Just the Nicest Couple is the second book written by Mary Kubica. I’ve read with Local Girl Missing being the first. I picked up Just the Nicest Couple expecting an interesting read. However, the mixed reviews, with the majority being on the negative side, gave me pause. So, armed with a twinge of doubt, I took the plunge. The experience wasn’t so bad after all.

The story tells of two couples, two friends and a missing husband. Jake has gone missing. Initially, his wife, Nina, believed he was avoiding her after their fight the night before. However, after several days has passed and with no one hearing from him, she became worried. (I can’t believe it took her so long to realise something was wrong).

Nina’s coworker and friend believes she was the last person to see Jake before his mysterious disappearance. She confesses to her husband Chris, who then decides that they needed to cover up the fact that Lily was the last person to see Jake prior to him gone missing.

Lily was a liar and a cheat. Chris was blinded by love to the point of stupidity while Nina was just plain naïve and self absorbed. As for Jake, based on how the story described him, Nina was better off without him.

A word of warning: do not go into this book expecting a fast-paced edge of your seat thriller. This one leaned more on the side of a slow burn domestic thriller. Despite the slow pacing, the events piqued my curiosity. As a result found myself glued to the pages. I had to know the outcome. The story was predictable, but then it took a turn and brought me down a path I never saw coming.

Lies, deceit and betrayal drove the story. It shows how far down the rabbit hole one willingly goes to protect one’s secret.

Brittany Pressley and Gary Tiedemann, with their impressive narration, brought life to the story. Pressley, I’ve listened to before but this is my first time listening to Tiedemann. They both did a wonderful job in nailing the voices of the characters. Their tones were perfect. I thought their interpretation of the characters to be spot on.

This is my second book by Mary Kubica. I enjoy your novels as they are thrillers with twists and turns that make them enjoyable to try to figure out, but what sets her novels apart for me are a sense of tenseness and creepiness that she is so successful in introducing into the books. You are just reading along and before you know it, you feel you have to get up and make sure the doors are locked and turn your lights on because you don’t know who to trust. Well done.. Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my review.

On a positive note, this book is a quick read. Unfortunately, Just the Nicest Couple, was not the book for me. I struggled with just about every aspect of it and that's disappointing because I have enjoyed other books by Mary Kubica.

I'll just cut to the chase and say the plot revolves around a missing husband. It reads like a first draft in that the potential is here for a good story but needed more work before publication. The writing was off, the characters were dumb, and by the time I got to the ending, which was average at best, I was pretty much checked out at that point.

Local Woman Missing and The Good Girl are better showcases of the writer's talent in my opinion.

TW: pregnancy, domestic violence, cancer, miscarriages, sick parent, sexual assault, cheating, gaslighting, toxic relationships, toxic friendships

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:Jake Hayes is missing. This much is certain. At first, his wife, Nina, thinks he is blowing off steam at a friend’s house after their heated fight the night before. But then a day goes by. Two days. Five. And Jake is still nowhere to be found.Lily Scott, Nina’s friend and coworker, thinks she may have been the last to see Jake before he went missing. After Lily confesses everything to her husband, Christian, the two decide that nobody can find out what happened leading up to Jake’s disappearance, especially not Nina. But Nina is out there looking for her husband, and she won’t stop until the truth is discovered.
Release Date: January 10th, 2023
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 320
Rating:⭐

What I Liked:
1. The plot seemed interesting
2. I like the cover of the book

What I Didn't Like:
1. The way the author talked about miscarriages was messed up
2. Christian talking to Lily
3. Paint by numbers thriller

Overall Thoughts:
Why is it feel like every domestic thriller has miscarriages and pregnancies??

How big is this rock that this tiny handed woman hit Jake with?? There's pools of blood and a trail of it.

Ahhhhhh why is this couple up Jake's disappearance??? White people escalate everything!

I want to rip out my eyes out. Lilly is so weak and delicate. God, I'm so annoyed at Christian and how he describes her. I think its so telling how Lilly is so different when she is talking to she's a normal person and talking as a sáně person but when she's around Christian she's a mumbling idiot that just acts so weak.

It's hilarious that the police don't take it serious that Jake is missing. His car is sitting on the side of the forest for 2 days and NO ONE thought it weird that an expensive BMW is just there. I can't see how the police haven't made one pass and reported the car.

This book is brutal toward miscarriages. Just continously talking about dead babies and Lily losing her children.

Final Thoughts:
I dnfed at 60% and skimmed to the ending. The writing was dull. I was tired of Christian babying Lily. Kinda already knew that Lily and Jack were sleeping together... Blah blah blah.

Recommend For:
• Domestic thrillers
• Slow burns
• Easy to follow thrillers

IG | Blog

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced copy of the book of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I generally enjoy this author’s work but I had trouble getting into this one.. I didn’t really connect with the characters and I thought the story moved pretty slowly. I did end up finishing it and there was a pretty good twist at the end.

Nina's husband Jake is missing. She's convinced he'll only be gone for the night after they had a huge fight, but after several days he still hasn't returned and when she learns that he's not been to work, she really begins to panic. Christian's pregnant wife Lily is a shell of herself. Christian is worried that she's suffered another miscarriage but she confesses that she thinks she might be the last person to have seen Jake before his disappearance. Christian decides he would do anything to protect his wife and their unborn child, but her confession sets him on a path that isn't one he would have planned for himself.

