Category Archives: Mary Kubica

May 20, 2021 · 12:02 am

Review: Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica

Title: Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica
Publisher: Park Row
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 352 pages
Book Rating:

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

In this smart and chilling thriller, master of suspense Mary Kubica takes domestic secrets to a whole new level, showing that some people will stop at nothing to keep the truth buried.

People don’t just disappear without a trace…

Shelby Tebow is the first to go missing. Not long after, Meredith Dickey and her six-year-old daughter, Delilah, vanish just blocks away from where Shelby was last seen, striking fear into their once-peaceful community. Are these incidents connected? After an elusive search that yields more questions than answers, the case eventually goes cold.

Now, eleven years later, Delilah shockingly returns. Everyone wants to know what happened to her, but no one is prepared for what they’ll find…

Review:

Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica is a stunning page-turner.

Eleven years ago, Shelby and Jason Tebow are new to the neighborhood and the parents of a newborn baby. One, evening, Shelby goes out late at night for a jog and fails to return home. Days later, Meredith Dickey and her six-year-old daughter Delilah inexplicably vanish.  Next door neighbors Kate and Bea rally around Josh Dickey as they join the search for his missing wife and daughter. Kate stumbles onto what she believes might be the answer to Meredith’s disappearance. Will her theory prove to be right?

In the present, a young woman escapes from the kidnappers who have kept her in their basement for years. After devising a plan to gain her freedom, she manages to flee from her captors. Although she has very few memories of her life before her kidnapping, she does know her name.

Josh and his now teenage son Leo have not moved in the years since Delilah vanished. Josh never gives up hope she will be found and he investigates every suspected sighting.  Always a quiet child, Leo continues to remain silent about what happens in his life. He is also very resentful about Josh’s neglect over the years. When the detective who has long worked on Delilah’s case calls him, Josh is afraid of what she is going to tell. He and Leo get the shock of their lives when it is good news. But Leo soon begins to have doubts about this latest development.

Weaving back and forth in time, Local Woman Missing is a compelling mystery that is told from varying perspectives. The storyline is gripping and the suburban neighborhood is the perfect setting for this suspenseful story.  The various characters are fully developed and some of them are hiding juicy secrets. With the tension rising with each chapter, Mary Kubica brings this riveting mystery to an unpredictable, jaw-dropping conclusion. I highly recommend this thrilling mystery to fans of the genre.

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Filed under Contemporary, Local Woman Missing, Mary Kubica, Mystery, Park Row Books, Rated B+, Review, Suspense

February 16, 2020 · 11:58 pm

Review: The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica

Title: The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica
Publisher: Park Row
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 368 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Propulsive and addictive, and perfect for fans of “You,” The Other Mrs. is the twisty new psychological thriller from Mary Kubica, the New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl

She tried to run, but she can’t escape the other Mrs.

Sadie and Will Foust have only just moved their family from bustling Chicago to small-town Maine when their neighbor Morgan Baines is found dead in her home. The murder rocks their tiny coastal island, but no one is more shaken than Sadie.

But it’s not just Morgan’s death that has Sadie on edge. And as the eyes of suspicion turn toward the new family in town, Sadie is drawn deeper into the mystery of what really happened that dark and deadly night. But Sadie must be careful, for the more she discovers about Mrs. Baines, the more she begins to realize just how much she has to lose if the truth ever comes to light.

Review:

The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica is a disquieting domestic mystery.

Dr. Sadie Foust and her family relocate to an island off the coast of Maine following her sister-in-law’s death.  The move comes at a fortuitous time since she recently discovered husband Will’s affair and their fourteen year old son Otto has been in trouble at school. Sadie’s unhappiness at their new home is exacerbated by her sixteen year old niece Imogen’s troubling behavior. When neighbor Morgan Baines is murdered, Sadie cannot shake the feeling the killer is close by. Determined to discover who murdered Morgan, is Sadie prepared for the information she might unearth?

