Wow! This was an excellent book that kept me guessing throughout! The characters were well-defined and real. I liked the different viewpoints in each chapter. I didn’t expect the ending, but loved it! A quick, enjoyable read.

I got an ARC of this book, and I'm hoping some of my issues will be fixed in the final version.

There are some pretty repetitive words in this that annoyed me. Like "underpants" and "conscientious" and "infinitesimal". Butt especially underpants from the man's perspective.

The story itself was a quick read, albeit predictable. I didn't hate it.

I was reading each chapter, going along with the story and cringing as characters tried to cover their tracks, when Nina brings up something she found and I thought Bingo! There it is, the proverbial smoking gun. I also surmised another angle to the story shortly after as well.
I was a little confused about one scene that seems to happen, but then the next negated it. It was clear that it was something Christian conjured in his mind.
It’s a definite who done it book.

There’s a reason Mary Kubica’s books are bestsellers and can be found in book stores everywhere- they’re just that good. And this book isn’t an an exception, I’m happy to report.

Like her other thrillers, “Just the Nicest Couple” set up an incredibly tense atmosphere from the beginning pages and didn’t let you put the book down until the very end. And I mean the VERY end, because anything can happen in these books and you don’t want to miss a minute of it. I mean, I was completely floored as strike after strike just kept coming.

I don’t want to say too much because it’s best to go into these books with a completely open mind and just see where the story goes. Because once it takes off, you’ll be happy to let it just carry you away. And this one is one that will make you really look at those around you a beat longer, even those closest to you. Trust me, it’s that good.

Pick this one up if you’re looking for a great domestic thriller.

Mary Kubica never disappoints! Just the Nicest Couple is a domestic thriller that I promise will have you hooked until the very last page! Told in two perspectives, I initially thought those perspectives were an odd combo, but of course after finishing I realized it was a brilliant combination. Mary expertly creates a storyline so intriguing that you won’t be able to put down your kindle. A per usual, there are plenty of twists and turns that will have your jaw hanging wide open—love that! I think it’s best you go into any Mary Kubica novel blind, I never even read the description because I know she’s a master at writing thrillers! Just the Nicest Couple is a 5+++ star novel that I highly recommend to everyone!

This was a mixed read for me. I liked the focus on the female characters esp Lily….main characters teaching high school captured me
in a good way. I did feel that the suspension of disbelief factors and dead end of the maze situations were a detriment to the story arc. A couple too many plot twists and lots of close guesses as to how it all ends. Mothers and daughters can get super complicated and I
wondered how it would play out for Belle.

I am embarrassed to say that Just The Nicest Couple is my FIRST Mary Kubica book. She hit the nail on the head with her latest domestic thriller, which leaves me deeply wondering....Why on earth haven't I read her before? All I need you to know is that Kubica’s book is the perfect ending to a long week. It's unpredictable, highly entertaining, and doesn't require a lot of work from the reader. I zipped along the twisty path she paved, casually tripping on the strategically placed obstacles along the way. I am a big fan of her characters and, of course, fell for their polished exteriors while squealing with glee as they, bit by bit, began to unravel. I happily soaked up the buried secrets, feelings of guilt, and layered lies as they seeped from the pages. I loved how Kubica rejuvenated the typical "unaccounted" for female character with a missing husband for a pleasant change (Hallelujah). All in all, Kubica’s tale is a yummy popcorn thriller that I devoured with great delight. It relieved me from a tiresome reading slump and has me eager to conquer her entire backlist.

I've seen some mixed reviews on this one, but I liked it! It was exactly what I was in the mood for at the time I picked it up. I wanted a fast paced thriller that would keep me entertained and be a quick read and that's exactly what I got.

Was it perfect? No. I felt like the ending could have been better. But the book read very fast and I was very intrigued throughout. There were a few shady characters that kept me guessing and while it was mildly predictable at times, it definitely still made me think. It had one twist in particular (no spoilers) that I actually didnt see coming, so that was cool! I like the multiple perspectives that alternated between a couple of the main characters.

I've been a fan of many of Mary Kubica's books and I liked this one too. If you're looking for something super fast paced that you can read in a couple of sittings, I'd pick this one up.

Mary Kubica can spin a thrilling tale.

Her latest novel, Just the Nicest Couple follows a set of married characters who are entangled in murder and secrets. There are two coworkers at the local high school: one with a missing husband and the other one is pretty sure she knows where he is. This is a story about lies and destruction in the simple lives of married life.

Kubica's traditionally fast writing kept me flying through the pages. I read this novel in two sittings because I had to see how the action unfolded. None of the characters are particularly likable but there were nuances to them all that felt familiar. The events just kept coming in quick succession making the pace of this novel never seem to drag. While it was a bit predictable, I was fascinated by the lives of these people. I will be checking out more from this author in the future.

Thank you Park Row Books and Netgalley for my copy.

