Oh man, I’ve been avoiding this review. Let me start by saying that Kubica’s last novel LOCAL WOMAN MISSING was a 5🌟 read for me—and I highly recommend you pick that one up in lieu of this one.⁣
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The premise of the book is interesting: Lily was out for a walk when she had an altercation with Jake, her friends’ husband, who was coming on to her. When Jake never returns home and is reported missing, she assumes it must be because she hit him with a rock while trying to protect herself. Lily and her husband decide to try to cover it up, but as they do things get more and more complicated.⁣
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Here is the ☕️🫖 of why this book was just not it for me:⁣
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The writing is legitimately…not good…which is not something you will hear me say often. I felt like a large majority of sentences in this book were five words or less, so it felt really choppy and hard to get into. Certain descriptions were waaaaay too repetitive. We get it, Jake is a doctor and Nina’s mom has macular degeneration—that doesn’t need to be said every time they’re mentioned in the story 😅 Lastly, I guessed every single plot twist, and pretty early on. I usually try not to guess the endings when reading mystery books, but this was pretty obvious.⁣
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While the plot was decent and I enjoyed the multiple POVs (the only reason this wasn’t a 1🌟), my honest opinion of this book is to skip it and read some of Kubica’s earlier stuff. *Note that this was an ARC given to me from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. However, I will not be tagging the publisher or the author in this post.

Just the Nicest Couple by Mary Kubica was a fast paced, twisted thriller that you can read in a day. What I like about Kubica’s books are the everyday people, the kind that could be your neighbors, that find themselves in these crazy situations.

When a husband goes missing after he and his wife have a fight, usually, there’s a prime suspect. Not in this case! Nina’s husband may be missing yet her colleague and friend, Lily, saw him that day under unusual circumstances. Lily and her husband decide to not share any info with the police or Nina. They believe silence is the best policy.

Of course, no one does the “right thing” which leads to the type of thriller that I can get behind. Some unlikable characters were dotted in as red herrings that kept me guessing what would happen. Kubica’s books are my cup of mystery, not to gruesome or nightmare inducing. They’re just the right speed for me!

I live in Chicago, as does the author, and I appreciate all the references to real places I know well. It’s always fun to read a book from your own city or town, especially when the author gets it right!

When Jake Hayes fails to return home after a heated argument with his wife, Nina, she assumes that he's cooling off in a luxury hotel. When he doesn't return home after two days, she thinks maybe he's left her. When she hears from his work on day five that he hasn't been in to the office, she knows something is wrong. Jake Hayes is missing.

Lily Scott is Nina's best friend. She was her mentee, she's her work bestie, she shares everything with Nina. Everything, except for the fact that she may have been the last person to see her husband alive. Lily tearfully divulges the information to her husband, Christian, who agrees that *no matter what* they cannot share what happened that afternoon with Nina, the police, or anyone else.

It would all be so much easier for the Scotts if Nina would just stop looking for Jake, but once they are in for a penny, they've found themselves in for a pound, and readers will be surprised to see just how far the nice couple down the street will go to protect their perfect little lives.

A must read for fans of Lisa Jewell, Stacy Willingham, and Lisa Unger, Mary Kubica has hit another homerun with "Just the Nicest Couple." Readers will be on the edge of their seats until the very last page as they race to discover exactly what's happened to Jake Hayes, and who, ultimately, is responsible. Special thanks to NetGalley and to Park Row for providing an Advanced Reader's Copy of "Just the Nicest Couple" in exchange for an unbiased review.

I started this book last night before I went to bed, and that wasn’t a good idea - not recommended! 😆

If you like thrillers, this is a quick read that gives you all the thriller vibes and is difficult to put down. It definitely kept me tense, but there were lots of sections with information I felt like wasn’t necessary. This book definitely has unlikable, untrustworthy characters. You don’t know who to trust, and even though there are a couple twists, I’m not really shocked at the end.

I’m normally a huge Kubica fan, but unfortunately this one was just ok to me. I didn’t really get into it and didn’t feel like there was anything particularly exciting about it. It won’t be one that I really keep thinking about. All in all it was a miss for me. Thank you netgalley for my free copy.