Sadie feels like both the house and the island are closing in on her. She is also bored and unhappy with her new job. Sadie is also still wrestling with her feelings after learning about Will’s affair. No matter how hard she tries to put it behind her, she is not all receptive to his affectionate overtures.  She is also somewhat concerned about Otto and the distance between them. But her biggest worry is Imogen who is angry, undisciplined and foul-mouthed. Unable to break through her resentment, Sadie takes  steps to learn more about  her niece. What she discovers raises even more anxiety about the grieving teenager.

Following Morgan’s murder, Sadie’s behavior becomes increasingly erratic. She makes eye-brow raising, reckless choices that may or may not provide answers she is seeking.  Unable to stop herself after making very shocking discoveries and amid fears for her family, Sadie makes impulsive decisions that could have life-altering repercussions.

In addition to Sadie’s perspective, the chapters alternate between two very different points of view. Camille is a brash, no holds barred woman who goes after she wants without worrying about the consequences.  Mouse is a child whose happy life with her father takes a drastic turn when he remarries.  Camille’s involvement in the Sadie’s life is obvious but who is Mouse? And how does she fit into the unfolding story?

The Other Mrs. is an atmospheric mystery that is quite engrossing. The characters are interesting but not always easy to like.  The three narratives are engaging and add another layer of tension to the suspenseful storyline. With a series of breathtaking twists and shocking turns, Mary Kubica brings this clever mystery to a dramatic, jaw-dropping conclusion. I very much enjoyed and highly recommend this diabolically twisted mystery to readers of the genre.

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Filed under Contemporary, Mary Kubica, Mystery, Park Row Books, Rated B+, Review, Suspense, The Other Mrs.

September 5, 2018 · 11:57 pm

Review: When the Lights Go Out by Mary Kubica

Title: When the Lights Go Out by Mary Kubica
Publisher: Park Row
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 336 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

A woman is forced to question her own identity in this riveting and emotionally charged thriller by the blockbuster bestselling author of The Good Girl, Mary Kubica 

Jessie Sloane is on the path to rebuilding her life after years of caring for her ailing mother. She rents a new apartment and applies for college. But when the college informs her that her social security number has raised a red flag, Jessie discovers a shocking detail that causes her to doubt everything she’s ever known.

Finding herself suddenly at the center of a bizarre mystery, Jessie tumbles down a rabbit hole, which is only exacerbated by grief and a relentless lack of sleep. As days pass and the insomnia worsens, it plays with Jessie’s mind. Her judgment is blurred, her thoughts are hampered by fatigue. Jessie begins to see things until she can no longer tell the difference between what’s real and what she’s only imagined.

Meanwhile, twenty years earlier and two hundred and fifty miles away, another woman’s split-second decision may hold the key to Jessie’s secret past. Has Jessie’s whole life been a lie or have her delusions gotten the best of her?

Review:

When the Lights Go Out by Mary Kubica is an engrossing and suspenseful mystery that also explores obsession and the effects of grief.

Jessie Sloane is bereft when her beloved mother and only relative passes away after years of battling cancer. Attempting to honor her mother’s last wishes, Jessie enrolls in college only to discover her social security number is flagged for a shocking reason that leaves her questioning everything she thinks she knows about herself and her mom. Suffering from debilitating insomnia, Jessie begins seeing and hearing things that threaten her sanity.  She eventually becomes obsessed with finding her father but does the hidden picture Jessie discovers hold the key to uncovering the truth?

Interspersed with events playing out in the present are diary entries from a woman named Eden.  When Eden first begins her journal, she and her husband Aaron are blissfully happy and celebrating their recent move into a lakeside cottage. The couple decide it is time to become parents, but as the months pass without conceiving, Jessie becomes more and more obsessed with motherhood.  With her marriage teetering on the brink, exactly how far is Jessie willing to go to become a mother?

