Thank you to NetGalley, author Mary Kubica, and Harlequin Trade Publishing-- Park Row for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

I think I'm just not a huge fan of Mary Kubica's books because this is the second one I've read, and neither one has landed exactly how I wanted it to for my personal taste. I found this book predictable, making it in turn hard for me to get into, as well as a bit repetitive in certain conversations that were had. I didn't like any of the main characters and found them very shallow; I didn't really know who they were as people beyond their relationship to each other. I also felt like one of the red herrings was slightly bizarre and unnecessary to the plot because it is not fully fleshed out into something that would make more sense to the story. This wasn't a bad read because I can see how this book will appeal to other readers, especially ones that like domestic thrillers or other previous works by Kubica, but unfortunately, this book wasn't for me.

This was a twisty, semi-dark, thriller that could take place amongst your neighbors. The kind of book that once you start you do not want to do anything else until you finish. My kind of book!

Typical Mary Kubica, honestly, keeps you interested, some strange twists, some WHOA moments, and then you have an ending that makes things nice and tidy, even if it ends differently that you wish it had.

Will read everything this author writes.

I enjoyed this thriller very much. While it was not quite as good as Local Woman Missing, in my opinion, it was still an edge of your seat thriller that kept me turning the pages and trying to guess who did it.

Two couples. Nina, Jake, Lily and Christian. Two best friends. Nina and Lily. One husband goes missing and most likely is dead. The other husband, well he was a bit too understanding. I just had a hard time liking Christian. To me he should have stood up to Lily more. I mean, he would do ANYTHING for her? Good grief enough already. He just wasn't that likable to me. I did like Nina. She was not letting things go quite so easy. But she also should have told Jake that if her mother needed her she was going to be there for her. It was silly that he got mad over her helping her mom. And Lily... What can I say about the beautiful Lily.. She was just stupid. I didn't like her at all. She's very weak and very selfish in my humble opinion. All she really cared about was herself. Maybe the baby she carried but I have my opinions about that too. Jake was just a jerk. But he didn't deserve what happened to him.

This book had me on the edge quite a few times. It was very well written. The descriptions make you feel like you are there. Looking out into the darkness. Running through the trees. Standing in the hallway of a school while your best friend is being told the most devastating news of her life....
While I didn't much like the characters they certainly did fit this story. Each had problems and faults. Good and bad points. I should not say I didn't like them all. I said I liked Nina and I did. I felt so bad for her throughout this whole book. I felt anger toward the other characters. I even suspected the person who did the murder. It didn't take away from the story at all. Mainly because I wanted to know so bad and because I had another vision of what was going on. I was so wrong. Except for one tiny detail that is. The affair. I got that right.

Thank you #NetGalley, #MaryKubica, #HarlequinTradePublishing for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

4 big stars. Losing one only because of Christian. I just really didn't like him. Read this one though. It's very good. Very good indeed.
I'm part of a blog tour so those posts will come on the 14th.

This wasn't my favorite Kubica book, but I still enjoyed it.
Nina's husband, a renowned surgeon, goes missing after an argument with his wife. She thinks he's pouting, but then he doesn't reappear as she suspects. Meanwhile, the husband of a woman that he was in an altercation with learns what happens and goes to great lengths to protect her. The ending was unpredictable, but really out of left field for me.

We follow the lives of Lily, Christian, and Nina after Nina's husband, a neurosurgeon, disappears. Nina tries looking into what happened to Jake, while Lily and Christian know some secrets.

This title fell flat for me... I found the book to be pretty predictable in the sense that with only 8 reoccurring characters, it is pretty easy to figure out what happened. I skimmed most of the book because I just wanted to finish it. I will say that at 90%, I did get a bit of a surprise, but I was questioning that theory. It was also hard to read with the formatting (which I assume has been fixed with the publication of this novel.)

I have seen mixed reviews so I was a little hesitant going into it, it wasn't bad, I just didn't really enjoy it much.

This one was WILD!

