4 intriguing stars to the light mystery/domestic suspense, Not That I Could Tell! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Having read Jessica Strawser’s debut book, Almost Missed You, I knew I had to read her second!

The women of the neighborhood gathered around the fire pit at Clara’s house and had a carefree evening while indulging in perhaps too much alcohol. The next day, Kristen’s husband, Paul, flags down one of the women and asks if she knows where Kristen is. It turns out that Kristen and her two children disappeared after the get together. The police begin to question all the women, but their memories are hazy, and they don’t know why, other than the alcohol.

The first suspect is always the husband, right?! Is Paul the culprit, or he is bein falsely accused?

The narrators are Izzy and Clara, two of the neighborhood women who attended the party. Izzy is single, and Clara is married with children; the challenges for each of their lifestyles were explored and contrasted. I liked Izzy. She was fallible, and I admired her growth as a character.

Overall, Not That I Could Tell is a slower-building mystery. It’s an easy read to relax into and watch it gradually unfold.

For this and other Traveling Sister Read reviews, please check out Brenda and Norma’s amazing blog: https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com

Thank you to Jessica Strawser, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for the ARC. Not That I Could Tell will be released on March 27, 2018!

This is my first book by Jessica Strawser and it won't be my last! I was on the edge of my seat and holding my breath through out the whole story! The suspense and the writing was superb!

In a quiet neighborhood, a group of five friends (some more acquaintances), enjoyed a ladies night around the fire-pit: involving a few too many glasses of wine. The next morning one of them, along with her two small children, are missing. When the detectives roll around the ladies don’t remember much of the night (oops, too much wine), nor do they really know much of their neighbor outside of a superficial relationship (what was her marriage really like?). You can imagine the gossip within the small town: did the estranged husband have something to do with it or is he a victim?

How do you know who to believe, or even trust? What if your own friends, even spouse, aren’t on the same page as you? Presumption and judgement run amok.

I would categorize this book as a light suspense read; in that it wasn’t something that kept you up at night nagging through any details you may have missed in order to solve the twist at the end. You can follow the story and there are enough details provided that you may often predict the next outcome, but like any suspense (light or not) its that last chapter that wraps it all up. In this case, I thought the ending was very clever and did not see it coming. For that, I gave it 4 disco balls.

I did feel that some characters were more developed than others and some may not have been that necessary, but overall I thought the story line was interesting and relevant.

Great read on domestic violence and the consequences for friends and family members of the victims.

*I received a copy of this book through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review*
2.5 stars

Let me be straight forward and say, this book is pretty boring. I went into this thinking I was going to get a mystery with lots of conflict from Izzy's 'crisis' coloring things too. This isn't a spoiler, I swear, I'll save you all by letting you know her 'crisis' as the synopsis puts it is a broken heart because the man she loves has married her sister. There isn't really a crisis here. So, truly what this story feels like is Women's fic, since we learn more about the moms in the neighborhood and how Izzy <s>doesn't</s> deals with her broken heart and feeling of betrayal even if no one else knew she loved the guy.

Even the mystery wasn't mysterious since we pretty much know what happened with Kristin (the missing mom) and her children from early on. I honestly thought I was being led astray at first, but it is so SO obvious since the book is literally telling you. I won't say how or where, since some people might consider it a spoiler, but... trust me, you'll know.

So, this ends up being mostly a character driven novel--a women's fiction novel which isn't usually my thing. Izzy's chapters are the ones I skimmed the most. She laments about her love for her sister's husband all the time! It is annoying!! I understand it is hard to get over, but she's had months already. Then she feels her family is pulling away from her and that they don't really care... some of it was hard to read and you do feel for Izzy, but nothing really happy happens with her, not does Kristin the missing woman get brought up often, unless it is in connection with Paul, her husband, who Izzy is giving the benefit of the doubt.

Clara's chapters were more prevalent, thankfully, and are the ones where insight can actually be found into the mystery or... theories repeated over and over. But, I liked Clara, I think it is hard not to.