When the Lights Go Out is a riveting mystery that will keep readers guessing what is going to happen next. Jessie’s plight is easy to empathize with but her behavior and decisions become increasingly bizarre.  Eden’s desperate attempts to become pregnant are understandable but she eventually becomes quite irrational the more desperate she becomes. Mary Kubica brings the novel to an unexpected conclusion with a major plot twist that is impossible to predict.  Although the ending is bit of letdown, I truly enjoyed this suspense-filled and entertaining read.

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Filed under Contemporary, Mary Kubica, Mystery, Park Row Books, Rated B, Suspense, When the Lights Go Out

June 25, 2017 · 11:58 pm

Review: Every Last Lie by Mary Kubica

Title: Every Last Lie by Mary Kubica
Publisher: Park Row Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery
Length: 336 pages
Book Rating: C+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

New York Times bestselling author of THE GOOD GIRL Mary Kubica is back with another exhilarating thriller as a widow’s pursuit of the truth leads her to the darkest corners of the psyche. 

Clara Solberg’s world shatters when her husband and their four-year-old daughter are in a car crash, killing Nick while Maisie is remarkably unharmed. The crash is ruled an accident…until the coming days, when Maisie starts having night terrors that make Clara question what really happened on that fateful afternoon.

Tormented by grief and her obsession that Nick’s death was far more than just an accident, Clara is plunged into a desperate hunt for the truth. Who would have wanted Nick dead? And, more important, why? Clara will stop at nothing to find out—and the truth is only the beginning of this twisted tale of secrets and deceit.

Told in the alternating perspectives of Clara’s investigation and Nick’s last months leading up to the crash, master of suspense Mary Kubica weaves her most chilling thriller to date—one that explores the dark recesses of a mind plagued by grief and shows that some secrets might be better left buried.

Review:

In Every Last Lie by Mary Kubica, a widow becomes convinced her husband’s car accident was murder but will she find the answers she is searching for when she begins digging into his life?

Clara and Nick Solberg are sleep-deprived parents to four day old son Felix when Nick and 4 year old daughter Maisie are involved in a car accident. Maisie emerges from the wreckage with barely a scratch while Nick suffers catastrophic traumatic brain injury that is impossible to survive. Police quickly rule the car wreck an accident but Clara, unable to accept their conclusion, is certain her husband was murdered after Maisie begins suffering nightmares and telling her mother a “bad man” is after them.  Grief stricken and exhausted, Clara starts an investigation to find evidence to support her theory that Nick was murdered, but will she find the proof she is searching for?

Clara is overwhelmed with grief and barely able to function after Nick’s death. Between the demands of caring for a newborn and trying to make sense of her husband’s unbelievable death, she is not eating or sleeping when she becomes obsessed with trying to find proof Nick was murdered. As she begins delving into Nick’s life, she uncovers information that leaves her reeling and wondering if she really knew her husband. Her behavior is increasingly erratic as she makes mindboggling decisions in her quest for answers.  Clara becomes somewhat unhinged as she begins making crazed accusations after she uncovers evidence that seemingly supports her somewhat wild theories about what happened to Nick.

Chapters from Nick’s perspective in the months leading up to his death which focus on the events occurring in the present are interspersed with Clara’s chapters in the present. These glimpses of his life outside of the home offer an unflattering portrait of secrets, lies and omissions as events slowly snowball out of his control. Desperate to fix the things that are going wrong, Nick makes questionable decisions that jeopardize everything he holds dear. After his death, Clara stumbles onto some of his activities which contribute to her growing conviction that his death is the result of foul play.

Every Last Lie is a slow-paced novel with an unusual premise and an increasingly unreliable narrator. Clara is initially a sympathetic character but her out of control behavior, suspicions, outrageous accusations and dangerous choices quickly wear thin. Mary Kubica brings the novel to a somewhat unconventional conclusion that is quite unexpected. While a few loose ends remain, there is an unequivocal resolution to Clara’s quest for the truth about Nick’s death.

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Filed under Contemporary, Every Last Lie, Mary Kubica, Mystery, Park Row Books, Rated C+, Review

May 15, 2016 · 11:58 pm

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.

