Not that I could tell was a very enjoyable read for me. I thought there would be more mystery involved with Kristin's disappearance, but I still liked it. The characters were realistic as well as the setting. I would recommend this book to a friend and will read this author in the future!

This book took forever to get nowhere. I stuck with it thinking it would finally get interesting but after half way I gave it up.

Kristin and her twins disappear overnight from a safe, middle-class neighborhood. Someone may know what happened to her, but no one is talking. Paul, her OB-GYN husband, is immediately suspected for foul play, but he insists that they were gone when he arrived at the house. Hallie, the precocious teen who wants to write a neighborhood newspaper, may know more than she thinks, but no one will listen to her. Izzy, the radio show producer who lives across the street, is dealing with a broken heart and resentment against her sister, and she doesn’t know what to think. The one whom everyone says knew Kristin best, Clara the next-door neighbor, says she knows nothing and the last time she saw her was at the fire pit the night before. So, what happened to Kristin? There are a lot of twists and turns before the reader finds out, but this book is definitely worth the time to read it! It is thought-provoking with a touch of cynicism that will make you wonder if your priorities are in order.

Not bad, but most of the characters were annoying, especially Izzy. I had a hard time getting into the story because of how irritating she was. Mystery was a bit of a letdown but overall it was decent, just not amazing.

What an amazing plot twist at the end!! Sure - there are some slower parts here and there (I'm not a big fan of Izzy) but overall it was a great read. I would have loved to see more of baby "Radele" and her moms throughout the book as I loved their characters.

Really great book. Suspenseful story with relatable characters. Didn't see the ending coming which makes it even better. Highly recommend. Thank you netgalley and publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When the women of the neighborhood wake up after a girls night of wine and kid free time Kristin and her twins are gone and no one knows why. As the police get involved theories start to fly including that her Ob-Gyn husband is abusive. The lives of all the women are changed as they deal with the aftermath and how their pasts figure in to it.

4.5 stars

A group of neighborhood women gather to drink wine and talk. What could go wrong? Their baby monitors can be heard, and they aren't driving. Why not kick back and have a couple of drinks? Of course, with drinking, comes loose lips and several wake up the next day wishing she would not have shared what she did - confessions ranging from one woman being in love with her sister's husband to another not liking the size of her breasts. The ladies wake up fuzzy and hungover the next morning and while attempting to nurse their hangovers learn that one, Kristen, of them is missing along with her twins. What happened? Everything was great the night before, where could she be? Did she leave of her own free will or was there foul play involved? Was money an issue? Why has her ex-husband moved back into their home when he previously moved out and has his own apartment?

Kristen, the missing mother, always appeared to have been on top of everything. She never forgot the names of the other Mothers at the pre-school, she worked, was married to a doctor and she was always so polished and put together. Even while going through a divorce form her husband, Paul, she appears unfazed and composed. Kristen's disappearance has sparked many questions in the community and as the police investigate, they don't seem to find any answers.

Clara, lives next door and Kristen's disappearance has stirred up memories and thoughts from the past when she lost someone. Izzy, another neighbor, confessed being in love with her sister's husband during the women's night of drinking. He was her best friend and she always dreamed that they would end up together but then he fell in love with her younger sister. Now that they are married and having a baby, Izzy is a mess and distancing herself from her family while getting closer to a "person of interest".

As this case goes from an active investigation to a cold case, the women are left to deal with their frustrations, family issues, and outlook on life. I've been reading a lot of books lately that ask the question "how well do you know those in your lives?" This question serves as an interesting premise and story set up. Everyone has secrets. Everyone has things that they do not want others to know, which is probably why we all love learning about other's secrets.

This book grabbed my attention from page one. I thought it was well thought out, perfectly paced and intriguing. This book may never be considered the best book ever written, but it sure is enjoyable and provides the reader a chance to escape their lives and delve into the lives of others. This book is billed as being "women's fiction" but seriously, this really is a book for everyone. It touches on themes such as domestic violence, love, friendship, secrets and lies. Hard to put down, thoughtful and compelling. This book does not disappoint.

Thank you to St. Martin's press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After devouring Almost Missed You earlier this year, I knew Jessica Strawser’s writing talent was strong. So I was thrilled to hear about her sophomore novel, Not That I Could Tell. I added it to my TBR as soon as I received it! While Almost Missed You was about a woman whose husband disappeared with their child and their best friend got involved, this novel is about a woman who goes off the grid with her children, and the whole neighborhood gets involved.

Not That I Could Tell has a Desperate Housewives feel and reminds me of Sally Hepworth’s The Family Next Door in some ways. Both Clara and Izzy are sympathetic characters and I found myself worrying about them throughout the story. The writing in this novel is so well done that I kept forgetting I was reading a book. Jessica skillfully takes her readers into the town of Yellow Springs for a front row seat to all the action and excitement going on. She also keeps us guessing until the very end as to what happened to Kristin. Kristin’s narrative is interspersed throughout the novel, but a lot of what she says is vague. It reminded me of how Mary Alice would narrate Desperate Housewives. Eventually what she says starts to make sense though.

The dialogue and character interactions are genuine and realistic and everything is very easy to visualize. Jessica Strawser is a force to reckon with and I look forward to future novels from her.

In case this becomes a movie, here are some casting ideas:
Clara: Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Izzy: Tatiana Maslany
Paul: Cam Gigandet
Benny: Ryan Eggold
Detective Bryant: Benjamin Walker
Hallie: Grace Kaufman

I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

I’m not surprised in the least that I loved this book. This was not my first by this author, and it will definitely not be my last!