I loved my time with Local Woman Missing when I finally read my first Mary Kubica back in 2021, and I've been meaning to read more of her work ever since. I loved the sound of the blurb of this newest story with the missing husband and the other couple hiding something, and I couldn't resist adding Just The Nicest Couple to my shelves. Now that I have had the chance to read it, I do understand why the reactions to this story are mixed... I personally still mostly enjoyed my time reading it, but there were also a couple things that didn't work as well for me.

I've seen that a lot of people seem to have issues with the writing style this time around, and I do agree. The writing style could have flowed better and the use of too many short and disjointed sentences can get quite annoying. The writing tends to jump from one thought to the other almost randomly, and this really disturbs the flow and pace of the story. Somehow I was still quite entertained by it all, but it was definitely a surprise to discover that the story was written this way. Just The Nicest Couple uses a dual POV structure, where we switch between Nina and Christian. I personally find it such a shame that we didn't get to see Lily's POV, because that would have added so much extra flavor to the plot!

As for the characters in general... I can't say that I'm a fan. I found their development to be a bit lackluster to be honest. Christian is particularly annoying with his blind love for his wife and going all over the top protecting her without knowing what exactly happened. Both Christian and Lily are particularly good at making the most stupid decisions, and it makes you wonder just how credible the plot is. Nina is basically mostly a human doormat, and it takes so long for her to redeem herself even a little... And I only started to dislike Lily more and more as things started to reveal themselves. Also, Jack is basically a horrible human being and I couldn't care less about what happened to him or if he was still alive.

There are a couple of red herrings throughout the story, and as a whole it was still entertaining enough to keep reading. True, things only escalate because the characters keep making the most stupid mistakes, but still... I do wish the ending would have been different though. There are hints at different possible endings throughout the story, and I would have much preferred a different outcome. As it is, the ending felt too farfetched and to be honest a bit rushed to be fully satisfying. I could have done without the cheating as well; always a pet peeve, but particularly annoying when it was introduced here.

As you might have guessed, I ended up having mixed thoughts about Just The Nicest Couple. It was still a solid enough read, but there were also a couple things that prevented me from enjoying it as much as I thought I would.

Mary Kubica is a must read author for me and she did not disappoint with her latest Just the Nicest Couple. This is a suspenseful thriller you do not want to miss out on. Told in multiple point of views, I was on the edge of my seat from start to finish. This one is filled with mystery, lies, deception, infidelity, murder and suspense. Ms. Kubica throws a lot of curve balls in this one, she left me curious to find out what was going to happen next. The pages turned very quickly for me! You will not believe what she has in store, especially that very surprising ending, boy did I get it all wrong. If you like thrillers and Mary Kubica, and how could you not, this is one you don’t want to miss.

Thank you NetGalley, Park Row, Harlequin Trade Publishing and Mary Kubica for an advanced copy of this mind blowing book to read and review. The opinions expressed are my own.
#netgalley #parkrow #harlequintradepublishing. #HTPinfluencer #marykubica #arc
#justthenicestcouple.

Christian and Lily are the nicest couple. They are friends with Nina and Jake. However, when Jake goes missing and Lily figures out she is the last person to have seen Jake, she and Christian decide not to come forward with what they know. Can you see where this is going? I had the entire thing figured out until the very end. One little twist you really may not see coming.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Park Row for this e-arc.*

I'm not off to a very good start this year...

This book has a lot of issues and it was just not good. Kubica's books are most often misses for me, but every once in a while I am impressed which keeps me coming back for more. Next time I think I'll wait for a library copy.

The main premise is that of two couples: Christian and Lily, and Lily's teacher co-worker Nina and her surgeon husband Jake. Jake doesn't come home the morning after a fight, and Nina assumes he's mad at her and has possibly left her. Yet as the days go by and he doesn't even show up for work, she starts to wonder if something has happened to him. Lily confesses to her husband that as she was out walking in the forest preserve, Jake tried to attack her and she hit him with a rock. Did Lily unintentionally kill him? As the days pass and there's no sign of Jake, everyone starts to panic and wonder where he is.

The writing is very short and simplistic. The characters make dumb decision after dumb decision and jump to conclusions that are ridiculous. The pacing is slow to develop and I was left wondering if anything was ever going to happen, and then bam, things happen very quickly. And then at the end, everything happens off of the page, so we just get to read about the aftermath. So much setup for very little payoff. I do have to say that I was surprised by one of the ending twists, even with as unrealistic and OTT as it was.

I know that lots of people have really liked this one, but if you like logic and characters that behave rationally, then this is not the book for you.

When Nina Hayes’s husband doesn’t come home one night, she quickly assumes that he has left her. After several months of distance and one final blowout, Nina knows Jake’s abandonment of their relationship isn’t out of the question. However, as the days pass, Nina learns that he isn’t just avoiding her - he hasn’t been seen by anyone. Nina’s friend and coworker Lily has been supportive and kind during this tumultuous time; but little does Nina know that Lily may have been one of the last people to run into Jake Hayes before he was never seen again.

