Review: Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser

Title: Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 336 pages
Book Rating: B
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:

An innocent night of fun takes a shocking turn in Not That I Could Tell, the next page-turner from Jessica Strawser.

When a group of neighborhood women gathers, wine in hand, around a fire pit where their backyards meet one Saturday night, most of them are just ecstatic to have discovered that their baby monitors reach that far. It’s a rare kid-free night, and they’re giddy with it. They drink too much, and the conversation turns personal.

By Monday morning, one of them is gone.

Everyone knows something about everyone else in the quirky small Ohio town of Yellow Springs, but no one can make sense of the disappearance. Kristin was a sociable twin mom, college administrator, and doctor’s wife who didn’t seem all that bothered by her impending divorce—and the investigation turns up more questions than answers, with her husband, Paul, at the center. For her closest neighbor, Clara, the incident triggers memories she thought she’d put behind her—and when she’s unable to extract herself from the widening circle of scrutiny, her own suspicions quickly grow. But the neighborhood’s newest addition, Izzy, is determined not to jump to any conclusions—especially since she’s dealing with a crisis of her own.

As the police investigation goes from a media circus to a cold case, the neighbors are forced to reexamine what’s going on behind their own closed doors—and to ask how well anyone really knows anyone else.

Review:

Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser is a tautly woven mystery about a woman and her twins’ inexplicable, middle of the night disappearance. No one, including her estranged husband, the police or her neighbors can decipher whether they left of their own accord or they are the victims of foul play.

Yellow Springs, OH is a quiet community that falls under intense media attention when Kristin Kirkland and her twins vanish after spending the evening with her neighbors. Her closest friend, Clara Tiffin, is stunned by the news and after answering Detective Bryant’s questions, she realizes she does not know Kristin as well as she originally thought. Following their police interviews, neighbors Izzy, Natalie, Randi and Rhoda reach the same conclusion. Detective Bryant and Detective Marks uncover damning information that casts suspicion on Kristin’s estranged husband, popular OB/GYN Dr. Paul Kirkland. Did Kristin and the twins leave on their own? Or is there a much more sinister reason for their disappearance?

Clara is shocked to discover that she is unaware of so much about Kristin’s life. They spent a great deal of time together and she greatly admired her outgoing neighbor. Clara did not know Paul very well since he worked long hours and following Kristin’s disappearance, she is quick to assume he is somehow involved in what happened to her friend. Clara’s husband Benny might not have had much in common with Paul, but he urges her to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Izzy is the only single woman on the block and she is younger than the her neighbors. She is nursing a broken heart and she is a little self absorbed. Unlike the other women, she is sympathetic to Paul’s plight and Izzy is convinced that everyone is a little too quick to assume he did something wrong.

Randi , Rhoda and Natalie remain on the periphery of the unfolding drama. Natalie’s husband is frequently gone due to military deployments and Clara helps out by letting her precocious twelve year old daughter Hallie stay with her most afternoons after school. Hallie is naturally curious and she is very interested in the current events occurring in their neighborhood. Randi and Rhoda are a new age-y couple who are parents to an infant and they own their own business so while they are well-liked they are not as involved with their neighbors.

Paul is not well known by the rest of the neighbors and the information that comes to light during the investigation into Kristin’s disappearance does not exactly endear him to most of his neighbors. Clara is especially cautious when dealing with him and once she realizes Izzy is sympathetic to his plight, she is unable to ignore her instincts that something is not quite right about him. But will Izzy take her friend’s warnings to heart?

Not That I Could Tell is an engrossing domestic mystery. The characters are well drawn and very relatable. The storyline is engaging with just enough drama and intrigue to keep the pages turning at a brisk pace. Jessica Strawser keeps readers on the edge of their as Kristin’s fate remains shrouded in mystery until the novel’s surprising conclusion.