I was holding on til the end of the book because I read that the ending is good. I agree. The last about 10...maybe 15% of the book was intense and interesting which was so different from the rest of the book. There is action, we learn what happens to Kristin, and there is a twist I didn't see coming. It is the ending which gave the book an extra .5%.

Do I recommend this book? I do, for people who like women's fiction. This is not for people looking for a mystery.

Not That I Could Tell is a suspense book on the slow burner. After the women of a lovely, close knit neighborhood in small-town Yellow Springs, Ohio, have a late-night wine party on Clara's backyard patio, at which they all have a little too much to drink and spill a few secrets, they learn their neighbor Kristin has disappeared along with her twins. Her soon-to-be ex-husband Dr. Paul reports her missing and of course, he becomes the chief suspect.

The story is told mainly by Clara, the mother of two, and Izzy, the single career woman with a broken heart, with occasional short insights from someone the reader guesses to be Kristin. Each chapter begins with a little pithy statement from various experts or organizations.

The big heart of this story is about relationships with family and friends. But there is a dark side to human nature and all is not what it seems--who can you trust?

A couple of nice twists at the end. I would have appreciated a braver, 'save yourself' approach to one particular scene, but I won't quibble.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for providing me with an arc of this new mystery. I want to live in Yellow Springs!

A small town, quiet neighborhood get turned upside down when one of the residents goes missing. A group of six women had a bonfire and drank wine on a Saturday night. Shortly after, one of the women, Kristin, and her four year old twins have been reported missing by her soon to be ex husband, Dr. Paul Kirkland. The story chronicles what the women remember and the progress of the police investigation as well as some flashbacks. The reader is left to be the detective and determine if Kristin took off on her own or if there was foul play by her soon to be ex husband. I personally kept going back and forth on my feelings towards Paul as he attempts to foster a relationship with neighbor, Izzy. One of the neighbors who was also at the bonfire, has a preteen daughter (Hallie) who stirs things up when she snoops and writes a paper including the detective’s accusation of Paul being abusive and potentially harming Kristin. The twists and turns in this book kept me engaged and eager to read more!

I received a free ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

In the quiet town of Yellow Springs, Ohio, the disappearance of one of its residents, Kristin, is a big deal. She vanishes after an evening with several of her neighbors, filled with wine and conversation around the fire pit. She also takes her young twins, Aaron and Abigail. Left behind is her soon-to-be-ex-husband, Paul, a well-known ob-gyn. A window in Kristin's house is broken and some of her belongings missing. But otherwise, there is no trace or idea about where she and the twins have gone. Paul accuses her of disappearing with money owed to him. Kristin's neighbors, especially her next-door neighbor, Clara, for whom Kristin's disappearance hits a bit close to home, and Izzy, a single woman who recently moved to the neighborhood to get away from her own issues, are baffled. They realize how little they knew about their friend--and that they have no idea where she's gone.

This was an interesting one. From the beginning, this book felt familiar to me--the "something happened" after a barbecue reminiscent of Truly Madly Guilty and others I'd read lately. I was sick while reading, so I had trouble keeping the women and their backstories separate for a while. Too much cold medicine and fatigue, probably.

The book is told from various viewpoints--mainly Clara and Izzy. I was always expecting there to be more: some unexpected surprise or twist, but there never really was. The ending threw in a bit of one, but it wasn't quite what I was expecting. Still, there is a tenseness to the novel, and it can certainly be creepy at times. The novel also does a good job of capturing kids and parenthood--the weariness of the day-to-day of parenting small children, for instance. I also liked how it captured how preschools can be a microcosm of life and small towns and such a cesspool of stress and gossip.

This one moved slowly for me. I liked the characters, but wasn't drawn to them. I had some sympathy for Izzy, but also questioned her motives a lot. I should have been more drawn to Clara, but wasn't. Perhaps because, while I have small children, I don't have the same sort of neighborhood tribe as these women? I'm not sure. Not even the token lesbian neighbors could do it, though I appreciated the effort.

Overall, the story was good, but never offered the big surprise I was waiting for. Characters are interesting but I was never fully pulled into their stories.

