Publisher Description
When a group of neighborhood women gathers, wine in hand, around a fire pit where their backyards meet one Saturday night, most of them are just ecstatic to have discovered that their baby monitors reach that far. It’s a rare kid-free night, and they’re giddy with it. They drink too much, and the conversation turns personal.
By Monday morning, one of them is gone.
My Thoughts
When a woman and her children vanish from their house, no one is above suspicion. Certainly not her soon to be ex-husband Paul and what about the neighborhood women who swear they had no inkling that Kristen would pack up and leave her home. Everyone appears concerned and yet with no note and no apparent warning from Kristen, every facet of these character's lives will be examined in order to uncover the truth. Did Kristen choose to abandon her seemingly perfect life or have Kristen and the children been kidnapped or murdered?
The story makes you question what goes on in your friends and neighbor's houses as well as how well you really know the people around you. All the characters were well written, though some played a larger role than others in the story. My two favorites were Clara, Kristen's best friend, and Hallie a young neighbor determined to unravel this mystery.
The author's writing style held my attention and made this a fast-paced read. The twist at the end was well done and when I turned the last page I had answers to many of my questions. Thank you, Jessica Strawser, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the digital ARC to read and review. I was happy to learn that this is the author's second book, so I will be able to read more of her work while I wait to see what comes next.

Unfortunately, I was very disappointed in this one as the reviews I had read were 4 and 5 star reviews. I don't necessarily feel that this was a "bad' book as the writing itself kept my interest. It was more the plot in general that was a little unbelievable and at some points a little too nonsensical that would lead me to rate this book as just about average. The story is supposed to center on the missing neighbor, Kristen and her twins and what exactly happened to them that they basically disappeared into thin air, but all along you are sort of not really concerned about what happened to them. The author really had not built up any empathy on our part to the missing characters and you sort are left to wander around in the melodrama of Kristen's neighbor's lives. I am teetering on the two star rating but there were some parts that really pushed you forward to finish the book.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for the chance to read and give an honest review.

A group of neighborhood women enjoy a late night out without kids sharing wine and secrets having a good time.The next morning though one of them disappears with her kids and all of them are left wondering if Kristen ran off or if her ex-husband had .something to do with their disappearance. Each of the women deal with Kristen’s disappearance in their own way and with more secrets revealed they all question if they ever knew their neighbor at all

This is my first book by Jessica Strawser and I thoroughly enjoyed it . It was not much of a mystery but had a compelling storyline with great characters that are easily identifiable. I highly recommend it and cannot wait to read her earlier book Almost Missed You

I would like to thank St. Martin’s Press & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.

After reading other reviews I thought I may not get into this story. I’m glad I ignored acre2 if the bad reviews. This story was a great page turner. Mystery filled with so many questions, all with family/friend drama intertwined. It’s not the most original story, but it flows so nicely, you must continue reading. I look forward to reading more by Jessica Strawser.

I really loved this book. It is a great story about secrets and lies, friendship, domestic violence and how that effects everyone, not just the person being abused. Such great quirky characters , each with their own stories to tell and secrets they are keeping. Awesome twist at the end that I really was not expecting. Nice to see the lengths people are willing to go to to help their friends in need. Read this book, it was so good ! You will be glad you did !

What a great story about how well we know those around us! Full of twists and turns, I really enjoyed the way that Strawser kept me guessing about what truly happened to Kristin and her twins. After a fun girls night in a quiet neighborhood in Yellow Springs, one of the women in the neighborhood and her two twins are missing. Noticed by her soon to be ex-husband, the whole neighborhood is drawn into where Kristin has gone and what has happened to her. Told through alternating viewpoints, the story focuses on Kristin, her neighbors Clara and Izzy, as well as other people who live in their close knit community. When Kristin's soon to be ex husband Paul, a well known doctor, moves into their home, things get even more complicated as she bonds with one of the neighbors. Full of action and intriguing situations, this story kept my interest and was a quick read. I love that I didn't figure it all out before the end and I look forward to the next novel by Stawser! Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was initially intrigued with the idea of this book, but it fell flat for me. I just didn’t get pulled in as much as I had hoped to. I’m normally a fast reader, but this one took me over two weeks to finish.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy reading this book. I skipped through the middle of it and read the ending. Although it ended with a surprise, I found the book dragged on and I didn't think Paul's character was believable. Sorry.....

