I loved that this book was set in Yellow Springs, OH. I've been there several times and I could really picture this neighborhood and the park where Izzy went hiking. The Antioch College and little stores so clear in my mind. I'm not sure I would have liked this book if it were set somewhere else. I feel like this author was trying to write a story like Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. It was written just like Big Little Lies only not as well. From the mystery at the the beginning, to the school getting involved and the police interviews and the women in the neighborhood being best friends, and the tidbits of information at the beginning of each chapter. The more I think about it the more comparisons I can come up with. It was a good story, I liked the characters, but without Yellow Springs, I'm not sure I would have even finished.

First sentence: Ever wonder what your friends really think of you?
Last sentence: There were so many ways to begin again.

When a group of neighborhood women gather for a wine fueled night around one family's fire pit, they hardly expect that one of their number will be gone by Monday morning.



Kristin's disappearance is shocking. She and her twin children simply vanished, sending the neighborhood reeling from their loss. Despite going through a messy divorce from her doctor husband, no one saw this coming. There are, of course, concerns about foul play and suspicion is cast on Paul, the estranged husband.



Neighbors Clara and Izzy deal with Kristin's disappearance in very different ways. Clara struggles with memories of a terrible incident from her past that may be clouding how she feels about Paul. Izzy, on the other hand, is devastated over her sister's marriage to the man she is in love with and turns to Paul as a possible new love interest, much to Clara's dismay.



In the small, charming town of Yellow Springs, Ohio, nothing is what is seems. The town becomes a media circus as Kristin's close friends and loved ones try to figure out what happened to her and her children.



"Not That I Could Tell You" has an intriguing premise, but is not the gripping thriller I thought it would be. That doesn't make it a bad story, but it is more of a slow burn than a page turner. The story is less about what happened to Kristin (although that is eventually revealed) than it is about how Clara and Izzy deal with both her disappearance and their own various issues.



"Not That I Could Tell You" might not have been what I expected, but it's an engaging story that would have fit into a season of "Desperate Housewives". The characters are incredibly well developed. Just keep in mind that it takes a long time for the action to get going so it's really more of a character piece than a thriller.

This is a story about well we know it don’t know our friends and neighbors. It is impossible to know what is going on with everyone. So when their friend and neighbor, Kristin goes missing, they are all thrown for a loop. Perhaps a few of them get too involved but it’s human nature in a way. We are curious creatures.

I loved the ending of this novel. Caught me off guard.

I have been sucked into the Stepford Wives, suburban mom books lately. This book was great. And would you look at that cover? It's absolutely gorgeous.



Enter the tight knit circle of suburban moms and with that all of their secrets. Izzy is the newest member to this society. Being the only single person on the block, she befriends the wives that stay home raising their little ones. Already running from heartache, she is thrust into a world of secrets, deep friendship and lies.



Jessica Strawser does a tremendous job of creating a thought provoking and engaging story. Can't wait to read more from this author in the future.

I was a bit underwhelmed by this title. The ending was specifically a let down. The big reveal was very simplistic and the characters lacked depth.

I really enjoyed this book! The characters were relatable and I felt like I was one of the girls. The issues and blame on Paul were well written and forced me to take sides. I spent the entire book wondering what happened to kristin and trying to piece the puzzle together. The ending surprised me and I cannot recommend this book enough!

This was such an easy read that really made for an engaging thriller. Strawser's writing style is refreshing for a thriller and made this slow-burning novel a smooth reading experience. It's well-written with complex characters, unnerving setting, and a plot that needs to be adapted into a TV show.

This was my first book by this author, and it did not disappoint! It was a page turner til the very end. I was on the edge of my seat wanting more! Highly recommend!

Great read. Truly enjoyable. Fast paced and easy read. Vivid character development. Loved this one.

Neighborhood women get together for a Saturday night of wine and conversation. By that next Sunday morning one of them is missing. The investigation brings up more questions than evidence when the husband becomes the center-most suspect. Clare, a neighbor to the missing woman, is triggered by the incident, memories of things she thought she’d put in the past. Another neighbor, Izzy, is dealing with a crisis of her own. The police come up empty-handed as the neighborhood discovers no one really knows what happens behind closed doors.
When you think you know what happened, the author spins the plot, moving you in to another direction. Good book. Good mystery. This one’s a keeper.

