It pains me to even post this review because Local Woman Missing is one of favorite thrillers this year. Maybe my expectations were too high, but this one left me very disappointed.

I guessed the ending. THAT NEVER HAPPENS!! I did second guess myself a few times, but I was hoping the book would go in a different direction.

Mary Kubica did a great job building up some creepy scenes, but then nothing would happen. It all just fizzled out…for example *I don’t really consider this a spoiler but…one of the characters thought she was being followed, and it was even creeping me out…turns out it was just a car on her street that was lost and needed directions…like WHAT?! seriously?! So many missed opportunities.

The characters were okay, but they made some really dumb decisions, so I was just eye rolling the whole time. They kept stressing and being paranoid the whole book and it felt repetitive. The epilogue was too short, and needed some more explaining.

Take this with a grain of salt…you might actually like this one! I still plan on reading her other books, but this didn’t even feel like the same author as Local Woman Missing…

I've been a long time Mary Kubica fan, but I feel like this novel just didn't deliver. The writing felt juvenile, I couldn't get into the plot, and this was not up to par with books like "Local Woman Missing". I can't recommend.

Oh how I loathe to say this since I love Kubica’s books, but this one was a big letdown.

The story and characters were not believable and for a murder mystery I feel like a bunch of nothing happened in this book. Literally anytime I thought something would start to happen, nothing ended up happening. It just made reading this book frustrating and boring.

As for the ending, I was able to predict the twist and the whole conclusion felt rushed and was another letdown.

This definitely won’t stop me from picking up and looking forward to Kubica’s next book, since I’ve loved all her others.

Thank you Park Row for the gifted ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Mary Kubica never disappoints! Again she delivers a fast paced, addictive thriller that I could not stop reading. This was such a dark and disturbing storyline and the characters were all perfect fits for the storyline. Easily a five star read.

I found this to be a pretty entertaing domestic suspense novel. It was a fast read and I couldn’t wait to see how things played out. However, the writing in this book was not what I’m used to seeing from Mary Kubica. It was juvenile and did not read like it was written by a seasoned, best-selling author. Nevertheless, this was still a good storyline and it was entertaining.

I'm a huge fan of Mary Kubica, but Just the Nicest Couple has me a bit stumped because the writing is so bad and juvenile.
"I played baseball in high school. I was pretty good at it. I thought once that I could go pro, but I wasn't that good at it."
I also didn't find the plot all that interesting. Lily and Christian are very bland, boring characters and Nina was clueless.
Not surprised by the ending either.
Disappointed.

When Nina's husband disappears, she thinks that he's just left because of an argument they had. Secrets and lies play a big part in the disappearance and in the relationship between Nina and her best friend, Lily. One of the couples made so many bad decisions, I wanted to reach inside the book and slap them both "upside the head". A surprising twist at the end (there's always the twist at the end, isn't there?) made ME want to slap myself "upside the head" that I didn't see it coming!

The synopsis of this book pulled me right in! I’m happy to say I liked this book a lot. After reading Local Woman Missing, Mary Kubica has become a favorite author of mine. Her newest book did not disappoint! I always love dual perspectives and suspense, which is what this one had. This was a fact paced and unpredictable thriller. I would definitely recommend this book to others. Thank you so much for the ARC! Review will be posted closer to publishing date.

Thank you, Park Row Books, for the gifted copy of Don't Wait Up {partner}

Genre: Mystery
Format: 📖
Pub Date: 1.17.2023
Star Rating: ☆☆☆.5

"The news puts this on because it's what people want to see. It's a sickness. It's not that the world is innately bad or that bad things happen more often than good things. It's that we're drawn to the bad things. Death sells."

This is probably the earliest I have EVER read a book. Don't Wait Up won't be publishing until January 2023, but I love Mary Kubica books, and I was looking for something to read while in the pool. That being said, I have to take the *current* book with a grain of salt because edits are still being made.

The writing felt unnatural and repetitive, and the dialogue seemed forced in the book's earlier pages, but I think changes will be made before galleys, and final copies are published. So, I may go back and reread this one closer to the publishing date and then adjust my rating. There were also aspects to the book that I found to be completely unnecessary (and uncomfortable) to read. So we'll see if any changes are made to this version that I read. I still love Kubica's writing and will continue to read everything she writes.

I enjoyed Don't Wait Up and found its idea intriguing. I had my suspicions about the involvement of certain characters in what happened, but it was a story full of surprising twists and turns. Some scenes were so shocking that they made me gasp because they were so violent and unpredictable. Also, I can't say that I loved the characters. In my opinion, they were all untrustworthy and caused me to question everything they said (or, in some cases, thought). This uncertainty added to the mysteriousness of the story and made it hard to put down.

✌🏼Dual Perspective
😱 Shocking & violent scene
💨 Quick read
🤪 Dysfunctional characters

I recommend you read Don't Wait Up if you enjoyed reading The Golden Couple or The Therapist.

What's your current read, and what is the book's genre

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#dontwaitup #bookreview #newbooks #parkrowbooks #mystery #domesticsuspense #Homelibrary #booksbooksbooks

Literally DNFed this at 1% the writing was THAT bad. YES. THAT BAD. Don't believe me? Peep these excerpts from the first couple of pages:

"She's been extremely tired lately. The pregnancy is getting the best of her. She's on her feet teaching all day. These two things in combination exhaust her. Being pregnant and teaching high school kids." HEY GUYS JUST IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW... SHE'S TIRED BECAUSE SHE'S PREGNANT AND TEACHES HIGH SCHOOL KIDS. WHICH MAKES HER TIRED. BECAUSE IT'S TIRING.

"We met in college over our shared love of math. When we tell people that, it makes them laugh. We're math nerds." (...?? I-...???)

*LITERALLY THE NEXT PARAGRAPH, NO SEGUE, JUST VIBES*

"When it's time for bed, Lily goes up to the room before me. From downstairs, I hear the sink run as she washes up. I clean up from dinner. I thro the takeout containers in the trash. There is a package waiting on the front porch. I step outside to get it. Outside, the night is dark, though the sky is clear. It must be a new moon." I MEAN WHAT IN THE FRESH HELL IS THIS LMAO PLS.

Need I say more...?

Oh man. I don't want to way much because you really and truly should go into this one blind. Don't even read the synopsis. Just read it.

I like to think I'm Mary Kubica's biggest fan. Her books are always exactly what I need from a thriller and I'm never bored while reading her work.

This one may be my favorite tied with Local Woman Missing. It was fun. It was suspenseful the whole time. I had several endings in my head and I loved the way she closed this one out.

Thank you so much to Park Row books for the chance to read this prior to release. It's out in January of 2023 and I can't wait for everyone to read it!

Nina doesn’t even realize her husband is missing at first. After a nasty argument, Jake stormed off, leaving Nina to believe he was cooling off at a friend’s house, but as days go by with no sign of her husband, Nina begins to panic. It turns out that Nina’s friend, Lily was the last person to see Jake, but her husband, Christian, convinces her that no one can learn the truth about what happened that night. But Nina is determined to find Jake, the only question is -how far are Lily and Christian willing to go to keep her from finding out what really happened?