This was a quick read with a surprising ending. I enjoyed the plot line and thought the writing style was easy enough to follow.
I will be looking out for this author again.
Thank you for my ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a wonderful book. It is a mystery as to what happened to Kristin. After a neighbor party, one of there own goes missing. Paul and Kristin recently filed for divorce and the finalization is taking a bit long. On Monday, Paul can't get a hold of Kristin and she didn't show up at work. Paul moves back into his and Kristin's house hoping she will come back. Is Paul innocent? Did he make her and they twins "disappear"?

The characters in this book are so well written. Clara is my favorite. She is a stay at home mom and lives next door to Kristin. Izzy is a young, single, new neighbor that is a little sad and lonely. Natalie and her daughter, Hallie are just waiting for their husband/father to return from deployment. Randi and Rhoda are a delightful, earthy, couple with a new infant daughter. These women gather have a little too much to drink so they didn't notice if there was anything to see at Kristin's house.

I really enjoyed the way Kristin is telling her story a bit a time. I didn't know how it would turn out until the end. Is she okay, is she dead? You really have to wait to see. Clara having experienced the result of domestic violence against a co-worker is all the more worried as to what happened. The neighbors are all team Kristin with the exception of Izzy who gives Paul the benefit of the doubt.

I highly recommend this book!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGally and St. Martin's Press

Enjoying the idea of getting together for talk and wine while their baby monitors are on hand, introduces the story of a fun opportunity for neighbors to get to know each other and relax. All was well until the next morning when one of their group is gone, shocking and worrisome. Get to know the neighbors mainly through the eyes of Clara and Izzy, both with their pasts influencing their take on the disappearance of their neighbor Kristen and her twins as well as dealing with the husband Paul, Lots of questions keeping popping up, where did she go, why did she go, is she safe, is she hurt, what part does Paul play in Kristen's disappearance? How will Clara and Izzy deal with the problem and will the case be resolved? Good character development., good story, and a non-stop read.

After reading Almost Missed You, I was excited to read another work by Jessica Strawser.

Not That I Could Tell: A Novel had the perfect balance of emotion and suspense to keep me turning the pages.

This novel centers around three characters:

Kristin who's the soon-to-be ex-wife of a doctor. She has twins and she seems to be happy with her independence. She's someone who has always helped around the neighborhood but suddenly goes missing with her kids without an explanation.

Clara is Kristin's friend. She throws a gathering in her backyard for her female neighbors, not realizing that one of them will disappear soon after. Clara has her own secrets which she doesn't like revisiting but she won't be able to avoid it when the police come knocking on her door.

Izzy is the new addition to the Yellow Springs crowd. She's trying to overcome her broken heart while trying to avoid her sibling and her new husband.

I like the idea of Not That I Could Tell. Women gathering by a firepit, having fun, drinking a little too much alcohol and sharing personal secrets. Then, next thing you know, one of them is gone. The women in attendance all are trying to remember some piece of information to shed light on their friend's disappearance. Did they miss a clue? Did they really know the real Kristin? Is the husband the culprit?

I won't tell you the answers but I can honestly recommend this book. It was entertaining with well-developed characters who pulled all my strings and it was able to raise a couple of good points (don't wait too long to tell someone how you feel about them and listen to your instincts).

Best part, I thought the ending was just great!

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by ST. Martin's Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Told from the viewpoints of a couple of neighbours, both having in their pasts violent traumatic events or personal tragic relationships of different sorts, and with an occasional narrative from the missing woman (which gives nothing away, of course), this novel was a page turner. The characters were warm and real. The ending had a nice twist that I did not suspect at all.

I did find it strange that the neighbours got on so well. There's none of that inevitable slyness or gossiping that seems to arise in groups. Can't say I missed it, though.

No overt sexual content- also a relief.

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary of NOT THAT I COULD TELL by Jessica Strawser in exchange for my honest review.***

4 STARS

Kristin is the perfect mom and the perfect doctor’s wife. Now she’s perfectly missing throwing the neighborhood into chaos. Her closest friend and neighbor, Clara, wonders whether she ever knew the woman next door. Across the street Izzy, the only single woman on the block, finds herself drawn to Kristin’s ex Paul, even as he becomes a possible suspect.

NOT THAT I COULD TELL gripped me in the first chapter and didn’t let until the last page. Told in Izzy’s and Clara’s third person points of view, interspersed with chapters in italics that appear to be Kristin’s readers learn that the good doctor isn’t nearly as good as he seems. Izzy and Clara are multidimensional, flawed narrators. My favorite character twelve-year-old Hallie, the budding journalist/Harriet the Spy.

Strawser kept the story moving at medium pace, until the heart thumping last chapters. Although the plot was somewhat predictable and I guessed the twist, I thoroughly enjoyed reading NOT THAT I COULD TELL and recommend it.

