Mary Kubica is a frustrating author for me. Her debut, "The Good Girl, was thrilling and full of promise. While I enjoyed subsequent books to varying degrees, it wasn't until her last novel, "Local Woman Missing" that I felt that same spark I did when reading her debut. Brilliantly written, pacey, and with a perfect denouement, I couldn't stop myself from heartily recommending the novel to just about everyone. So my expectations here were quite high. Unfortunately, "Just the Nicest Couple" fails to deliver. The writing here felt stiff and abrupt. I couldn't connect with the characters and figured out the culprit quite easily and early. I just couldn't see any of the nuance, empathy, and cleverness that Mary Kubica has come to embody for me here. Thank you so much for the ARC and I still look forward to her next effort.

The Queen of suspense, Mary Kubica (fav author) returns following Local Woman Missing with her latest, JUST THE NICEST COUPLE—a gripping twisty domestic suspense where the line between right and wrong is blurred, and no one is as they appear.

Two couples, two close friends, one missing husband…

A whodunnit domestic suspense thriller that will keep you guessing until the final page!

Meet the nicest couple—Lily and Christian Scott. Lily is an algebra teacher at the local Chicago suburban school, and her husband is a market research analyst. They have had several miscarriages, and she is currently pregnant.

Nina Hayes is an English teacher at the same school as Lily and is married to Jake, a surgeon. They are friends.

Nina is distracted and does not have time to be there for her husband's every whim. Her mother is going blind, and they recently found a mass in her left breast. They will need a biopsy to see if it is malignant or benign.

Jake and Nina argue, and he leaves. Jake is not so nice. He does not like her spending so much time with her mom and the stresses of his patients. She thinks he is just blowing off steam; however, he does not answer his phone, and then the hospital calls and says he has not been in several days later.

Now she is worried. He is missing. There is an investigation. Where is he?

From the POVs of Christian and Nina, we learn about an episode in Langley Woods. Lily comes clean (is she telling the whole truth?) with Christian that Jake tried to attack her, and to protect herself, she hit him with a rock and ran.

Christian will do anything to protect his wife and his unborn child.

To do so, they must go to the trails and see if they can find the body or any evidence. However, they cannot find him or any evidence. However, his car is parked there, so they must move it, which involves Christian breaking into Nina's house to get the key. This involves a lot of sneaking around and risk-taking.

Later the body is found in the woods by the authorities. They find the car. He was shot. However, Lily knows she did not kill him. So who murdered Jake? Lily also does not think about her lost earring.

There is a bit of a cat-and-mouse game going on between Christian and Nina. Nina thinks Christian killed him. But she needs proof.

Everyone is a suspect. Suspicion, betrayal, and dark secrets abound —Hidden just beneath the surface of a seemingly perfect suburban life. How far do we go to protect the family?

Kubica keeps you turning the pages into the wee hours of the morning. This was my birthday read, and what a treat! I read it in one sitting. Readers will become engrossed in the intense mystery. What goes on behind closed doors? Do we know the people close to us as well as we think?

The author has a talent for maneuvering multi-storylines and going behind closed doors in suburban neighborhoods, and unraveling dark secrets, lies, and deceit. Well-crafted, you will not anticipate the surprisingly satisfying conclusion.

I have been a fan of the Mary's since her debut and have read every book. Each one is 5 Stars and lands on my year's top books. Kubica fans will enjoy this one, as well as fans of author BA Paris.

INTERVIEW: Stay tuned for my upcoming #AuthorElevatorSeries Interview with Mary on Pub day, Jan 10, 2023, where we go behind the scenes of the book and the author! Do not miss this one.

Thank you to #ParkRowBooks and #Netgalley for the gifted e-ARC. I look forward to the audiobook narrated by Brittany Pressley (favorite) and Gary Tiedemann

Blog Review posted @
www.JudityDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 ⭐ STARS +
Pub Date: Jan 10, 2023
Jan 2023 Must-Read Books


Read my MK Reviews (blog):
THE GOOD GIRL
Top Books of 2014

PRETTY BABY
Top Books 2015

DON’T YOU CRY
Top Books of 2016

EVERY LAST LIE
Top Books of 2017

WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT
Top Books of 2018
#AuthorElevatorSeries QA

THE OTHER MRS.
Top Books of 2020

LOCAL WOMAN MISSING
Top Books of 2021

JUST THE NICEST COUPLE
Top Books of 2023

I am a huge Mary Kubica fan, but this book was a letdown. Just The Nicest Couple is a story centered around two friends and the sudden disappearance of one of the husbands. One night, Jake suddenly disappears, and his wife, Nina, thinks he ran away due to the high stress of being a surgeon, and they also just had a major fight. Lily, their other friend, was the only person who last saw him alive. Lily told her husband, Christian, about her predicament, and they bowed to keep what they know a secret. Sequentially narrated by Nina and Lily, we find out that their secret may cause more harm than good when Nina is determined to find out the truth behind her husband’s disappearance.

