After finishing this novel a few hours ago, I'm still unsure how to review. About half way through the book I caught myself asking, "What the heck is even going on here?" Kubica had me fooled. I'll admit it. When all became clear, I was enlightened and entertained. Even if there were points to suspended belief, I found the story readable and believable enough. I never wanted to set it down, and I was Team Sadie from the beginning--it's easy to do that with a likable first person narrator. However, we were able to read about other perspectives as well: Camille, Mouse, and Will. It all came together perfectly. Well done, Ms. Kubica.

Mary Kubica is known for her domestic thrillers, and I always enjoy the twists that she throws in along the way. The Other Mrs., however, is my least favorite of her books. While I am not looking for every character in the books I'm reading to be likable, it is hard for me to read one when none of the characters have any positive qualities. I didn't want to finish the book, but I'm glad I did because there was one surprise in the last chapters that I did not predict.

The Other Mrs is a thriller centered around Sadie, her husband Will, and their two sons moving from Chicago to a remote Maine island to inhabit the home left to them by Will's deceased sister to care for their niece, Imogen. The mistakes of their past appear to be behind them until there is a death on the sleepy island of Sadie's neighbor. What follows includes POV's from several other characters aside from Sadie as we piece together what happened to the neighbor and what Sadie and her family were running from.

This novel was a definite page turner! While some of the twists and turns were easy to figure out, others were a bit of a shock. As the story progressed, it allowed the reader to slowly put together a less than rosy picture of this family and why certain peculiar events happened the way they did. A very quick read when you want to see how everything wraps up at the end!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don't like to give negative reviews for books, but at the same time I think readers deserve to know what is worth their time and what isn't. This book is not worth your time. I know I'm in the minority of reviews for this book, and that's okay. I've come to realize I am just not a fan of Mary Kubica. I LOVED The Good Girl, but have read her last three summer releases and have disliked all three equally.

This book not only shares the title of several others in the genre, but it also shares the same formulaic plot. The "twist" that so many other reviews found interesting had me rolling my eyes. I found myself skimming the pages, focusing mainly on the dialogue because the internal monologues were so repetitive, I was almost insulted. The author has a style of writing in which, I'm assuming to prove her point (?) she repeats things using synonyms or just merely reordering the sentences and instead of proving anything, it becomes annoying.

I would add this to the list of 2020's disappointing "thrillers", as 2020 is seeming to NOT be the year for thrillers. I see that this is up for a Netflix adaptation, so I'll be interested to see how the story is delivered on the screen.

I am thankful for a copy from NetGalley and the publisher. All thoughts are my own.

THE OTHER MRS by Mary Kubica

WOW, what a jaw dropping good book.

Mary Kubica has written one of the best thrillers ever. This book will keep you turning pages until the very end and you will be surprised by the ending. It’s one that will give you chills. Make you take a close look into the darkness to see who is there. It’s totally great for anyone who loves a good thriller.

What would you do for your family? Would you kill for them? Would you have your whole world turned upside down to protect the ones you love? Sadie would and did. She was many people. She was a mother, a Dr, a wife. A friend when you let her be and somewhat of a detective when need be. She loved her husband and two sons more than anything and would do anything to protect them. But would she commit murder? Would she put herself in a position to lose everything? Or would she stand and fight for what was hers?

Will, Sadie’s husband took her and their two boys from Chicago to Maine to live after his sister died. They had to take care of his niece who was sixteen and somewhat of a wild child in many ways. She was also very emotionally upset over what happened to her mother. She didn’t get along well with Sadie and seemed to resent them being there. Will had lost so much of Sadie’s trust after he had an affair. She was trying to learn to forgive him and he was trying to earn back what he lost. He was a part time teacher at the local college and Sadie was the breadwinner of the family. That was just the way they planned things and it seemed to work for them. Personally I didn’t not like or trust Will at all. He was a cheat and sneaky much of the time. I just didn’t like him.

You’ll meet and hear from two other people in this story. Their stories. Camille who was at one time Sadie’s roommate and Mouse, a nickname, who was a child who had a dad she loved dearly and a “fake mom” who treated her terribly when her dad was gone. I hated the “fake mom immensely.” She was just evil. I felt very sorry for Mouse. Camille I didn’t like a lot. She liked Will and would do almost anything to have him.

This book starts out fast and furious and does not let up. It kept me on the edge of my seat until the very last. All your questions will be answered in this wonderful thriller. You won’t be left hanging or wondering what happened to who. It was a pleasure to read this one. It sure did surprise me so much. I did figure out one part. I loved how the author did handle the mental illness aspect of this story. Bringing to light the things that can and do happen when someone suffers from such illness. It was a very well written story that hit on subjects that will make your skin crawl. Make you hold your breath. Make you cringe. It will definitely make you wonder.

I think this was a fantastic thriller.