This was a well paced book, that had some surprising turns in the end. It kept me wanting more, and constantly looking for more time in my day to read it. I would suggest!

I liked this book, but I didn't love it quite as much as Jessica Strawser's first book, "I Almost Missed You." I think she is an excellent writer and I look forward to reading whatever she writes. I appreciated that this book reminded me a bit of the writing of Liane Moriarty, who is one of my favorite authors, in the well-drawn relationships among a group of women, However, I found I did not remain fully engaged. This might be my fault--perhaps I was just distracted or scattered and if I had read it in large chunks it would have all worked better for me, but on the other hand if a book really grabs me, I'll make sure I can read without interruption. I did think the ending was terrific, though. There's enough there that I'd be willing to give it another read when I have a chance, and I will certainly continue to follow Ms. Strawser's career. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this.

Three stars. This book was good. I think my expectations were too high. I enjoyed the book but it never fully grabbed me. I wasn’t as curious as I should have been. Didn’t love any of the characters. The end could have been better. Nothing was bad... I was never bored, never found it difficult to get through.

Not That I Could Tell is a very well written mystery. I was pulled immediately into the plot. Couldn't put this book down. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy a good mystery.

Not That I Could Tell caught my interest. I was in the mood to read a mystery. The synopsis called to me. What I wasn’t expecting was how into the book I got. And believe me, that is a good thing.

Not That I Could Tell had a very basic plotline. A popular, well-known mom who is going through a divorce disappears without a trace. Her soon to be ex-husband, a popular gynecologist, discovers them gone. Clara, their closest neighbor, is dragged into the case. Another neighbor, Izzy, befriends the ex-husband while battling her own demons. Everything comes together in an explosive ending that has a massive twist at the ending.

I enjoyed that the author kept Kristin’s disappearance under wraps. The reader finds out what happens to her in a letter or statement at the beginning of every other chapter or so. So many scenarios went through my head while reading, it wasn’t even funny. So I wasn’t expecting what was revealed at the very end of the book.

I liked Clara and I kind of felt bad for her. She got sucked into the drama. Her mother’s helper decided to start a newsletter and the first thing she writes about? Kristin’s disappearance. She illegally taped a conversation between Kristin’s soon to be ex-husband and the police. She also put Clara’s name on it as a contributor. Which brought an added scrutiny to Clara’s life. It also brings up memories that Clara has tried to forget. Memories that make Clara wonder what exactly was going on at Kristin’s house.

I felt awful for Izzy. She couldn’t win in this book. Her sister marries the love of her life. Then she finds out news that sends her into a downward spiral. Then her father tells her that she needs to stop acting the way she was acting. Everything was not going her way. The only thing that even looked good for her was the friendship she had with Kristin’s ex-husband. And even that…well, read the book.

I loved the ending of Not That I Could Tell. While I saw what happened to Izzy happening, I did not see the twist coming. It blindsided me. But looking back, I could see small hints of it in the book. So, kudos to the author for doing that!!

Not That I Could Tell is a well-written drama that shocked me at the end of the book. The characters were fleshed out. The plot was fantastic. I couldn’t get over the twist at the end of the book. Talk about being blindsided.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Adult

Why: language, sexual situations, and mild violence

I would like to thank Jessica Strawser, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Not That I Could Tell.

All opinions expressed in this review of Not That I Could Tell are mine.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

This book sounded right up my alley and didn't let me down all the way through. Perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty, Not That I Could Tell is the story of a missing woman, and the neighbors, friends, and husband she leaves behind. But, this is not quite a thriller. It's more an examination of the lives of these women, and the questions that circulate when a perceived perfect neighborhood starts to show cracks. I really loved all the characters in this, especially Izzy. They were all so well developed in such a relatively short amount of time, which I loved. I can see this on a lot of spring/summer reading lists in the coming year. The only minor "flaw" I had with this was that at times things happened to work out a BIT too perfectly, but that's a small thing. Definitely be on the lookout for this one in 2018 -- it hits the shelves in mid March!

In Not That I Could Tell, Jessica Strawser has written a compelling mystery, about a warm summer night around a fire pit, with too much wine ending in disaster I was captivated with the way this book evolved, with the paragraphs beginning with clues, the diffferent points of views of each character., Clara, Izzy, and Paul, their secrets, nuances, and suspicions that made me wonder. Why was Kristin missing, where is she now, is she alive or not? The secrets that are kept between friends and sisters, the unrequited loves, kept the pages turning. I loved this book! Thanks to Net Galley and The Secret Ninja's for an e-book advanced reading copy.

Found myself doing a great deal of skimming throughout this book. Plot was okay with a twist at the end. Characters did not make me feel for the life they were experiencing. Pretty predictable for the most part. Domestic Violence is the shadow that keeps appearing without the edgy conclusion. Was left wanting to know more about some characters that were unexplored and less of some that were just not noteworthy. "A copy of this book was provided by St. Martin's Press via Netgalley with no requirements for a review. Comments here are my honest opinion."

A well written domestic drama. it seems that domestic abuse, infidelity and the marriage plot cycle through genre fiction. The
writing quality and sentence structure far out shadow my take that some of the characters lacked plausibility. I like the book all the more over time
and found it much more stylistic than the Liane Moriarty novel sold to TV world. looking so forward to the next Jessica Stawser outing

I received an arc copy of this book in exchange for my honest review of it and I just could not get into the book at all. It was not enjoyable and it was hard to follow.

I loved this book. The setting was picture perfect. The characters had depth and I never saw the end coming.