This book started out really good but then went off the deep end. Lots of bad choices by the main characters that were hard to believe. Overall a decent read but don’t expect anything noteworthy

Mary Kubica can do no wrong, and this newest novel just proves that she’s a phenomenally talented thriller writer.

Keep reading and she’ll keep you in your toes. This midwinter release will find huge audiences among thriller and mystery fans for good reason.

How in the world does one possibly follow Local Woman Missing? It was so great and such a well executed twist that I had a feeling the follow up wouldn't be quite as explosive. While this wasn't, it was still a good read because it's Mary Kubica, after all. I agree with other readers that the writing style and format is different from what we usually see from her books. It came across as short scripted and seemed very detailed at some parts. But putting that aside, I really liked the story, plot and that amazing twist at the end. The book is told in two parts Nina’s perspective and Christian, Lily’s husband. I thought the choice to have Christian instead of Lily was interesting and I ended up liking it. The character development was very well done and all characters were fully fleshed out. There is not one character in this story about which I do not understand their motives or actions. By the time we reached the conclusion, everything made sense and I really appreciate this about Kubica’s writing.

This thriller was just published in January; I was so eager to get my hands on these pages, as it was one of my most highly anticipated reads of the first half of 2023. Overall, I enjoyed it!

My favorite thing about this thriller was the pacing; it felt very consistent & the continued flow was very easy to read. My life is the busiest it has ever been right now, but this one was so bingeworthy, that I was able to fly through it in less than 48 hours. I loved the dual perspectives; I typically really like this component in novels, as it allows us to really mentally shape the characters. I love using hints from each perspective to put the pieces together in thrillers.

Mary Kubica is a rockstar at writing the perfect, most atmospheric domestic thrillers. I loved the setting/house location of this one & thought the concept was very unique. There was loads of imagery throughout that really helped me to visualize it all happening.

The reason this one wasn't a 5 star for me was because I 1000% predicted the twist (very similar twist to one of my all time fave thrillers). I know a lot of people enjoy when this happens in thrillers, & while it is satisfying in a way, I absolutely live for the complete shock factor in my thrillers. That is the number one reason why thriller is my favorite genre. In the past, I have really enjoyed Kubica's thrillers, especially Local Woman Missing. In both of the ones I have read, she did completely shock me in the reveal. This one, however, I detected very early on.
The ending did wrap up VERY quickly & left me with a residual question about a supporting character's story, but thankfully I felt that I was able to make assumptions to figure it out.

Overall, I give it four stars, because I did really enjoy it, and I do recommend this one! Definitely a quick thriller read, that I’m sure a lot of people will be absolutely shocked by! I really think it’s possible that the only reason I completely predicted it, is because I’m such a seasoned thriller reader/read so many of them.

Definitely can't wait to see what Kubica does next!

I did not expect it to go as it did at the end. This book goes into different p.o.v between Christian and Nina.
Nina and Jack are a couple in the middle of some issues.
Lily and Christian seem to be so sweet and full of love for each other. However, something shady might be going on. When Jack goes missing, at first, no one is not really concerned except for his job. Nina thinks he has left her, but he should be coming back soon. As our story unfolds, more than just him is missing; something fishy might be happening involving Lily and Christian. I did like how the author had the man missing this time and not a woman, so that was a nice change-up. I did wonder why Lily didn't go to the police at first, and then as we got towards the end, it all made sense. Christian, as a character, is a bit creepy. He watches his wife sleep? Like, really, who does that? He seems a bit too protective, and I think he may have serial killer tendencies.
With Nina trying to find her husband, she seems to be receiving flowers, and someone is following her. Okay, this is very interesting. I didn't really understand this being in the story only because it had just started to happen. Why didn't it happen before? You know, it is just weird; also *spoiler alert* who put the tracker on the car? I am still lost on this one.