The book had the perfect setup, but it was a straightforward thriller with no major twists. The plot was still solid enough to keep me interested with the short chapters as I waited for something significant to happen. The ending also had so much potential, but it fell flat. The book left me wanting more, and I felt disappointed that I did not feel the same shock factor I was hoping for as I had with her other books. The book was still an entertaining, easy read, but it was very anti-climatic and not one of my favorites by Mary Kubica.

Thank you to NetGallery and to Harlequin Trade Publishing for giving me a copy of the book.

Just the Nicest Couple
by Mary Kubica
Pub Date: 10 Jan 2023
This is my first Kubica book. It's a great thriller. Reminds me of a Freida McFadden book with a couple of good twists thrown in.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Really enjoyed the twists and turns in this who-dun-it murder mystery. I always love reading from multiple character perspectives and this did not disappoint. It was a fast paced page-turner that I thoroughly enjoyed! Also, love the cover…very appealing and eye-catching!

Just the Nicest Couple
by Mary Kubica
Pub Date: January 10, 2023
Park Row
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
I have read all of the authors books and enjoyed almost all of them (I wasn’t a fan of When the Lights Go Out) but this one missed the mark for me. I think my biggest issue was the writing felt off, if I had read this without having any idea who wrote it I would have never guessed it was a MK book at all. Her style wasn’t the same, it felt staccato and abrupt. I was invested enough in the plot and curious to see where things would go but for a book that felt a little slow at times the ending felt rushed and there were some loose ends that needed to be tied up. Overall not my fave from the author. I will not be purchasing this for our library.

3 stars

Thank you HTP, Park Row Books & Netgalley for this ARC! Mary Kubica’s Just the Nicest Couple follows the story of two couples, two close friends and one missing husband. Jake’s husband, Nina, starts to get worried when her husband goes missing for a length of time. Lily, Nina’s friend and coworker, thinks she may be the last person to have seen Jake before he went missing. Lily’s husband, Christian, decides that nobody can find out what happened - ever. But Nina isn’t stopping until she gets to the truth.

I really loved the premise of the plot, especially once more details were uncovered as I read. That being said, I struggled with the writing at some points - Some sentences seemed a bit odd and repetitive. This may be tweaked before pub day, so taking this into account the next time I revisit the book. It’s just not what I am used to seeing from Kubica, but I will still read whatever she comes up with next and found this to be a quick, entertaining domestic suspense novel that gave me a couple of good shocking twists! 3 stars.

Was so excited to read a new Mary Kubica book, as I have read a few books by Mary Kubica and enjoyed them. I thought the premise of this book sounded really good. The story of a husband gone missing, his wife, Nina, is looking for him and her friend, Lily, may have been the last one to see him. Lily tells her husband what is going on, and they know that no one, especially Nina, cannot find out what happened. This one started out so strong, but then it just fizzled out and felt slow and it was hard for me to focus, so with a little skimming I made it to the end. There were a few twists, but it just took too long to get to them and the book was some what predictable. I will still read more by this author, because I do like her writing, but this just wasn't my favorite.

thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing, Park Row & NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this Digital ARC

This just wasn’t the thriller I wanted it to be. Poorly written characters and an unbelievable story line going no where 25% in.

I loved Mary Kubica's "Local Woman Missing" and found it a wonderfully wild ride but this book was BAD. It was slow, repetitive and annoying. I completely gave up by page 70 but of course I needed to know what actually happened so skipped to the end. It was entirely predictable and nice to see that I didn't make a bad choice by completely missing out the middle of the book.

Can you still consider it a DNF if you gave up at page 70, then skipped to 250 just to at least know what happened? Either way, not my cup of tea and would not recommend.

Thank you for this ARC!!

Yet another fabulous entry from Mary Kubica! This one features two young couples who seem to have it all. Underneath it all, everyone has secrets, and these couples are no exception. When one husband goes missing and another wife is not quite certain that she is to blame, things quickly spiral out of control. Kubica is the master of the twist you never saw coming, and this novel has so many moments that you never saw coming. I will gladly hand this one to anyone who is a fan of domestic suspense.

Though this one didn't have all the chilling, spine-tingling thrills of some of Kubica's earlier novels, it did have a strong sense of ominous doom written into the pages, and it kept me invested enough to want to finish the story and see what exactly happened the night of an altercation in the woods between sweet, innocent (?) young pregnant Lily and big, powerful, rich doctor Jake Hayes. It was clear from the beginning that someone wasn't giving the entire truth to the story. There was also such an odd dynamic between Lily and her husband Christian, and the way the story unfolded in multiple viewpoints really helped amp up that palpable tension and oddness. I enjoyed it, but it's not my favorite Kubica book. The cold weather setting of the Chicago suburbs was also neat, because I don't live too far from there.

I just finished the newest thriller by Mary Kubica, Just The Nicest Couple. Nina and her husband Jake have a big fight and Jake does not come home that night. At first, Nina just thinks he is mad and will come home after he settles down. When several days go by and no one has heard from him, she files a missing persons report with the police. Could Nina’s good friend and fellow teacher, Lily, and her husband, Christian, be more involve with Jake’s disappearance than they are saying?

