Jessie Sloane's mother is dying of cancer.  It was just her and her mom.  No dad, no real friends, no extended family.  So it all falls on twenty year old Jessie when her mom dies.  The stress of it all is too much for her.  She has no support and things begin to spiral out of control.

This book is a two-part narrative, with Jessie telling the contemporary story of her mother's death, but there is another story at play: a woman's journal entries from the late 1990s.  The journal entries tell a beautiful love story.

This is a book that can go in a lot of different directions.  There is a lot here to think about.

I enjoyed this novel immensely.  I would have liked it to have gone into more detail on certain things - but hopefully, it will give someone else the idea to flesh those parts of the story out more.  Without giving too much away, I would say that this is a story about life and family, love and struggle, what we do for love and how we identify ourselves through our relationships.

It is a very powerful novel and one that would be GREAT for book club discussions.

I really wanted to love this book as I am a huge Mary Kubrick fan!
I loved the idea of the story.....I just found it put together in a way that just didn’t make sense to me.
It’s hard to explain without giving too much away, I just didn’t enjoy this book as much as I was hoping to!

Jesse keeps a constant vigil over her dying mother in the hospital. She meets a man in the coffee shop whose brother is dying. Jesse is having trouble sleeping at all due to her mom's imminent death. She finally takes a tranquilizer, sleeps by her mom, waking up to her mom having already passed away.
This story then begins as an interwoven life story of Jesse and her mom' history. After Jesse's mom is cremated, she finds out that she has no social security card or birth certificate. Nothing. Using any cash she has, she manages to put money down on a carriage house in Chicago. Eden, years ago, has many problems trying to become pregnant. Her husband Aaron goes along with it all - even after her one pregnancy ends in miscarriage. Back to Jesse: she is extremely sleep-deprived and is seeing things, hearing things, etc. that aren't real. She begins to believe her identity is stolen from a 3 year old girl who died in a hit and run. She also follows a man whom she believes is her father. After 8 days of sleep deprivation, Jesse nearly dies chasing the man she believes is her father. The conclusion is one I did not see coming at all! There are many different twists to what the reader "automatically" thinks will happen. A GREAT read. WOW! What a surprise! Many thanks to Harlequin-Hanover Square and NetGallery for the opportunity to read and review this book!

The mystery between consciousness and unconsciousness drove the plot through a series of questions to find Jessie’s true identity. Told from alternating viewpoints that flip from past to present, the reader tried to solve the mystery and discover exactly what Eden has done to become Jessie’s mother. Always guessing until the end, which sadly closed way too quickly.

Oh My World! What an absolutely incredible book. I love Mary Kubica's writing. Her imagination blows me away. The characters and this story had me flipping the pages faster and faster. I could not have predicted the ending in a million years. I love it when an Author leads you down the garden path as happens in this book. The ending stunned me. I await the next book from this Author. Thank you NetGalley, Harlequin and the Author for allowing me to read and review this book.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I think Ms.Kubica is a fine writer, however I found myself rushing to get through the heightened state of anxiety Jessie experienced. It could have been shortened, especially since the story ended the way it did. But the love Aaron had for his wife was incredibly moving and heart-wrenching. And the subject matter of couples dealing with infertility is right on the mark.

While this book was entertaining and clever, the ending left me feeling slightly cheated. Without giving anything away, and admitting there were clues, it still felt like a bit like taking the easy way out. I do appreciate the clever writing though and as crazy as it seems, I might skim through it again. I guess I am still on the fence about this one..

Well written and intense thriller. Recommended for readers of Gillian Flynn, Ruth Ware, and the like. With thanks to the author (Mary Kubica), netgalley.com and the publisher (Park Row) for the Advanced Reader Copy.

Jessie Sloan's mother is dying, and she sits at the hospital bedside, exhausted but unwilling to sleep. After her mother passes, her grief spirals out of control, as her life falls apart. She has no social security card, no birth certificate among the paper work her mother left behind. Memories of her mothers evasiveness about her father niggle at her thoughts. As she tries to piece together what little she knows, her sleeplessness tortures her mind and her body. I found some of the passages about sleep deprivation and Jesse's reactions to her insomnia to be overkill and unnecessary, but over all this was a captivating read that kept me turning pages and I finished in less than a day.

When The Lights Go Out by Mary Kubica is a fascinating novel. Once I started it I found it difficult to put down, The two main characters, mother and daughter, tell their stories in different ways but both are struggling with with deep emotions. Both are suffering from loss but their experiences and stories are told in different ways. The ending was a complete surprise to me. Read the book and see if you can figure out the ending!

Probably the best Mary Kubica has written yet! Amazing story, and a complete stunner at the end. I couldn't stop reading and stayed up way past my bedtime to finish it-- cannot wait until this comes out and I have already started talking to my booksellers and customers about it. 5 star without a doubt!!!

This book was absolutely crazy and I highly recommend. It gave just enough thrills to keep you flipping the pages and enjoy, but then bam it rips it all away in one quick page turn! Characters amazingly developed and an entirely new concept, highly, highly recommend!

Thank you to the publishers for the opportunity to have an advanced copy of the new Mary Kubica book. Wow! This one was fantastic. I loved the way the story was told by the two characters flashing forward and back,. No spoilers but such a creative surprising twist at the end. Looking forward to reading more from Mary Kubica. I'll definitely be recommending this title to everyone!

Another Kubica "wild ride"! I've got a group of my patrons just hanging on her every word and they will love this one too! Can't wait to get it in my library!

This book was a disappointment. The entire style line was deceitful, meaning you expecting a surprising twist, but end with pie in the face. I do not recommend this book. My library will eventually buy it, but it would not make it into book clubs or reader advisory programs.

What a terrible let down. This book went in so many directions, and really kept me turning pages trying to figure out how this could all come together. Then the author used a tired, old trick--one that I used to warn my 7th grade writers would earn them a very bad grade! I gave it two stars, because I did read it, but I would not recommend it to anyone. My library will by it, because she is a popular author, but, again, I cannot recommend it to anyone.

Ok. So there isn't much I can say here without spoiling the whole book so I will simply say that the "twist" renders this book utterly pointless and a complete waste of time. You are going to feel deceived. I'm all about the big PLOT TWIST but this is beyond lazy. I can't even explain why it's so frustrating without giving away the whole "plot" so I'll just leave it at that.

After years of caring for her mother, Jessie Sloan is finally on the road to making a life of her own. She starts by getting her own place and enrolling in college, but soon discovers there’s something wrong with her social security information. All of a sudden, Jessie has no idea who she really is. Her worry manifests itself in sleepless nights, which only makes her problem worse, as she begins to have trouble discerning reality from fantasy. Kubica has proven herself to be a master at creating multi layered characters and top-notch suspense. her fans will not be disappointed with her latest novel