Thank you #NetGalley, #Mary Kubica, #Harlequin Park Row Publishers

A 5 star book that I most highly do recommend.

Unfortunately mental health was used as both a plot device and twist.
The mystery was not surprising.
I would not recommend this book.

Dr. Sadie Foust, her teacher husband Will, and their two boys Otto and Tate, move to a small, coastal island town in Maine.
Will's sister has committed suicide and they have inherited her house and custody of her troubled daughter Imogene.
When neighbor Morgan Baines is murdered, suspicion falls to the new family.
Alternating between Sadie, Mouse and Camille, the author weaves a spooky tale of menace and mental illness.
This chilling atmospheric thriller was very compelling and engaging.
Thank you to Harlequin Park Row for the e-ARC via NetGalley.

Scrappymags 2-word review: Psychological sensation!


My thoughts: I love twists and turns. I love multi-POV storytelling, and I love a creep factor. ✅✅✅ So yes, I loved this book. I appreciate mysteries where I don’t fully see what’s coming and even when I do sleuth it out, I’m still flipping each page with a “No friggin’ way!” uttered at each turn. That was this book for me. I stayed up late and the book stayed with me. One of those books I dare not delve into detail lest I spoil the awesomeness.



All my reviews available at scrappymags.com
Genre: Mystery/Psychological Thriller


Shortest summary ever: Sadie and Will have just moved to Maine from Chicago (I mean, Maine... c’mon... creepiest state setting EVER!), after the death of Will’s sister and now (surprise) they are parenting a 16 yr old niece who has hidden secrets. So does their own son, and that’s part of the reason they moved. But (oh no!) a neighbor is murdered and questions are flying everywhere and fingers start to be pointed in many directions. Sadie decides to dig in herself, but perhaps she’s dug up TOO much?



Recommend to: contemporary, mystery, thriller. Psychological gripper fans


Not recommended to: cozy mystery folks... you’ll find it too gritty.


Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin and Mary Kubica for an advanced copy. Happy to provide my honest review. Now I need to avoid my neighbors... 😂

Whoa, what a whirlwind of a book! The Other Mrs. is a fantastic thriller that keeps you guessing until the end. Sadie and her family move to Maine to be the guardians of their niece, Imogen. When a neighbor is murdered next door, Sadie's world is changed as she goes off on a hunt to uncover the murderer. Her life is not perfect, though, and her past continues to haunt her even though she has moved.

I was generally surprised by some of the twists and turns of this novel. I do think that the end came a little too swiftly and the loose ends were tied up into too many nice little bows. I would have liked a little more detective work to uncover some of the loose ends instead of it just being told to me in a quick chapter. Overall great thriller with a surprise ending that you won't want to miss!

Mary Kubica does it again with a creepy, nefarious and dark tale set on an isolated island on the coast of Maine. When Sadie and her family arrive Sadie immediately feels a sense of unease and wants to leave. She doesn’t know if this feeling stems from the remote location, living in a dead woman’s house or her new 16yr old ward who she knows hates her. When a murder occurred shortly after their arrival the island doesn’t know what to do, they never see such violent crime. Sadie feels even more unsafe but again can’t identify from what. As Sadie’s unease grows so will yours as this thrilling mystery unravels. A great book!

Sadie and Will have left their prosperous lives in Chicago behind in order to care for Will’s teenaged niece Imogen, whose mother has died unexpectedly. Sadie, whose background is in emergency medicine, isn’t thrilled to be living and working on a small island off the coast of Maine, but she and Will are in need of a fresh start. Plus, Imogen resisted Sadie’s initial plan to have her come to Chicago to live with them, so Sadie has unwillingly begun a new life on the island.

Not long after Sadie, Will and their sons arrive on the island, one of their neighbors is found dead in her house, apparently the victim of a brutal homicide. The idea of a murderer roaming around disturbs Sadie greatly, and she begins poking around in her former neighbor’s life in hopes of uncovering the identity of the perpetrator. As you might expect, this plan doesn’t go over very well, and Sadie soon finds herself in a great deal of danger both from a dark secret she’s been keeping for years as well as from the person responsible for her neighbor’s death.

AAR reviewers Shannon and Maggie read The Other Mrs., and got together to share their thoughts about Mary Kubica’s latest novel of psychological suspense.

Shannon: I’ve read almost all of Mary Kubica’s previous books, but I haven’t loved them all. Still, there’s something about her writing that always ropes me in, even when I’ve sworn not to pick up her latest novel. What is your history with this author’s work?

Maggie: I did an interview with Ms. Kubica for AAR back in 2014, when her first book The Good Girl came out. That is still my favorite of her novels and I’ve picked up all her books since, enjoying them to various degrees.