** spoiler alert ** What an entertaining book that drew me in from the start. How much do you really know about your neighbors and what is going on behind closed doors even when you are friends with your neighbors.

This was a great book that I had to know what happened.

I honestly did not see the ending coming. I don't think I am naive but I had no clue that there would be a meeting between the neighbors.

I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All Opinions are my Own.

This was very interesting and I look forward to more from this author.

The premise of this novel was better than the execution. I found the character development on the shallow side and the story was dragged out., but I was engaged enough to read to the end -- and I'm glad I did because it was a great ending.

The story itself would get three stars but because of the important topic that is dealt with in a unique way, I'm upping that by another star.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the e-review edition of this book.

Squinting to see the road ahead of me, I cautiously drove down the icy, winter road toward my parents' home to pick up my son. Ahead, I could see something in the road. White, rustling, out of place. It moved enough that I thought perhaps it was an animal. No, not just an animal---a kitten. There was a kitten in the middle of the road. I decided to drive closer to help. (If I'm anything to a kitten it's Florence Nightingale.)

Yet, as I drove closer, I could see that it wasn't a kitten at all. It was merely an open napkin, rustling in the wind. My headlights, the wind, and my faulty night vision had me seeing a kitten where there was nothing but a culinary accessory. It didn't need my help at all. Not that I could tell.

***

Life often hands us scenarios that are all together different in appearance than actual substance.

Such is also the case with Kristin Kirkland, wife of popular ob-gyn Dr. Paul Kirkland of Yellow Springs, Ohio. After a night with neighborhood wives, drinking wine and christening a new fire pit, Kristin disappears without a trace, her two twins with her.

The other women---as well as Paul---are left to wonder where Kristin went, why she left, and how they were completely unaware just hours before she vanished.

Note: There is no way for me to adequately discuss this book without some spoilers. Be advised.

The book itself centers around the five women who were at the fire pit the night before Kristin disappeared. Clara, a former editor turned stay-at-home-mom, is the mother of two young children: Thomas and Maddie; her damn near perfect husband is Benny, an accountant. Izzy, a twenty-something who's new to the neighborhood and reeling over her sister's recent marriage to her best friend Josh. Randi and Rhoda, two moms of recently born Adele. And finally, Natalie, the wife of a military husband on leave, is the mother of Hallie, a precocious twelve year old.

All were there and all remember nothing. Not a thing. Nothing was said about her leaving, but---then again---none of them remember much, either.

Paul is obviously the first to be suspected. He and Kristin were in the midst of a divorce, and his being a respected doctor makes it hard for anyone to think him to blame.

The central plot follows mostly Clara and Izzy with sub plots of the other women as their events weave into their own. However, this book offers a very powerful springboard for a discussion of domestic violence and abuse. One of the characters has a previous experience, long before the night at the fire pit, that colors her perception of almost all of the happenings after Kristin's disappearance.

While I was not blown away by the book itself---the plot, the characters, the arc---I do think this will be a powerful book, much akin to Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, for a discussion on domestic violence and vigilant awareness by others for others. I also feel that it would make a great film (ideally not on the Lifetime Channel).

As for me, I'm looking for much more depth in my novels, and I didn't find the characterization went as far as I'd hoped. I did occasionally spot a nuance I enjoyed, like this:  "She turned to the bookcases, where the less loved plus animals lined the top shelf, some looking perpetually eager and others downright forlorn. Even stuffed animals could be divided into realists and hopeless optimists."

While not all authors are going to create characters that are real for every reader, I did appreciate Strawser's inclusion of several spots like that above. We all definitely had a caste system for our stuffed animals, and those who claim otherwise are lying.

Overall, this was worth reading, even if it was more surface-level than I usually prefer. It's a quick read for traveling or book clubs, and---as stated---is the perfect springboard for very serious, necessary discussions about safety and looking out for one another. Sometimes a concern may turn out to just be a napkin, but it's always safer to find out for sure.

This is a fantastic book. A woman named Kristen and her children suddenly vanish after a night with their neighbors, and no one is the wiser. The investigation, and the book, focuses on the neighbors she left behind. Each of them react differently to Kristen’s disappearance, and they each see Kristen a little differently. When Kristen’s ex-husband moves back into her house, her former friends and neighbors find out a even more.

The book is beautifully written and plotted, and the characters are fascinating. I loved this book and highly recommend it. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC for my Kindle.
A little romance, a lot of suspense, and some surprises. I really thought I had it all figured out, but I didn't see it coming.