Thanks @netgalley for read number 106 of 2022 (not published until January 2023). @marykubica is one of my favourite authors, and this binge-worthy read does not disappoint. I thought I had things figured out but I was still in for many twists before the end. I’m still debating if I would have liked things wrapped up a little differently at the very end, but I loved this book regardless. This book really blurs the line between good and bad. I wonder about one of the sub-plots, and if it needed to exist at all, but I still liked reading it. This was the twist (one of many) that I figured out. A ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 read in my books.

Giving this novel two stars is being <b>really</b> generous. I really enjoyed Kubica’s previous novel,<i>Local Woman Missing</i>, so I was excited to start this novel as soon as I was sent an advance copy. (Provided by the publishers and NetGalley for my honest review).

Nina and Lily are both high school teachers, occasionally going out for dinners together with their husbands, Jake and Christian. But one night, after a bad fight, Jake didn’t come home to Nina. And Lily confesses something horrible to Christian.

Ya’ll catching my drift?!

This novel was predictable from page 1. The writing was, as others mentioned, sub-par. I skimmed a lot of it because I found most of the novel to be “filler” and even the red herrings and twist at the end had me rolling my eyes.

My advice? Reread <i>Local Woman Missing</i>.

I very much appreciate the publisher providing this advanced copy, so it pains me to write that this will be the last Kubica book I read. I only finished this book out of a sense of responsibility. The “twist” was mindnumbingly predictable. Actually, it was borderline offensive - like the author thinks we are all too stupid to figure it out. Lazy writing, lazy plot. A huge miss.

This book was sent to me by Netgalley for review. Thanks to the publisher for the electronic copy. This is a talented and gifted author. The story is fiction but reads like nonfiction. The main characters are two couples who are friends…careers in teaching and medicine…one husband disappears…love and romance…family and friends…secrets and intrigue…murder and mystery…red herrings abound…I do not like books that are divided into time periods and characters…I like the third person narrator with a linear timeline…that being said,I enjoyed this book despite the character divides…. I look forward to more good mysteries from this author.

I was so excited to see a new Mary Kubica book coming out. After finishing the book, I was shocked to see all of the negative reviews. I could not put this book down - I read it on vacation in one afternoon. Did the characters do some unrealistic things? Sure! Was it still a great read? Absolutely! Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy. I will definitely be recommending this to patrons and friends!

Totally guessed "who dun it" 1/3 of the way through the book. I just kept reading to see if it would get better and if we would learn a little bit more about the motivations of the killer. Would have loved to have read the killer's perspective as well. Might read this again when it releases to see if there are any edits to the story.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

As a fan of Kubica's I looked forward to this book. Unfortunately it is not up to her usual standards and I was disappointed,.

Jake, Nina's husband disappears which sets off an intense search to find him.
Liz, a colleague of Nina, and her husband Christian, know the true story of what led to the disappearance but go to great lengths to hide it - especially from Nina,

The narrative is convoluted and the writing is repetitive and more simplistic than usual. The characters are not compelling, nor is the story.

I look forward to reading her in the future but this one seems like a fluke

Just the Nicest Couple kept me in suspense throughout and could not have guessed the ending - will be recommending it to others!

Someone goes missing and the reader is left to follow clues to find out the truth. The main characters were all interesting, but flawed. Get ready for quite a few unexpected twists.

Mary Kubica does not disappoint in Just the Nicest Couple. Two couples have a somewhat tangled relationship...the women work together as teachers, and they've socialized together with their husbands, though awkwardly. Both marriages are less than perfect, but when one husband goes missing, his disappearance changes things for all of them. Just the Nicest Couple is an easy read that kept me intrigued to the point that I finished it in a day. Great book for the beach or a lazy day in bed.

I love Mary Kubica so I jumped at the chance to read this. The plot I found interesting, however the writing seemed odd and simplistic especially for this author. There were also things that just didn’t fly, a particular earring and who found it comes to mind.
I did like the major twist though it wasn’t breakneck, I was surprised.
Still love her and will read her next books! This one may just need some tweaking . Thank you to park row books and netgalley for my copy!

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