter as a killer roams the streets murdering single women.  A new patient has arrived in the ICUE named Caitlen.  It’s thought that she tried to commit suicide, but a witness comes forward stating that they saw Caitlin fighting with someone right before her fall.  Could it have been a murder attempt?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I have enjoyed Mary Kubica’s thrillers in the past and this did not disappoint.

·       I really enjoyed the twist at the end of the novel.  I don’t want to ruin the surprise, so I am not going to get into details.

·       The plot was very engaging, and I read this story quickly.  I was hooked from the very first page.

·       I especially enjoyed the atmosphere and tension in this book.  I felt scared for Meghan every time she walked home. 

·       The unreliable characters made it so that the reader was not sure who to believe.

·       The difficulty of the mother and teenage daughter relationship seemed very relatable.

·       It was interesting thinking about being a nurse and trying to maintain the balance of being a professional and not digging into patients’ private matters.

·       I read this book in April, but I’m still plucking away at getting some past reviews posted.

Overall, She’s Not Sorry by Mary Kubica was an engaging thriller that I could not put down.

Book Source:  Review copy from NetGalley. Thank-you!

Just the Nicest Couple by Mary Kubica

 

Do you really know your neighbors?

Nina Hayes and Lily Scott teach together at a local school.  Nina is married to surgeon Jake Hayes.  After a fight, he disappears.  At first, she thinks it is because he is so angry about their fight, but as the days pass, she starts to think something sinister has happened.

Christian is surprised when his pregnant wife Lily arrives home upset.  She was hiking when she had an altercation with Jake and may be the last person that has seen him.  What exactly happened during that hike?  What lengths will Christian go to in order to keep Lily safe?

Just the Nicest Couple was a slow burn suspense read written with very short sentences. I did figure this one out before the end.  I read and loved Local Woman Missing last year and I felt like Just the Nicest Couple didn’t keep as enthralled as that one.  The book is told from the point of views of Nina and Christian.  They both made a lot of questionable choices.  This book was an okay suspense read.

Book Source:  Purchased from Barnes and Nobles with a Christmas gift card from my sister Katie.  Thank-you!

Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica

 

What is your first read of 2022?

My kids had Barnes and Nobles gift cards from Christmas burning a hole in their pockets, so we visited the store on New Year’s Eve.  I picked up a copy of Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica and started reading the first chapter.  I was instantly gripped by the story and purchased a copy.  I read the entire book on New Year’s Day!  It’s the kind of thriller that you just can’t put down.

In a suburb eleven years ago, two unrelated women, Shelby Tebow and Meredith Dickey, and a Meredith’s young daughter, Delilah, go missing.  The case grows cold until eleven years later when Delilah reappears.  Where was Delilah at and why did she go missing?

I don’t want to ruin the surprise of this thriller, but I enjoyed the suspense.  It had three primary narrators: Meredith eleven years in the past, Meredith’s son Leo in the present, and Kate a neighbor and friend in the past and present.  Delilah also narrates her escape in the start of the novel.  I did not guess the ending as it went in a totally different direction than I thought, but it all added up at the end.  This novel is told in the first person.

Overall, Local Woman Missing is a fast-paced novel that I couldn’t put down.

Source: Purchased from Barnes and Nobles