Shannon: I love darkly atmospheric thrillers, and The Other Mrs. has a creepy vibe that only seems to intensify as the story progresses. The author’s descriptions of Sadie’s new home gave me the chills right from the start – there was honestly a part of me that just wanted Sadie to run away from the danger. To me, this is a testament to the power of Ms. Kubica’s writing since most thrillers don’t evoke such a strong emotional response. What are your thoughts on the novel’s setting?

Maggie: I definitely thought the setting was one of the strongest aspects of the novel. The isolated island; cold, grey, dreary weather; spooky house with awful history – the whole prospect was very atmospheric and added a delicious tension to the tale. You knew right away that this location was trouble, that something bad would happen here and it is assuredly a testament to the author’s skill that that aspect leaps off the page and drags the reader into a dark place right away.

Shannon: Most of the story is told from Sadie’s point of view, but we are treated to a couple of other perspectives as well. At first, I struggled to connect these other characters to what was going on with Sadie, and I was pretty surprised by the big reveal toward the end of the book. Of course, now that I know the truth, it’s easy for me to see the small clues Ms. Kubica sprinkled throughout the story. Did the twist surprise you?

Maggie: Not really. There was a scene in the doctor’s office, where she was found playing with a patient, that was an “a-ha!” moment for me. However, the twist at the very end involving another character totally took me by surprise.

Shannon: Sadie is a complicated heroine. On the surface, her life seems pretty perfect, but as we get to know her, it becomes clear that she’s got a lot of emotional baggage. Some of her actions felt kind of foolish, but I didn’t find them out of character. I wanted her to think things through a bit more before running off into certain situations, but that’s pretty standard for these kinds of stories.

Maggie: True. I found Sadie’s behaviour very much in keeping with her deeply emotional character and the eeriness that surrounded her, as well as just the general creepiness of her situation. However, I found it totally unbelievable that she would be a doctor. That aspect yanked me out of the story almost every time.

Shannon: Yes, I found myself questioning that aspect of the story as well.

Imogen plays a pretty big role in the story as a whole. It’s clear from the start that Sadie doesn’t like her, and I definitely understand why. She is portrayed as a malevolent force, someone who isn’t trustworthy, but Sadie is the only one who sees her this way. What did you think of her?

Maggie: Imogen felt a bit like a deus ex machina to me. She was the impetus for the move and the creepy character meant to distract us from the real horror of what’s going on, but we didn’t spend enough time with her and she wasn’t fully developed enough for me to really understand who she was.

Shannon: Some of the novel’s dialog came off as over-the-top, which was especially noticeable in the case of the villains. They would say things I can’t imagine people saying in real life, especially if they wanted to be taken seriously. There were a few times I was pulled right out of the story by a strange turn of phrase.

Maggie: I agree, some of the dialogue felt very unrealistic, especially in the case of the villains.

Shannon: Overall, I enjoyed The Other Mrs., but it’s not without its flaws. I don’t think it’s quite as compelling as Pretty Baby which happens to be my favorite book by this author, but neither is it the worst thing she’s written. I’d give it a B, a solid thriller with a creepy setting and a good twist, but not something that really stands out from the crowd. What is your final grade?

Maggie: I would go with a B-. I felt the ending was completely unrealistic, I don’t want to give away details, but Sadie wouldn’t have gotten to go home at the end for that final confrontation in real life. It just wouldn’t have happened. The ending itself felt surreal to me, especially the idyllic scene where everything and everyone is happy and again, not happening given what we learned during the story. The author’s handling of mental illness was very lackadaisical and that pulled the grade down for me overall, in spite of the excellent job she did in creating a perfectly atmospheric setting for her thriller.

2.5 stars. I will start by saying that it looks like I’m in the minority with this one. I didn’t end up enjoying this one as much as I thought I would. I figured out the plot twist VERY early on but I was hoping that I was wrong and that it would play out differently... but unfortunately I was right. It was a plot that I have read before and seems overused & a bit too far-fetched for my liking. The very end (last few chapters) were a little redeeming and I enjoyed that part but it was little too late for me. Sadly, I would not recommend this one.

Thank you to the publisher and @netgalley for providing a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Other Mrs., by Mary Kubica, is a quick, fun psychological thriller with countless twists and turns. Add to that a dark old house, an island off the coast of Maine in winter, a murder, and a surprisingly large number of possible suspects! I figured out one part of the mystery but was definitely surprised by the final reveal. Of course, I am not an aficionado of this genre and can’t promise that everyone will react the way I did.

The story is very fast-paced, and Kubica has created characters you care about. You want things to turn out right for this family! This is a great choice for a vacation read, on a beach or in a hammock, but I suggest a dark winter night with the lights turned down!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Publishing (Park Row) for the opportunity to read an electronic ARC in exchange for honest review.