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Filed under Contemporary, Don't You Cry, Harlequin, Mary Kubica, Mira, Mystery, Rated B+, Review, Suspense

July 27, 2015 · 11:56 pm

Review: Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica

Title: Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense, Thriller
Length: 384 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

A chance encounter sparks an unrelenting web of lies in this stunning new psychological thriller from the national bestselling author of The Good Girl, Mary Kubica 

She sees the teenage girl on the train platform, standing in the pouring rain, clutching an infant in her arms. She boards a train and is whisked away. But she can’t get the girl out of her head…

Heidi Wood has always been a charitable woman: she works for a nonprofit, takes in stray cats. Still, her husband and daughter are horrified when Heidi returns home one day with a young woman named Willow and her four-month-old baby in tow. Disheveled and apparently homeless, this girl could be a criminal—or worse. But despite her family’s objections, Heidi invites Willow and the baby to take refuge in their home.

Heidi spends the next few days helping Willow get back on her feet, but as clues into Willow’s past begin to surface, Heidi is forced to decide how far she’s willing to go to help a stranger. What starts as an act of kindness quickly spirals into a story far more twisted than anyone could have anticipated.

Don’t miss this thrilling follow-up to The Good Girl by master of suspense, Mary Kubica.

Review:

Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica is a very clever and intriguing mystery. Full of suspense and drama, an act of kindness takes several unexpected turns that make this compelling novel very hard to put down.

Heidi Wood is a giving and caring married mother whose altruistic nature is her best and sometimes, worst, trait. Her husband Chris is used to her unilateral approach to decision making but even he is stunned when she returns home one morning with a homeless teen and her baby. His questions about how long the pair are going to stay with the family remain unanswered and when he returns from a business trip, he is absolutely horrified by the changes that have occurred in his absence.

Heidi is a bit off balance when she first crosses path with Willow and her baby, Ruby. Chris is frequently out of town for business and she is less than pleased that his beautiful, sexy co-worker often accompanies him on these trips. Her once close relationship with daughter Zoe has become tense and she is at a loss as to how to handle her now Zoe is entering her teen years. Years earlier, Heidi suffered two defining and life altering losses and although hit hard by these events, she appears to have fully recovered in the intervening years. However once she brings Willow and Ruby into the home, she is haunted by memories of what happened and the choices she made.

Chris is often distracted by work and while he still loves Heidi, he feels a little neglected as she pours her heart and soul into her job. He is also a bit resentful of how she makes decisions without consulting him and he is rightfully concerned about her bringing Willow and Ruby into their home. Chris wants answers that Willow is unwilling to provide and he takes steps to learn exactly what she is hiding.

Willow is shrouded in mystery and she is very hesitant to divulge anything about herself or her baby. She is clearly uncomfortable with some aspects of motherhood and Heidi is very concerned about Ruby’s welfare. Despite her current situation, Willow is very sympathetic and as more information about her traumatic and tragic past are revealed, it is easy to understand the reasons for her actions. Could Willow have done things differently? Absolutely. But once her age and her circumstances are taken into consideration, her decisions are reasonable, albeit misguided.

While always interesting, the first half of the novel is rather slow paced. The story is written in alternating points of views with Chris and Heidi’s chapters taking place in the present and following the events as they unfold. In sharp contrast, Willow’s chapters take place in after everything has occurred, but they give away few details about what actually transpired while she was with Heidi and Chris. It is through these chapters that the shocking truth about her tragic past is fully revealed.

Riveting and complex with a strong psychological aspect, Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica is a well-written, character driven novel. While not a traditional mystery, there is a great deal of suspense surrounding Willow’s identity and what happens after she enters Heidi’s home. Although the reader is eventually able to see where the story is going, the conclusion is still quite shocking and completely unexpected.

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Filed under Contemporary, Harlequin, Mary Kubica, Mira, Mystery, Pretty Baby, Rated B, Review, Suspense, Thriller