This book was honestly frustrating at times. The couples kept doing things that made me genuinely enraged and the narrators droned on, detailing things that weren’t necessary. While the anticipation of finding out what really happened made it fast-paced, not much happened for most of the book. That being said, the twist was pretty good. Not 100% shocking, but had some layers of surprise.

I'm sad to say that Just The Nicest Couple wasn't a hit for me. It really didn't capture my attention, in fact I started it several times before finally sticking with it to the end. I found a lot of parts to be very repetitive and while there are some twists, I was able to predict both of the major ones.

Queen of suspense Mary Kubica opens the year with her latest suspenseful mystery, JUST THE NICEST COUPLE, to be released January 10th. The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author joins the podcast to talk about her twisty tale of two seemingly perfect couples, and the secrets that are exposed between them when one of the husbands disappears. Mary joins the podcast to talk with Olivia about her previous career as a teacher, how she constructs her storylines, and how motherhood helped to launch her successful career.

Hey! Remember in 2012 when Breaking Dawn Part 2 arrived in theaters? There was an uproar because the whole climatic end battle with multiple character deaths was revealed to be just a vision and never occurred? Well, if you were one of the few people who enjoy being tricked into thinking some event has happened, this book is for you!

***SPOILERS BELOW***

This book was all over the place. It starts less as a thriller and more of a bumbling couple continues to make baffling and poor decisions to cover a potential crime tale. While Lily and Christian, the married couple, attempt to cover Lily's potential involvement in a local man's murder, the man's wife Nina tries to find out what has happened to her husband. There are head-scratching red herrings along the way such as co-worker Ryan's obsession/stalking with Nina. I don't remember if it's ever determined if it was Ryan or Nina's husband who planted a tracker on her car, but my first thought was this is the 21st century? Who wouldn't just use find my friend, especially if it was her husband to watch her location as he conducted an affair?

The part that genuinely lost me though was Christian brutally killing Nina to protect his wife's secret, just for the whole segment to be revealed as IT NEVER HAPPENED. Somehow in a novel that we have never looked into the daydreams or intimate thoughts of Christian, we see it all unfold like it's reality just to be told it is not. It would have been incredibly dark but interesting to have Christian kill Nina and then discover his wife's duplicitousness.

The final chapter of this book literally feels like someone stapled it on by accident. After Nina decides not to turn in the true killer, somehow the true killer is now in jail and Lily is free? Like, what? What happened between point A and B here? There's a vague mentioning of Ryan leaving the school but no other consequences for him? If it was meant to be a wrap-up, all it did was leave more questions. This book was a big disappointment.

I have been a fan of Mary Kubica's thrillers ever since I read Pretty Baby in 2015. She has a lot of creative and interesting twists that keep me on my toes. Her latest, Just the Nicest Couple, really delivers! It is such a twisty page-turner. And just when you think you have all the answers, there is so much more in store!

I liked how we were set up to know what happened while Nina didn't, but there were still all these little mysteries that we were also not clued in on. I was nervous for Christian and Lily, even though they were in the wrong and should have just told Nina in the first place about what was going on, instead of making things worse for themselves. Given that they were seen as protagonists, there was that "Zack Morris effect" where I just wanted to see if they'd be able to get away with their secret. Jake didn't seem like that great of a husband but I still felt bad for Nina and understood her anxiety over not knowing where he was.

The ending (epilogue) felt a bit anti-climactic after all the build-up, but that didn't take away from the overall effect.

If you're a Mary Kubica fan, you're in for a treat. If you haven't read her books yet, this is a good one to get you hooked! This one is perfect for fans of Robyn Harding, Kimberly Belle, and Jaime Lynn Hendricks.

Movie casting suggestions:
Nina: Alexandra Daddario
Jake: Corey Sevier
Christian: Tom Hopper
Lily: Lily Collins
Ryan: Austin Stowell
Nina's mom: Melissa Leo

This was a perfectly distilled incarnation of exactly what I imagine a good domestic thriller to be! We had a wealthy neighborhood, a handsome but slightly hard to trust husband, multiple perspectives, and the constant eerie feeling that we were being told the story by an unreliable narrator.

It was a truly effortless, fast paced read, the way it’s written and the switching perspectives really just makes the story fly by. I will say that I personally had my suspicions about how it would end and I was mostly right, but to the author’s credit, Kubica threw in a few wrenches to make me wonder if I was wrong, especially near the end! An intensely readable thriller for anyone looking for a chilling read for their next vacation read.

I have read many outstanding books by Mary Kubica including Good Girl, Local Woman Missing, and The Other Mrs. I have loved each and every one. Mary Kubica is a very talented author. With that being said, The Nicest Couple was not her best work. The premise of the book was interesting, but the writing was very immature and choppy. There were lots of short sentences and repetition of the same information. The story moved very slowly and failed to keep my attention. I hate to be negative, but this book just does not stand up next to her other works.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing-Park Row for the ARC of Just the Nicest Couple in exchange for an honest review.