A quick easy read that is both suspenseful and captivating. With lots of twists and turns, secrets and lies, Nina doesn’t know who she can trust. This was one of my favorites by this author. I didn’t see the ending coming until about 90% through the book. I would recommend this to all fans of Mary Kubica and thrillers in general. Definitely worth the read.

When Jake goes missing, his wife thinks he’s just blowing off stream. Lily, her neighbor and coworker knows more and has sworn her own husband to secrecy.

I called the ending from the very beginning, but there were still several twists and fake me outs before the plot got there. I enjoyed the multiple POV’s and the short chapters. I didn’t really like any of the characters but it was a fast and entertaining read.

“I only have two thoughts in that moment: staying alive, and that this isn’t the way it’s supposed to happen.”

Just the Nicest Couple comes out 1/10.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

𝙏𝙬𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙨, 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨, 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙪𝙨𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙙…

This was such an entertaining and surprising thriller. I really enjoyed it more than I was expecting to. I haven’t read anything by Mary Kubica prior to this so I was so excited when a physical ARC arrived. I had to read it before it releases early next year.

In this book, we follow two different and entertaining couples. First, we have Nina and Jack Hayes; we also have Lily and Christian Scott. Nina and Lily are close friends and both are teachers at the same school. We end up finding out that Jake goes missing a day after he gets into a heated argument with Nina. Lily might think she was the last one to see him before he went missing.

Christian ends up finding out a secret about Lily and why she said she was the last one to see Jake. They end up holding that secret from Nina, but she’s determined to find out the truth.

I felt like I flew through this book. I was super entertained by both couples. They weren’t super likable characters, but they all had something interesting going on. I wasn’t sure what to believe after new secrets were being shared. I personally feel like this isn’t a super mind-blowing story, but I was very entertained. Also, that ending was a bit predictable - but I think it’s more of my personal taste as I’m sure others won't see it coming. It was just a bit underwhelming as I had pieced everything together.

I almost gave this one a lower rating, but I sat and thought about it. I generally found it to be super enjoyable until the end. There wasn’t too much going on, but Lily and Christian’s secrets had me so intrigued and I wanted to find out where Jake was. This was a fun and quick thriller, I can see why some readers will end up enjoying this. I would just suggest going into it not knowing much nor expecting too much.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for my review copies - all thoughts are my own!

I absolutely loved this juicy domestic thriller. I was invested from very early on, and while some may be put off by the slow burn, I liked it in this case. I enjoyed the author's previous book, Local Woman Missing, so I was super excited to see that the author was releasing another book. I just had to get my hands (and eyes) on it. Sometimes it takes me longer to read physical books or ebooks, but not this one! It is truly bingeworthy!

I liked that the two main female characters, Nina and Lily, were teachers, like myself. I could picture myself in their situations and I was able to imagine the whole scenario with ease. The writing will not blow you away, but I knew that going into it and I did not have that expectation. None of the characters were super likable--all of them were flawed, but their flaws only helped thicken the plot.

Christian and Lily appear to be "just the nicest couple" from the outside, but they have dark secrets that are just itching to get out. Some of the parts of the book are so suspenseful they will have you gasping. It's like a train wreck--you just can't look away, and in this case, you just can't stop reading until you find out every last secret.

I remain a fan of Mary Kubica, and will read any of her future books and will recommend her books to any of my friends or family looking for a real page-turner.

Special thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I'm sorry to say I did not finish this book. I think the old adage, '"it's not you, it's me" might be true in this case. I think I am just tired of domestic thrillers and need a change.

Though I personally was not wild about it, we all know there is a huge market for this kind of novel, and I predict that it will do very well, and even though I didn't personally like it I will order for my public library, If only for the premise alone:
Nina 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. We then go down the path to find out what truly happened to Jake.

Recommended for public libraries

The first book of hers I loved was Local Women Missing. That one took Instagram by storm! It was such a hit, so dark and addicting.

But this one… feels so rushed and incomplete. Like she was trying to rush it to keep the flame going. I feel like it was really onto something good, but missed the mark. Way too much detail about nothing. Do we need 4 sentences describing what could have been 1?

I will absolutely try another book by her, but this one was a miss.

After reading Local Woman Missing last year, I was excited to see another Mary Kubica novel and jumped at the chance to read this ARC.

Short Synopsis:
It’s a thriller. You should go in blind. 😂 It’s a domestic thriller. There are a few married couples involved. One person goes “missing.” That’s all you need to know.

Thoughts:
This was a perfectly okay thriller. 🤷🏼‍♀️ It dragged at times. I guessed the ending. But it was full of suspense and kept my attention. It’s an easy read. I think I was just hoping for more!

I’m always looking for an entertaining mystery/thriller and was excited to pick up a DRC of Just The Nicest Couple. Thank you Harlequin books for my copy.

I wanted to like this book but I honestly struggled with it. I couldn’t connect with any of the characters and was able to figure out what was going on pretty early. It also wasn’t a surprise who the killer was. This just felt very formulaic and for that reason I found myself not really caring how the story ended.

Now each person has a different reaction to a story - so while not a fit for me it may be for you.