Told in alternating perspectives by Nina and Christian, Kubica builds tension throughout the novel. The resolution is satisfying, but at least part of it was easy to predict. Kubica is great at world-building and this story has an anonymity to it that makes it adaptable to almost any town or city. The characters are realistic and flawed.

4.5 rounded up to 5. I LOVED this one! I will admit I was worried because I had seen a lot of negative reviews that caused me to drop this way down on my TBR. I received an e copy from the publisher, but I ended up getting an audio copy so I could review this one sooner rather than later and I loved it! I think maybe it worked better as audio instead of reading it? I saw some reviews saying they didn't like the writing, that it was choppy or that it was script like and I think all of those work so much better in audio than written. I think it is also possible that the final version had been polished up based on some of the negative reviews on the writing. But I'm not sure. I loved the story it was a very easy listen to this one I sped right through this story wanting to find out what happened. I have read Mary Kubica's last 3 books and I have loved them. I think it is time I read some of her earlier ones, and I am really excited I have those to look forward to while I eagerly await her next one.

This was a roller coaster ride of a book. She had lots of twists and turns and creepy characters. I enjoyed this book.

When her husband Jake doesn’t come home, Nina assumes he’s left her. But as time goes by and his coworkers reach out, she realizes he is actually a missing person. Nina turns to her friend and coworker, Lily, for help.

Meanwhile, Lily confides to her husband, Christian, that Jake attacked her right before he went missing. Christian decides to help Lily keep this secret, no matter the cost.

The narration alternates between Nina and Christian’s points of view, which allows readers to uncover the secrets of both couples. At times the narrators feel unreliable, making the reader question what’s real. Kubica throws in a surprise twist at the end, though I would have liked to see that fleshed out a bit more.

Two couples with an interwoven history test the bounds of marriage in this novel of suspense. Who killed Jake? So many suspects, so little time. This novel really did a great job presenting a motive for each character and I enjoyed the guessing game. I can't say I guessed the actual killer, and I'm glad for that, though the logic behind who it was did not completely work for me.

Overall, an engaging and fast-paced read.

A suspense. Thriller involving couples in relationships. Quite a thrill ride, with lots of surprises. I like how the relationships intertwine in the book. Another fantastic, keeping your interest and guessing throughout by Mary Kubica.

This is not my first book by Mary Kubica.

Jake, Nina Lily and Christian are all unique characters. I really didn't know who to like, dislike or trust.

The writing is atmospheric and sent shivers up my spine . Great attention to detail. I was constantly wanting to know what was going to happen and it made me feel uneasy but in a good way, like out of curiosity. I was spurred on by the writing. It's really immersive.

I posted an extract for my blog tour post for this title.

Thanks to Mary Kubica and Park Row Books for my eARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

4.5 stars

Disappointing for a Mary Kubica. I thought the plot was tiresome and really overdone. Was hoping for a larger twist with this one.

Yet again I’m struck by the fact that I was completely wrong about “who done it”?!? Mary Kubica always makes me question who you can trust and who is a good person. This story I didn’t like anyone but I was shocked by the ending. Another strong book.

One of those books where you don’t know if you like or hate the characters. You can trust no one. I thought I’d give this book 2.5 stars until that ending. Whatttt?!! I loved that I didn’t predict the “who done it” until the end.
Overall I absolutely hated every single character in this book but that surprise ending was the saving grace for me. Not my favorite by any means but decent.

I have a hard time with this author and thrillers in general. I should personally take a break from the genre because it never satisfies me and I just get angry at all the characters and the predictable endings

DNF @ 18%. The writing is just very choppy and bad. It sounds like something a middle schooler might write. I was going to power through this but I just can’t waste my time.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

🌟🌟🌟🌟.5
Mary Kubica keeps the suspense high in her latest thriller about two couples that are linked by the disappearance of a husband. This is a fast and wildly-twisted read!

At first, Nina thinks Jake is taking time to himself after another disagreement about Nina spending too much time with her ailing mother. When she finds out he hasn’t been showing up to work either, she knows something has happened and reports him as missing.

We hear two variations of the story from two main characters. Nina tells us her version but, of course, she didn’t know Jake’s secrets.

Additionally, Christian tells another version of the story. Christian is married to Lily. Nina and Lily are teachers at the same school and good friends. The couples have spent time together but Christian and Jake don’t have a lot in common. Jake is a wealthy and successful neurosurgeon who drives an expensive sports car and has a large ego. Christian is an all-around great guy, makes a modest living, and dotes on Lily.

Christian and Lily have their secrets, also. They are hiding things from Nina AND each other…very interesting! We have all these puzzle pieces to connect and the author did a wonderful job of adding twists and clues that kept me from getting them connected until close to the end!

Sincere thanks to HTP Books and Mary Kubica for providing this gifted ARC through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

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Wow, Mary Kubica does it again. I have to say I really enjoyed this story. I was engaged the entire time. I really didn't want to put the book down. This book starts you off with having an idea of what has happened but you really don't know the full details or if it's even true. I know this book has some mixed reviews but I found it really enjoyable. I will be continuing to read Mary Kubica books and I can't wait to see what she does next.

Not my favorite Mary Kubica book. This is story about friends and are they your true friends when it is the worst time in your like- such as your husband is missing. Also how far would your go covering a murder for your spouse? Don't jump to any conclusions unless you have all the facts