There seems to be a surge of "no one really knows their neighbor" tales lately and after reading the blurb, I was seriously hoping to find at the least, a good mystery. The problem is the story is just not particularly mysterious. The answer to Kristin's disappearance is pretty obvious from very early on and the rest of the story is a slow-moving jumble of everyday life with a few tidbits of Kristin's life thrown in. The chapters alternate between Clara, a stay at home mom of two who seems to be friends with everybody, and Izzy, the newest addition to the neighborhood who is trying to get as far away from lost love as possible. Amid the lengthy descriptions of nursing and cranky babies, day care gossip, errands, laundry, housework, meals, etc, we get the odd glimpse of Kristin's estranged husband and various theories about what might have happened to her and the twins. We do get a bit of excitement and a twist at the end, and I will say that the way it all played out was an interesting idea... If the story hadn't been so bogged down in the details of everyday life for this neighborhood, most of which had absolutely nothing to do with Kristin or her disappearance. The only glimpses of the actual investigation that we see are from Clara and Izzy, and those are periphery at best for most of the story, so the bulk of this one boils down to the day to day lives of this neighborhood, which in all honesty, can be heard by having a drink with the neighbors in Any Town, USA on any given evening.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for a digital ARC of this book.

This was an interesting twist on the missing mom plot. One might think that the fire pit gathering the night before the disappearance in some way contributed to the need for Kristen to leave with her twins. As we see the neighborhood and the subsequent events through the eyes of Kristen't neighbors we realize that is not so. Then there is the return of the estranged husband to the neighborhood which adds a new dimension to the story as do the mysterious narratives in the 1st person. Ultimately we are confronted with many issues that women face in their lives from the loss of an unrequited love to domestic violence to dealing with a spouse's deployment. There is much here for everyone and I think it would make a wonderful book group selection.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Marin’s Press for the ARC.

My third mystery novel in a recent times. This time out, a group of neighborhood women get together to drink and enjoy a Saturday night in one of the women’s backyards.

Seems all straight forward where these women are just hanging out, drinking and enjoying each other’s company.

But all seemed to have drank a bit too much and Sunday goes by like a blur collectively for them. But by Monday one of their own goes missing.

See Kristin, seems like the perfect mother and wife. She is a doctor’s wife and is the mom to twins. But as picture-perfect as her life may have appeared, appearances may be deceiving to say the least.

See her husband Paul, the so-called good guy, doctor becomes a main suspect. But nothing can be proven or is definitive though.

Still as the book unfolds and the mystery surrounding Kristin’s disappearance continues we get to know more about the neighbors, including Clara and Izzy.

Clara and Kristin were next door neighbors and pretty close, as far as friends go. Izzy lives across the and dealing with a broken heart and quickly became friends with the two women. After Kristin’s disappearance her estranged husband takes an interest in Izzy. And that is where the story takes off.

See we are left to try to read between the lines and figure out what actually happened to Kristin, as well as what the true nature of Paul is. And in all honesty I was left questioning this practically through the duration of the novel. Plus, the ending also neatly wrapped up all. (Originally on Goodreads)

I liked this one, but the middle was way too long and a bit boring. It started off great and I loved the ending, but there was just too much in the middle.It did focus on an important topic and I think that aspect of the book was done really well. Overall I liked it, but I didn't love it.

Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) provided by the Author and Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an fair and honest review.

If you are a fan of either Gone Girl or The Girl on the Train this is the book for you. You can throw in shades of the real life disappearance of Lacy Peterson too. Elements from both of those books are present here, but with a unique twist. The story is a layered tale of the disappearance of a woman and her 4-year old twins and you get to experience what an event like this does to a neighborhood. The plot is intriguing, especially since you just don't know if Kristin left on her own or was taken and you feel the quandary the neighbors have to deal with regarding her ex. Even with the promising premise, this book just didn't appeal to me.

A group of neighborhood women meet and get slightly sauced one Saturday night. No problem, they were all walking home. Two days later Kristin and her twins have vanished. Police and news vans crowd the neighborhood, but no one knows where she went. Her estranged husband, Paul, just wants to know they are safe.