Meh..If Netgalley had not gifted this to me, I would have abandoned really early on.
There are two wives, a missing husband, and a cover-up in the dreary thriller, Just the Nicest Couple. Even though I swore off Kubica, I had to read this because of the intriguing premise. This novel was tedious to read due to its one-dimensional characters and shoddy writing. The vacillating viewpoints of Christian and Nina are characterless. Jake, a neurosurgeon, vanished after he wed Nina. That Nina's marriage is in jeopardy is evident from her constant fighting. Christian is an idiot, but his demeanor is unremarkable but endearing. Christian has a deep, abiding love for Lily. His childish feelings came over poorly in writing. He is speechless and preoccupied with Lily's sleeping patterns. Naggy Lily. Kubica misses out on the potentially riveting chapters that she wrote. Both Lily and Christian act and sound like high school kids, just like Nina and Lily's. I kept reading in the hopes of finding something interesting, no matter how farfetched. In a word, no. The conclusion is a failure, just like the novel. I saw every bend coming and was prepared for it.

Great quick read! A bit predictable but entertaining enough to finish in a day. Four narrators tell the story of a missing man and the intertwined relationships that lead to his death.

Not my fav book. It was a slow start and middle. I kept waiting for something to happen. I did however, like the dual points of view.

Thank you #netgalley and Park Row for the ARC!

Lily and Christian seem to have the perfect marriage. Christian works in the corporate world and Lily is a teacher at a nearby high school. Lily's friend and coworker, Nina, also seems to have the perfect marriage with her husband, Jake. Everything changes when Jake, a neurosurgeon, goes missing and doesn't show up at home or work.

Lily becomes worried because she was one of the last people to see Jake in public that day. Lily and her husband try everything to remain calm with the police and their investigation of the missing person. However, they know way more than they are telling.

This thriller is full of twists and turns. Kubica does a fabulous job of keeping the reader engaged and guessing the next plot twist. I highly recommend this book to anyone that likes domestic thrillers.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

This is the second time I am writing this review due to computer issues. I wish it had happened with another book because I wasn't a fan of this book.

I did not like the characters, didn't follow the plot, and was bored half way through. I was disappointed because I generally like her books.

Thankfully it was a short book.

The Nicest Couple revolves around two couples, Christian and Lily, and Nina and Jake. Lily and Nina are teachers at the same high school and are besties. One evening Christian comes home to find his pregnant wife, Lily exhausted and somewhat fearful. The same night, Jake doesn't make it home, and the couple had had a fight earlier that day.
There are good moments filled with tension and some twisty roads along the way. The pace doesn't ramp up completely but it's a good brisk walk. Overall, I like Mary Kubica, this is not my favorite of her books, but it's a fun little story that kept me interested.
3 stars. Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley!

You never suspect the nice couple and the nice couple would never expect to find themselves in this situation. What seems like an unfortunate event spirals and tears two couples apart, suspicion lingers everywhere and everyone looks guilty

Really enjoyed this one and found it hard to out down. Loved the alternating perspectives and thought the ending came together in a very satisfying way.

📖 What It’s About: Nina and her husband, Jake, have a big fight one night and then he doesn’t come home. Nina thinks he may have left her, so she tells her worries to her work friend, Lily. When Lily goes home and tells her husband about Jake, she also tells him that she thinks she was the last person to see him alive… something they both agree to keep secret.

💕 What I Liked: I loved that this story featured teachers as the main characters. Both Lily and Nina are high school teachers. Many parts of the book take place at the school, and I thought the author did a good job of accurately showing the job of a teacher. I also enjoyed the mystery and kept guessing until the end to see what really happened.

😳 What I Didn’t Love: The pacing of this book was a big miss for me. The first 60% was slow and then a lot of things happen at the end, but major details and events don’t actually happen in the story-they are told by another character in passing. I found this to be really odd. I also didn’t love the writing which was a surprise because I normally love Mary Kubica’s books. This one had very little dialogue and was heavy on telling the story, not showing.

Read if you like: missing person mystery, dual perspectives.
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Overall I really liked this book. I liked the two perspectives of Christian and Nina and the mystery behind the disappearance of Jack. I’m really proud of myself for guessing the mystery, which I don’t do very often! The only thing I’m critical of is the depiction of teaching as a profession, and some things didn’t make sense, but that’s just because I’m a teacher! Overall I was invested in this story and wanted to keep reading!