Review: Don’t You Cry by Mary Kubica

Title: Don’t You Cry by Mary Kubica
Publisher: MIRA
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 320 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl and Pretty Baby, Mary Kubica returns with an electrifying and addictive tale of deceit and obsession.

In downtown Chicago, a young woman named Esther Vaughan disappears from her apartment without a trace. A haunting letter addressed to My Dearest is found among her possessions, leaving her friend and roommate Quinn Collins to wonder where Esther is and whether or not she’s the person Quinn thought she knew.

Meanwhile, in a small Michigan harbor town an hour outside Chicago, a mysterious woman appears in the quiet coffee shop where eighteen-year-old Alex Gallo works as a dishwasher. He is immediately drawn to her charm and beauty, but what starts as an innocent crush quickly spirals into something far more dark and sinister than he ever expected.

As Quinn searches for answers about Esther, and Alex is drawn further under the stranger’s spell, master of suspense Mary Kubica takes readers on a taut and twisted thrill ride that builds to a stunning conclusion and shows that no matter how fast and far we run, the past always catches up with us in the end.

Review:

Don’t You Cry is another perplexing mystery by Mary Kubica.  Following the disappearance of her seemingly perfect roommate Esther Vaughan, Quinn Collins uncovers some very troubling information about her missing friend.  In a sleepy lakeside town about an hour from Chicago, eighteen year old Alex Alex Gallo is intrigued by a mysterious stranger whom he nicknames Pearl.  What, if anything,  could be the correlation between these two seemingly unrelated events?

Quinn really does not know what to think when she wakes up and discovers her über responsible roommate has vanished without a trace.  Trying to respect Esther’s privacy, she gives her bedroom a cursory examination but outside of the open bedroom window, nothing seems out of place. She becomes more alarmed when she discovers Esther’s cell phone is still in the apartment and a couple of phone calls she answers are definitely worrisome.  Finally deciding to report the disappearance to the police, the operator’s lack of concern temporarily allays her fears.  But as the days pass without Esther returning home, Quinn becomes alarmed that her friend has met with foul play.  However, a few unexpected discoveries seem to point in another direction but Quinn’s overactive imagination makes it impossible for her to stop searching for answers.

Alex’s curiosity about Pearl is piqued right from his first glimpse of her.  Drawn to ethereal beauty, he immediately begins trying to guess why she keeps returning to the coffee shop where he works as a dishwasher.  As their paths continue to cross, Alex tries to help her as much as he can but he grows concerned by her inexplicable behavior.  After witnessing her bewildering actions early one morning, he decides to uncover the truth about a long ago event that locals continue to gossip about.  Stunned by his discovery, Alex stumbles into a dark and twisted situation that he desperately tries to defuse before it ends in tragedy.

Don’t You Cry is a suspense-laden novel that unfolds at a leisurely pace.  Mary Kubica skillfully weaves the two storylines into a riveting mystery that is impossible to put down.  While some of the plot is easy to figure out, there are plenty of unexpected twists and turns that will leave readers guessing until the novel’s very dramatic conclusion.   All in all, a very twisty, turny mystery that fans of genre are sure to love.