Mary Kubica is an excellent author, and The Other Mrs. is a strong domestic thriller. However, I don’t think that I liked this one as much as I have liked her others. None of the characters were likable, and a couple of the characters were obviously in the story to add misdirection. I had the whole book figured out about halfway through, so there were no real twists at the end. Thank you to netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this arc!

I will be completely honest - I struggled with this book for a few weeks (and I NEVER do that with a Mary Kubica book). Sadie was such an unlikable character.. I thought this was a traditional suspense thriller with NASCAR styles left turns and that I could figure it out without reading further.

Boy was I wrong. This wasn't a NASCAR race but a Toyota Grand Prix with a sharp turn to the right, a whip to the left and then a figure eight at the end.

OMG.. Once I got to about 60% of the book I couldn't, wouldn't put it down....

Another great read Ms. Kubica - you had me fooled.....

Who are some of your auto-read authors? I remember reading The Good Girl a couple of years, and with every new book, Kubica has solidified herself as one of my auto read authors. I think this one may be Kubica's best yet! I I have had this ARC for a few months, but I kind of put off reading it because I know my track record with Kubica- I devour her books. The Other Mrs. was no exception. I started it in the morning, and then all day, I kept thinking about when I was going to be able to pick it back up. This one was twisty, and I didn't figure out the twist until it was revealed at the end. It kept me on my toes and entertained from beginning to end. I was suspicious of everyone, but also thought, "No, that can't be right" every time. Kubica has truly perfected the craft of writing an edge of your seat thriller that is a wild ride from start to finish. 5⭐! This one published yesterday- go pick it up! A big thank you to @parkrowbooks @marykubica for my review copy

5 out of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Park Row for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review

Chicago native Dr.Sadie Foust moves to a small Main island with her husband and two sons after his sister commits suicide and leaves him her house and her 16 year old daughter Imogene. Sadie is not thrilled with leaving Chicago but what can they do? Her son has been expelled from his school, she has had issues with work and her husband has recently had an affair. So they pack up and move. The problem is that the Main island is small and everyone seems to know everyone. It also doesn't help that Imogene seems very hostile towards Sadie no matter what she does.

Things that go from bad to worse when the woman down the street is murdered and the police keep stopping by and asking Sadie questions. Determined to solve the murder herself before someone in the family gets blamed for out Sadie puts herself in danger.

I think this the best Mary Kubica book that I have read. I loved that Kubica left Chicago for this novel. DOn't get me wrong, I lived in Chicago for years and I loved it but it is nice to see Sadie as a fish out of water in a small coast town. While I did think that the main twist was obvious from the second chapter it doesn't hurt the book because Mary Kubica handled it in a delicate and thoughtful manner. I looked forward to picking this book up at the end of the night and I don't think I could give this a better recommendation than that!

Mary Kubica has done it again! This was another spectacular thriller from Kubica that I could not put down. I was up late in the night just so I could finish it. If you love thrillers I definitely recommend this one!

“The Other Mrs.” By Mary Kubica is a traumatic story told from several points of view, alternating between characters. Kubica introduces readers to a diverse and complex cast of characters. Each chapter identifies the speaker, and each voice is unique, persuasive, and increasingly frightening. Life on a small island near Portland, Maine should be challenging, and yet uncomplicated and satisfying; it turns out to be something very different indeed.

Sadie Foust, her husband Will, children Tate and Otto, and family dogs, move into the home of Will’s sister after her death. Readers get to know Sadie well as she shares everything through her first person narrative. She clearly has problems with family, job, children, and life in general. She documents everything but refuses to take responsibility for events or the resulting adverse consequences. In fact, she frequently denies any actual participation on her part.

Camille speaks directly to readers, commenting that she is not going to tell everything; just what she thinks is pertinent. She describes her relationship with former roommate Sadie and especially with Sadie’s husband Will. Will was hers first, before he was Sadie’s. She watched him, followed him, and vowed never to let him go.

Then, there was a girl named Mouse; not her real name, of course, but her father called her that. She loved to draw and to makeup stories. Mouse loved her father and loved her life until “Fake Mom” arrived; then she did not.

Kubica takes readers down paths of misinformation, misdirection, mania, and murder. The chain of events is complicated and complex; clues point in every direction. Blood on a washcloth, a missing cell phone, and a knife are frightening in their own right, but the most frightening thing is that when the ferry leaves the island for the night, everyone stays on the island; the killer spends the night on the island as well.

“The Other Mrs.” Is chilling with unforeseen twists and turns, all leading to a shocking and unexpected end. I was given a review copy of “The Other Mrs.” By Mary Kubica, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Park Row. I kept anxiously turning pages right up to that unanticipated end. It was compelling and unpredictable

The Other Mrs. had me engulfed from the first moment. Although, I guessed who the murderer was pretty early on, it almost made me read faster trying to figure out if I was right. I loved that the end still had a couple twists that surprised me! Would definitely recommend this one!