I'll start this off by saying that I absolutely adore Mary Kubica and will read literally everything she writes. She's brilliant. This book was no exception.
I had kept thinking I knew how this book was going to end, but then it just kept on surprising me. I had guessed accurately that Lily and Jake had actually been having an affair, because it was just way too convenient. Poor Nina, and poor Christian. They didn't deserve any of it. Christian seemed fiercely protective and a loving, supportive partner.
ANYWAY. I really loved how fast paced this one was, and the POV's being Christian and Nina were done so perfectly.
I did enjoy this one, it wasn't my favorite one of hers, but still one I will recommend to any thriller reader out there!

Thank you so much to the publisher for my gifted copy for review.

Every new Mary Kubica novel becomes my new favorite, and Just the Nicest Couple is no exception. The pacing is perfect, with carefully dropped hints and clues as to what almost every character is hiding. It's a one-sitting, binge book, because, once I started, there was no stopping until I knew the truth!! Thanks for the opportunity to read early!

While I enjoy a page-turner, I also like details and multi-faceted characters, and author Mary Kubica gives us both! #LocalWomanMissing was one one of my favorite books of 2021, and I couldn't wait for her next read. ⁣
⁣
I love domestic suspense and while this one was a bit more of a slow burn, but I needed to know what happened, and kept turning those pages to find out. I always enjoy her books and this was another solid read! Thank you to NetGalley and Park Row Books for my gifted review copy.

Just the Nicest Couple was a good read & a quick one. It definitely had me guessing & pointing fingers at the wrong people. I wish there were some story lines that got some more explanation.

Nina has a great life, enjoying the freedom and trappings of wealth her husband's (Jake’s) career as a doctor provides. Following a fight though, Jake walks out of their home and Nina is left wondering if he left on his own accord or if he’s a victim of foul play.

She turns to her work friend, Lily, for advice as she comes to terms with the fact her husband may be missing. Lily provides her the solace she needs, all the while harboring her own secrets. She confides in her own husband, Christian, that she was with Jake at a local park not long before he went missing and may have played a part in his disappearance. As Nina seeks answers, Christian and Lily seek to hide the truth and find answers of their own. Where is Jake? Is he still alive and watching them all or has he been the victim of revenge taken too far? Kubica’s storytelling shines as all three characters shift narration and readers discover new twists and secrets at every point in this mystery.

Mary Kubica books have become a hit and miss for me with her last few books. I'm sorry to say that this book just didn't light up my interest or hold my interest once I started reading. It was just too slow for me. I'm sure that longtime fans of hers will love the mysterious-ness of this story though.

Just the Nicest Couple focuses on two couples living in Chicago suburb. Lily Scott is a high school algebra teacher and her husband, Christian, works as a market research analyst. Lily is pregnant and after three heartbreaking miscarriages, they are cautiously excited about the fact that she is nearing the end of the first trimester of the pregnancy, a milestone they did not previously reach. They have not told anyone that they are expecting again. They stretched their budget to purchase their dream home, set on the edge of a large forest with breathtaking views. Bestselling author Mary Kubica modeled the locale after Waterfall Glen, a preserve “where I’ve trained for marathons. It’s beautiful, densely wooded with a limestone path that weaves between forests and beside ponds, and is filled with wildlife.” In his first-person narrative, Christian reveals he is excited that their dream of becoming parents seems to be closer to coming true every day and remains deeply in love with the wife who is, to him, beautiful, petite, and delicate. His protectiveness of Lily leads him into a moral quagmire.