I absolutely love this cover! This new novel by Jessica Strawser was suspenseful and full of surprises! I enjoyed the way Jessica gives bits and pieces of the mystery in a way that leaves you hanging, waiting to find out the truth. I also enjoyed the way the women’s friendships were portrayed, the fun moments of their interactions with the others and their children. One night, the women in an Ohio neighborhood have a little gathering at one of their houses. Two days later, one of these women is missing, as well as her young twins. This throws the neighborhood and the whole town into a sudden mysterious world. No one seems to know what happened to them. This begins a chain of events involving investigations, suspicions, and questions. This novel is about the dynamics of marriage and family. It is also about friendships and neighbors.

A slow-paced relationship-focused domestic drama that will make you question how well you know your neighbors.

Let's start with the highlights. Clara is a wonderful character: complex without being overdone and her reactions to events around her (considering her history) are spot-on. I loved the triple POV between her, Kristin, and Izzy. This book is towards the darker end of women's fiction, meaning that it isn't a page-turning psychological thriller or police procedural as it revolves more on the 'after' of the event and the relationships between the women left behind. This suits the low-key tone and slower pace of the book along with the greater subtlety of the clues surrounding Kristin. I've seen the phrase 'domestic drama' used and I think that suits it.

The relationships between the women are true-to-life, with all the strange social complexities that go along with it. While the pace is slow, it really revs up in the last fourth of the book and I actually worried aloud for the characters (something I rarely do). And, I really really loved the ending: it was surprising but not far-fetched.

Now, on to what doesn't work. It's not worth the 'cute' factor to have two very related characters with almost identical names. The confusion it creates for the reader is really state-breaking. While the slower pace is good, it does drag a bit in the middle and seems somewhat repetitive.

But the big thing for me though was Izzy. Not only did I not connect with her throughout the book, her boring mopey-ness was grating. While I understand the situation, I found it very difficult to believe that two very close sisters would not share how they are in love with the same boy. Even if Izzy never said it, what sister wouldn't tease over a possible crush if her older sister brought the same guy around for years? This never worked for me and unfortunately I think it was the downfall for me not fully enjoying the book.

All in all, I enjoyed it even though it took much longer to finish due to the slow pace and sometimes lack of intrigue. Four stars.

Note: I received a free Kindle edition of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher St. Martin's Press, and the author Jessica Strawser for the opportunity to do so.

Six women from the small town of Yellow Springs, Ohio decide to get together for a few glasses of wine and some conversation on a Sunday night. This is the first time they have all been gathered together like this. Surprised that their baby monitors are able to reach to Clara's backyard, they enjoy the childless night. The next morning, one of them is missing. Is foul play a part of the disappearance or did Kristin simply walk away from her life? Admittedly, even though they have been neighbors for a while, no one really knew each other all that well. Will the police be able to find Kristin? Did her husband have something to do with it?

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I'm not sure why, but I had a hard time connecting with this book. While I was intrigued by the story, I didn't find myself drawn to find out what was going to happen next. It took me 10 days to read this book which is very rare for me.

What would you do if you woke up from a girls night out to find out one of the girls and her twins had disappeared in the middle of the night? Gone without a trace. Most of the women felt guilty because they couldn't remember what had happened the night before and if Kristin had said something that would help to locate her now. Everyone looks to Clara who lived right next door and who's son was in class with Kristin's twins, but she knows as much as the others, which is not much at all. How well to we really know our neighbors? We're on the outside looking in, but do we really know what goes on behind closed doors? Kristin's husband, Paul, the local OB/GYN seems like the kind of guy everyone would like, but what secrets of his own is he hiding. Did he do something to make his family disappear? After almost a month, the police have all but given up the search, but incidents in the neighborhood, cause them them to question whether they should or not.

One evening a group of women friends gather around in their backyard. Enjoy some drinks, laughs and even sharing some secrets. After the weekend the quaint and calm neighborhood will be never be the same as Kristin, one the women is missing as well as her small children.

Could Kristin’s soon-to-be ex-husband, Paul, have anything to do with the disappearance. As the detectives question Kristin’s friends, the women realize that they didn’t know Kristin very well at all. How come they had no idea that Kristin had inherited a large sum of money from her first marriage after her husband was killed?