The story is told from primarily from the viewpoints of Clare, a happily married mother of two, and Izzy, an unhappy single who is still in love with her sister's husband, who was once her best friend. Each woman has secrets and since it turns out that no one really knew Kristin, it begs the question: How well does any person really know another?

Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser is about a little neighborhood in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Six women, all with very different personalities and very different issues going on in their life get together for a ladies night around a neighborhood fire pit, talking about their lives and overindulging on their wine. It was a typical neighborhood ladies get together...nothing unusual about it.
The next day, Kristen, who was one of the ladies at the get together, disappears with her twins.
Their quiet neighborhood has now been “invaded” by police and the media.

How and why did Kristen and the twins disappear? Was it the husband who was involved in it? Was it Kristen who devised a plan to leave? How could it be since they seemed like a normal and happy family? What really happened?

I loved this book and will definitely read her first one. Also looking forward to reading any future books by this author.
The characters are so relatable that the reader can actually picture herself as one of the women in this neighborhood group.
Thank you to Net Galley and Saint Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Not That I Could Tell was a light mystery that came at the right time for me. It was the perfect amount of mystery without having to think too much about it, which is exactly what I was looking for! A group of neighborhood moms get together at one of their houses, enjoying a bonfire and copious amounts of alcohol. I could picture it because I've done the same thing, and like these ladies I had a baby monitor in my pocket. However, unlike these women, I never woke up the next morning with one of the moms missing. The ladies find out that Kristin and her twins are gone and nobody knows where or why. Did they flee an abusive relationship? Did someone harm them? Is there another reason they are missing? While I figured out the plot pretty early on I was still pleasantly surprised at the twists towards the end. Unlike many books I've read recently, I thoroughly enjoyed all of the characters and their stories. The author did a tremendous job in character development and keeping the reader in suspense throughout the book. Thank you @stmartinspress for this advance reader in exchange for my honest review. Not That I Could Tell hits shelves March 27, pick yourself up a copy!

This book had something me serious Big Little Lies vibes going on: a little privileged mom life drama, some mystery and scandal. While there were some surprises and twists and turns in the plot, for the most part it was very predictable. That didn’t mean it wasn’t an enjoyable read, I just felt like it wasn’t terribly original.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes women’s fiction, or domestic suspense reads. Not That I Could Tell would be a great vacation read for poolside over spring break!

I couldn't put it down! What an unexpected ending and never predicted it. Really well written and suspenseful. The one setback was with respect to Izzys career as it shouldn't have been as big a part as it was.

Thanks so much to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and Jessica Strawser for the opportunity to read and review her new book. I was a huge fan of her first book, Almost Missed You, and couldn't wait to read this one - it definitely did not disappoint!

In a close-knit neighborhood of Yellow Springs, OH, a group of friends and neighbors meet to christen Clare's new fire pit. With baby monitors in reach, the friends let loose a bit, drink a bit too much, maybe let go of a few secrets, but all with fun. Until the morning when the women wake up feeling a bit worse for the wear and discover that Kristen has disappeared in the night along with her twins. None of the friends can remember too much about the night but nothing happened out of the ordinary.

Kristen was always the perfect mom, the one who had it all together. Married to a doctor but on the brink of a divorce, no one could understand what happened. So naturally, all eyes go to her soon to be ex-husband, Paul. Clare is dealing with her own issues in the past, which this disappearance brings to the forefront. A new neighbor, Izzi, has her own issues but isn't so quick to judge Paul.

This is just a well-written, hard to put down book with very relatable characters and realistic situations. I was quite biased to see that the book was set in Yellow Springs since I grew up nearby and spent many hours at John Bryan State Park, Young's Dairy and some of the other mentioned places.

Highly recommended - touches on so many topics that it would be great for a book club.

When

Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser takes place in a small Ohio town with plenty of neighbors who think they all know each other pretty well. However, once one of the neighbors mysteriously disappears the remaining neighbors start learning that maybe they didn't really know each other so well after all. This books reads quickly, keeps you riveted, and has a very satisfying conclusion. Read and enjoy!

Wow! This was a page turner from the start. Very interesting turn of events.