In contrast, the marriage of Jake Hayes, a highly successful neurosurgeon, and Nina, who teaches English at the same high school as Lily, has hit a rough patch. The story opens on the day after they had a particularly vicious argument and Jake stormed out of the house. He did not return and is not answering Nina’s calls or text messages. She is growing increasingly worried. She explains in her first-person narrative that the two have been at odds over the amount of time she has been spending assisting her mother. At just sixty-two years of age, her mother has been healthy and able to live independently until recently. Now, not only is she unable to drive because she is suffering from macular degeneration (the wet form which is resistant to treatment and ultimately leads to blindness), she recently discovered a mass in her breast which is being evaluated. Nina is an only child and her mother raised her alone after her parents divorced due to her father’s infidelity. In time, he also abandoned Nina, who has remained close to and feels an obligation to care for her mother She and Jake have argued numerous times over what she describes as Jake’s jealousy and resentment about the amount of time and attention Nina spends caring for her mother’s needs, which detracts from their time together as a couple.

Lily and Nina are good friends and tell each other everything, according to Nina. And the two couples have occasionally socialized together. But as Nina is worrying about Jake’s whereabouts and the state of their marriage, Lily confesses to Christian that she lost one of the earrings he gave her as a fifth wedding anniversary present. It must have become dislodged when she happened upon Jake as she was walking in Langley Woods, the forest preserve behind their house. Jake confided in her that he was troubled about being unable to save a few patients recently and having marital problems with Nina, and led her down an unmarked trail, looking for deer. “He tried to kiss me,” Lily tells Christian, and the situation escalated. Lily claims to be unsure about Jake’s fate, but she “might have hurt him.” And then she ran back to her car as fast as she could. She is covered with scrapes and bruises, and did not report the incident to the police or anyone else, explaining that she “couldn’t bring herself to tell Nina because she didn’t want to hurt her like that. Nine would have been devastated if she knew what Jake tried to do.” Hours later, Lily is “haunted by what happened” and concerned about Jake’s well-being.

Kubica is known for crafting compulsive, fast-paced domestic thrillers featuring fascinating, fully developed characters. In Just the Nicest Couple, her four main characters are complex and compelling. Christian and Lily do, in fact, seem like a quintessentially nice young couple. They are educated, have solidly established themselves in their careers, and have settled into a home they love. Lily’s current pregnancy seems, so far at least, on track to end joyfully. Their marriage is a happy one. But the incident with Jake upends their peaceful domesticity. Christian is earnest, likable, and devoted to Lily, who has never previously given him a reason to distrust her. He details why they opt not to belatedly report Jake’s assault on Lily to the police, their search for Jake back at Langley Woods, and the increasingly desperate measures – most of which are by his design -- they employ to ensure that if something untoward has happened to Jake, Lily will not be implicated. After all, Christian also must protect their unborn child.

In her alternating narrative, Nina details the tension in her marriage in the months leading up to Jake’s disappearance, her efforts to find him, and the unwavering support she receives from her mother. She also takes steps to protect her mother, who is vulnerable because of her visual impairment. Kubica thoughtfully explores Nina’s difficulty balancing the demands of her husband against her devotion to a parent who is growing older and facing health challenges. Despite their recent struggles, Nina fondly recalls and longs for happier days with Jake, still loves him, and is intent on learning whether he callously decided to leave her following their last argument . . . or is unable to come home to her. As she searches for answers, her suspicions grow. In addition to Nina’s mother, another supporting character also figures prominently in the tale. Ryan, a fellow teacher at the high school, is a devoted friend to Nina. But his behavior grows increasingly concerning and Kubica keeps readers guessing about his motivations. Does he want more than friendship from Nina? Is he somehow involved in Jake’s disappearance?

The main theme of Just the Nicest Couple is the moral dilemma that Christian faces. Kubica asks readers to consider how far they would go to protect a loved one from the consequences of his/her poor decision-making, especially with potential criminal liability looming. Christian must choose between his own sense of right and wrong, and the preservation of the life he has built with Lily. Kubica propels the story forward as Christian confronts what – and who – he is willing to sacrifice to safeguard his wife so that they can raise their child together.

