JUST THE NICEST COUPLE
Mary Kubica

This is my last time reading Mary Kubica’s books and if I could eradicate books like this from the planet I would. There are several reasons I did not like this book and some of them I can’t even discuss for sake of spoilers.

In this book, we are following two couples. Christian and Lily and Jake and Nina. Nina and Lily work together as teachers and are close friends. After a heated fight with Nina Jake goes missing and a mystery is afoot.

This book is as basic as they come.

There is no character building. The couples are cardboard cut-outs of each other with no distinguishing characteristics. There are no extra details beyond exactly what and only what you need to know to solve the mystery. There is no filtering required while reading making the entire experience boring. I was lulled to sleep for the entire book. And that twist at the end does not make up for hours of dissatisfaction. It’s not that surprising.

It has all been done before.

By the end of the book, I was losing patience with the storyline, frustrated with every character, except for the murderer (notedly), and ultimately irritated with the author for their choices. I can’t think of one takeaway from this book except that I know now declaratively not to read a title from this author again.

Perhaps that is enough!

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Park Row for the advanced copy!

JUST THE NICEST COUPLE...⭐️⭐️

I can handle and enjoy a slowburn novel if in the end the resolution is really good. This one just did not deliver. Nothing happened pretty much the entire book and the ending was so predictable and easy to figure out.

High School teacher Lily is pregnant and exhausted. Christian is her loving husband.

Nina and Jake Hayes are their friends. Jake is a surgeon and works long hours. After a fight the night before, he does not come home in the morning. At first she thinks he’s just busy. Panic sets in as the days go by and he has not returned home.

Lily and Nina are coworkers and friends. Lily confesses something to her husband about Jake. He did something that shocked them both. Lily is scared and feels like she was the last person to see Jake.

Now… the wait begins. They wait to see if Jake shows up? Did he disappear? Did something more sinister happen? Nina is looking for answers! Will she find out what Lily and Christian are hiding?

A mystery waiting to be solved for an incredible ending!! Out now!

Two couples, two close friends, one missing husband…

This one starts out fast, but then is a slow burn. I enjoyed the character development of each of the couples. I really liked how this story was about the husband missing, rather than the wife, which was a nice twist on the missing female story. This story is well flushed out and I liked all the twist, and the ending was quite a surprise!
If you are into domestic thrillers, I think you will really like this one.

I was given a copy of this to read by the publisher. My opinion is my own.

I love books with different POV's, I think you can get to know the characters really well.
Two couples that seemed to have it all, but behind closed doors this may not be the case. A case of a missing husband and the other wife that may hold the key to the answers. This is very faced paced and enjoyable. A couple twists you can see coming, but there are many winding roads down this novel.

I read this in December and I admittedly can not remember details to write a review. IMO, there was nothing new, unique, or memorable about the storyline that isn't in other suspense thrillers. Granted I read a lot. Given this, I'm going with 2 stars. I am also confused on which couple is being referred to as the nicest.

My first and maybe last Kubica. My biggest complaint is with the actual prose needing some editing. Things felt repetitive and choppy. I also found it to be so slow for most of the book.

People are not always as nice as they seem. When Jake goes missing his wife turns to her close friend Lily, and she and her husband are caught up in this mystery but no one knows how much.
I loved this book and how I didn’t know who was responsible for Jake’s disappearance. A cast of characters is created to keep you on your toes. Highly recommend.

I received an advance review copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you Mary Kubica and Park Row Books. I'm excited to be a part of this tour.

I loved The Good Girl and Local Woman Missing so much that I jumped at the chance to be a part of this tour. Mary Kubica has officially become an auto-buy author for me! Her ability to craft twisty tales full of red herrings and suspicious characters blows me away and this book is no exception.

Just the Nicest Couple is an engaging thriller that will have you hooked from start to finish. I literally did not put this book down until I was done. It’s that good! The cast of characters are brilliant and play well of off one another. At one point, I suspected them all. As with her other books, this one is fast-paced and full of domestic drama. The book is so well written its easy to get lost in the story and fully immerse yourself in the action.


I also really enjoy Mary’s ability to create complex thrillers and seamlessly weave in detail to create one unexpected story. I highly recommend this book to all domestic thriller lovers; you will not be disappointed!

I think I may just be tired of reading thrillers, but this one seemed very similar to a lot of other books I have read. I am still collecting my thoughts, but I think this book may be better for someone newer to the genre. Not a bad book but just a bit slow and usual for me.

From my blog: Always With a Book

I was thrilled when Cindy from the Thoughts of a Page Podcast selected this book for her Patreon group to read early as I had already had my eye on it. I’ve read, and loved, all of Mary Kubica’s books, and have even had the chance to meet Mary in person back when her very first book came out! She continues to craft such addicting, twisty reads and each book shows that her writing is top notch!

This book was such a fun cat and mouse game that shows that nothing is as it appears. I loved how Mary Kubica took the typical missing woman trope and turned it upside down by giving us a missing husband story. The tension drips off the page with this one and the twists and turns it takes keep you fully engaged and unable to walk away until you are done! I loved that as I got further into the book, I didn’t know who I could trust and the link between the two couples keeps the suspense and tension high. Just how far will we go for those we love? And how far are we willing to go to protect ourselves?

I loved how the characters played off each other. I might not have liked them all, but they are all well-developed and certainly kept things interesting. At one point or another, I definitely suspected all of them. The misdirection and twists really keep you fully engaged and the mini-reveals were timed very well. This was another addicting read that left me quite shocked at the end…and I cannot recommend it enough!

*Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.*

I adore all of Mary Kubica's works. This novel was a tight, twisty read. Christian's POV stood out to me in particular. It is surprising and well-planned. Great twist at the end. I was unable to flip the pages quickly enough!

The ending was really disappointing. Dual perspectives share a story of a missing man. This was a slow thriller and the ending was disappointing.

𝙏𝙬𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙨, 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨, 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙪𝙨𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙙...

After Jake Hayes and his wife Nina have an argument, he doesn’t come home. After a few days she thinks he’s left her. Nina’s friend, Lily Scott confesses to her husband, Christian, that something happened between her and Jake and that she was probably the last person to see him. While Christian and Lily try to hide what happened, Nina is determined to figure out where her husband is.

This story was told from Nina and Christian’s perspectives after Jake’s disappearance. It was interesting to see both sides, and I liked how Kubica chose Christian’s POV rather than Lily’s. I was drawn in from chapter one and like Nina, I needed to know what happened to Jake.

I found some parts predictable, but Kubica threw in some red herrings that had me thinking someone else was involved in Jake’s disappearance that wasn’t. I didn’t see the ending coming which I appreciated.

One thing that threw me off though was the epilogue. It felt rushed and contradicted the chapter before it so I wished that some things were explained better.

Overall this was a solid thriller that held my interest and was able to surprise me. I loved Kubica’s previous book, Local Woman Missing, so this was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I enjoyed this story, but it wasn’t as good as its predecessor in my opinion.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Just the Nicest Couple is the newest thriller by Mary Kubica. This one involves two sets of married couples who come to discover just how closely their lives have become entwined. Jake has gone missing after an argument with his wife, Nina. Lily works with Nina and she may know where Jake is. She involves her husband, Christian, in the missing husband drama and soon many secrets start to be revealed. This is one of those books that has a stunning twist that hopefully blindsides you. I had picked up on a couple of clues while reading that left the reveal a little less dramatic than it might be for others. Pay attention to all of the details as you read this book! Read and enjoy!

I enjoyed this new thriller from Mary Kubica. It's about two couples who appear to be friends, but under the surface things are not what they seem.

Lily and Christian have been trying for a baby for years. After several miscarries, she is newly expecting and dealing with 1st trimester exhaustion and sickness, but when Christian finds her staring at the window after work, he knows something has happened. She shares how her friend Nina's husband Jake assaulted her and she fought back - sharing that she is worried she hurt him worse than she imagined.

She and Christian soon realize that Jake is missing. Initially, his wife Nina believes that he left her after they had a fight, but when several days go by and she discovers he hasn't been at work, she files a missing person's report.

This novel follows their story as details come to light that don't match up with their stories and more seems to be going on. Lily and Christian are nervous about losing their baby as it's still the first trimester but also are trying to destroy any possible evidence.

This is a tension-filled, edge-of-your-seat thriller that will have you staying up late to finish it.

Triggers: Miscarriage, Infidelity, Murder

Just the Nicest Couple has a very interesting plot: a missing husband, a pregnant wife, and a couple that knows more than they are telling. While I have enjoyed many of Mary Kubica's other books, this one fell a bit flat for me. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance e-reader copy.

Do you ever really know anyone? Lily and Christian seem like the nicest couple with nothing to hide. She is a high school teacher and they are trying to have a baby after several miscarriages. Nina and Jake are their friends, Nina teaches at the same school as Lily and Jake is a doctor. Jake doesn't return home after a fight and Nina doesn't know what to think, especially when someone enters her house. When Lily is upset Christian wants to protect her, but how far will he go? A story that keeps you guessing and wondering how far someone will go to keep a loved one safe.

Believe it or not, as a heavy mystery/thriller reader (especially in the past 3-4 years), this is my first Mary Kubica book! I’ve had a few of her backlist titles on my TBR over the years but for some reason never dove in. I thought this blog tour would be the perfect time to finally give her a shot.

This story is about two married couples – Lily and Christian, and Nina and Jake. From the outset, it seems like Lily and Christian have a pretty solid relationship. Nina and Jake… not so much. They had a huge fight and he’s been missing ever since. I was very curious from the first handful of chapters how this book would continue. It seemed like it could be straightforward from the overall setup, so I kept turning the pages to see how Kubica would end up getting me!

From a writing perspective, Kubica uses short sentences, very staccato. It took some getting used to, and I saw a lot of other reviews also commented on it. Not sure if this was done on purpose for this book or if that’s her usual style? (Friends have since confirmed her writing is different in other books, so that’s good!)

I didn’t like the characters and they (especially Christian) made a ton of dumb decisions. It was good because I didn’t really trust them, which happens in good mysteries, but it also made for an often frustrating reading experience. I wish there was a bit more to the characters overall – Christian’s entire personality was loving his wife. Lily didn’t have one at at all. There was at least one red herring that could have used more resolution, but the ending was surprising for the most part! I predicted half of it but the other half was crazy and unexpected.

Overall, I’ll probably pick up LOCAL WOMAN MISSING at some point based on recommendations from friends, while JUST THE NICEST COUPLE was hit or miss for me in certain areas.

What a great story! I think you are meant to "guess" one twist pretty early on with the story between Jake and Lily but the ending totally blew my mind and surprised me! I enjoyed the different points of view and seeing it from Lily, Christian and Ninas pov.