The once quiet neighborhood is now under intense media scrutiny. Paul moves back into Kristin’s home and meanwhile all the women who were Kristin’s friends start to re-think their lives and relationships. Clara and Izzy the other two main women characters have their own issues they are trying to work out and something this major happening in their lives upends what they thought was a nicely controlled new life.

I really enjoyed the description of the town and could just imagine what it was like. I also liked the young girl who is a budding reporter. The character that was harder to get behind though was Izzy. At first I felt bad for her because of her unrequited love but after a while, I’m thinking enough with your pity party. Mostly though while it was an easy story to get into, for a thriller it just didn’t surprise me enough.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of this book.

The author does a great job of painting this cozy neighborhood of families who get together, and especially the women - most of them with secrets.

I could picture the bonfire and the women sitting around talking, drinking, and sharing their everyday lives. All of this happens the night before one of them disappears. While Kristin is barely mentioned in the story, her disappearance is the plot of this intriguing story. What happened to her? And why?

Her husband, Paul, is a fine, upstanding doctor until the underbelly of their marriage is exposed. Through the eyes of several of the women (Clara and Izzy are main ones), we see all different facets of what they believe happened, and why they've made these decisions, mostly based on things that happened to them in the past.

It's a great book that will keep you guessing!

An amazing novel about a missing family and a suburban neighborhood that knows everything and nothing about everyone in it.

I was really excited for the prospect of Not That I Could Tell. I have been reading a lot of thriller and suspense surrounding neighborhoods lately. It seems to be the theme of 2018 and I have yet to be disappointed. Unfortunately until now.

Not That I Could Tell certainly has the potential, but something about it didn't capture me. I did finish it hoping that I would get roped in, but it never happened. It ended up being more about character development. I think the characters would have been great on their own, but because the chapters swapped between multiple characters, they each didn't get the attention that they needed. The story was left dull and undeveloped.

Not that I Could Tell
By Jessica Strawser
Pub date: March 27, 2018

I thought the book was excellent. Good characters that you liked, rooted for and any mother could relate to. It all started when the ladies of the neighborhood found that the baby monitors worked so that they all could meet to relax with a glass of wine after the kids were in bed. Everything was great, maybe too much wine and too much information was shared, but when everyone left to go home for the evening all was well. In the morning one of the neighbors, Kristin, and her set of 4-year-old twins were gone. While Kristin, and her soon to be divorced husband, Paul are really the meat of the story, there are other storylines going on. Their two close neighbors, Clara and Izzy try to understand what happened. There were lots of surprises in the book and the ending...well it was a surprise and really good. However, it left you feeling you might not know your neighbors as well as you think. Everyone has secrets. I rooted for all three ladies throughout the book. I still think about them! Isn’t that what a good author does. She did a great job!
#great story # NetGalley

Whew, there is plenty of suspense in this novel! In the small town of Yellow Springs, one neighborhood is thrown into a tizzy when Kristin and her children disappear. Kristin and her husband Paul, who had moved out of the house, are on the verge of divorce, so the police naturally suspect him.
Clara, Izzy, Natalie, Randi and Rhonda had spent the previous Saturday evening around the new fire pit at Clara’s house but none of them had talked with or seen Kristin or the children since then.
The storyline follows the investigation but also the stories of the other women in the circle, leading up to an unexpected ending.

After a rare Saturday kid-and-husband-free night to christen Clara’s new patio, the women wake up to the news that one of their own, Kristen, had disappeared with her four-year-old twins. Although several of the women were a bit embarrassed by their half-drunken confessions, Kristen had said nothing about her situation or her plans to leave. When Kristen’s husband, Paul, moves back into the family home and befriends the only single woman in the group, the women are afraid for Izzy’s safety as well as the fates of Kristen and the children.

I enjoyed Almost Missed You, so I was excited to read Not That I Could Tell, and I was not disappointed. The women are all strong and capable, raising their kids and/or working outside the home, keeping things going, and Kristen’s disappearance brings on a media onslaught that completely disrupts their routines. The book has an underlying theme that discusses domestic violence, with Clara’s friend, Kristen’s situation, and Izzy’s encounter, and at the end, provides a website for more information. I was captivated throughout, and am definitely looking forward to Jessica Strawser’s third novel.