Kubica’s approach to telling the story is inventive and provocative. As noted, readers get to know Christian and Nina, and are privy to their thoughts and emotional struggles via their alternating first-person narratives. However, she does not include narratives from either Jake or Lily. Rather, readers get acquainted with them only through the recollections, observations, and impressions of their partners and friends. Thus, Christian and Nina are inherently unreliable narrators. As the story progresses, it becomes apparent that Lily’s stated version of her interactions with Jake may not have been fully accurate and truthful. Meanwhile, Christian’s questionable decision-making escalates, heightening the danger in which he and Lily find themselves. Nina, meanwhile, gradually discovers that her perceptions of her relationships with those most important to her were severely flawed, and her life will never play out the way she once thought it would.

Kubica says she strives to create characters with whom her readers will connect, hoping readers will relate to them and step into their shoes as “they make really stupid decisions.” In Just the Nicest Couple Kubica takes readers on a turbulent emotional journey with Christian and Nina, and their spouses, injecting clues, revelations about the characters’ marriages, and plenty of red herrings along the way, as the pace of the action escalates and the story careens to a shocking climax. She says it is also important to her that once all the surprising plot twists are revealed, readers remain interested to see what ultimately happens to her characters. Indeed, she provides an emotionally satisfying conclusion to an absorbing, entertaining, and thought-provoking story.

Mary Kubica never disappoints. Just the Nicest Couple, with its questionable characters and surprising twists and turns, had me up way past my bedtime. Mary is an auto buy author for me and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

Nina Hayes’ husband, Jake, is missing. At first she thinks he is just cooling down after a fight they had, but after several days go by, this is less and less likely to be the explanation. Nina’s friend, Lily, ends up being the last one to see Jake alive. Lily confides in her husband the truth about Jake, and they agree to withhold information together. Will Nina ever get to the bottom of her husband’s disappearance?

Mary Kubica is one of my favorite authors and I have read most of her books. I have loved every book I have read by this author. So I was thrilled to read her latest work, JUST THE NICEST COUPLE. It sounded like something I would enjoy, and I really did. Kubica has done it again and created a brilliant mystery for you to try and solve. I was not able to predict the final twist, but I loved it!

Another twisty domestic thriller that kept me guessing right to the end with a twist I totally did not see coming!!! Mary Kubica is the queen of great domestic suspense in my opinion. I loved her Local woman missing and didn't think she could top that but her newest just might have! Great on audio narrated by Brittany Pressley and Gary Tiedemann. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Keeping this short and sweet. This is a domestic thriller with a prologue that hooks. It was promising but quickly got a little boring, predictable, and wordy. Nina seemed dumb to me. However, I did enjoy the final reveal even though it was a little over the top.

Overall, this wasn’t my favorite thriller (and I preferred Kubica’s 2021 LOCAL WOMAN MISSING) but those newer to thrillers or people who really like domestic thrillers in the vein of Shari Lapena could enjoy this!

⚠️: pregnancy, cancer, mention of miscarriages, violence, blood

I am slightly confused about how I want to write this review. This book is shorter than most of the author’s books, and I felt that it caused the character development to suffer. Nina is a math teacher who is pregnant after having several miscarriages. I understand the stress of teaching after having been one myself. Her husband, Christian, wants to make sure that she is safe, health, and protected at all times. Nina’s friend, a fellow teacher, Lily’s husband has disappeared. Nina feels like she could have something to do with the surgeon’s disappearance.

This book had some promising twists and turns, and a great twist I did not see coming, but I felt that none of the characters were likable. I feel due to the writing style and little character development, this book is only three stars for me. Where I have liked other novels by this author, this one was a no-go for me.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for and honest review.

Lily Scott and Nina Hayes are friends from work. They teach high school in a suburb of Chicago, Lily in her algebra classes and Nina teaching honors English. They met when Lily started, Nina acting as a mentor to her when she was taking on her first year of full-time teaching. The mentorship turned into a genuine friendship, with the occasional dinner with their husbands.

Christian comes home from work one day to find Lily in the living room, barely able to move. When he asks if she’s okay, she says that she is, but it’s clear that she’s lying. But he doesn’t want to push her for an answer. She’s pregnant again, and her past miscarriages has him worrying that there is something wrong with the baby, but he chooses to give Lily some space to find her voice. It’s not until the next evening that she’s able to talk about what is on her mind.

The previous night, she had gone to a local park after work, Langley Woods, and she had run into Nina’s husband Jake there. They had walked on the main path for a while, but then he persuaded her to veer off onto a side path, into the woods. He had seen some deer, he’d said, and wanted to show her. But once they got away from the main path, Jake had tried to kiss her, to force her to do things she didn’t want to. She’d been thrown to the ground. She managed to grab a rock and hit him in order to get away, but there had been a lot of blood. She was worried about what could have become of him.

And now he’s missing.

Christian is appalled by Jake’s behavior, but he starts to worry about how this could affect Lily and the baby. He finds the clothes she had been wearing and sets them aside, to get rid of them. He has Lily go back to Langley Woods to the place where it happened, to see if they can find any evidence that might lead back to her. They find the blood on the ground but nothing more.

Meanwhile, Nina is increasingly worried about Jake. He hadn’t been home for days. They’d had a big argument the night before, with both of them saying really hurtful things, so Nina wasn’t surprised when he didn’t show up at home the next night or wouldn’t answer any calls or texts. But when the head of surgery at the hospital called and told her that he hadn’t shown up for any of his surgeries, Nina knows something is very wrong. Jake had worked hard all through medical school to become a neurosurgeon. He might shut her out for a bit from anger, but he would never abandon his job. She files a police report.

As Christian and Lily scramble to try to cover Lily’s tracks, they find themselves turning inward and hiding, afraid of what the truth might eventually reveal about Lily’s actions that day. Meanwhile, Nina is becoming increasingly worried about Jake’s safety. He’s not used any of his credit cards or withdrawn any cash from their account. His phone just goes to voicemail. And then she finds out that the gun he had kept in the safe in his home office was gone.

All Nina has now is her mother, whose macular degeneration is getting worse, and her friends from work, Lily and fellow English teacher Ryan. Will she be able to find the answers she’s searching for, or will she discover that the people she trusted most are the ones who have caused her life to break apart?

Master of suspense Mary Kubica is back with Just the Nicest Couple, a tale of knife-edge suspense that keeps you awash in anxiety and wondering just who is telling the truth at any given moment. The contrast of the couples, Christian and Lily versus Nina and Jake, is a teeter-totter of half-truths and misdirection, until the end.

Just the Nicest Couple is told in alternating viewpoints of Christian and Nina, so you get an inside glimpse of both couples without getting the whole story of what happened to these four people. As the truths slowly come to light and the secrets are revealed, we find out that there is so much more going on with these characters than even they realized, and the tale finally comes full circle. But until that point, I was on pins and needles, wanting to know more and having to keep reading to find out the real story. I really enjoyed this thriller, and I could not stop turning the pages until I finally got to the end.

Egalleys for Just the Nicest Couple were provided by Park Row through NetGalley, with many thanks.

4.5⭐️. As I am writing this review, the feedback on this book is…well it’s mixed. However, I loved this bingeable new thriller from the master of twists, Mary Kubica. I read this one in under a day, and was literally on the edge of my seat the entire time. What a ride!

My favorite part of this book is how the author took the pretty common storyline (both in real life and fiction) of the missing wife, and turned it on its head. Here we see what happens when an affluent surgeon goes missing and his wife is the one to report it to the police.

The character development is top notch, per usual, and all four characters and even supporting characters were fully flushed out. There is not one character in this story about which I do not understand their motives or actions. By the time we reach the conclusion, everything becomes crystal clear. As someone who hates messy conclusions to thrillers, I really appreciate this about Kubica’s writing.

Thank you to Park Row and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

I finished this book in 24 hours. Wow! I couldn’t put it down! The plot unfolded at a breakneck pace from the beginning. I thought the character development was perfect and I definitely didn’t see that ending coming!