A community is shattered when not one, but two women and one child go missing.

"It was ten days ago that Bea and I first woke to the news. LOCAL WOMAN MISSING." So when a second woman, Meredith, and her 6 year old daughter, Delilah, also go missing, many start to wonder, "What if there's a serial kidnapper on the loose?"

My heart broke for Delilah being held against her will in a dark basement for 11 long years, as well as her father and younger brother who didn't know where she was all that time. This mystery/thriller was suspenseful throughout and held my attention as I tried to puzzle out the answers to these questions: Was Meredith's death really a suicide? Who held Delilah and why? And, how did Shelby die? The conclusion was shocking and surprising, albeit a bit over the top in some ways lowering my rating from 4 to 3.5 stars.

The author's debut, The Good Girl (4 stars), remains my favorite.

3.5 stars

I received an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I was so excited to get my hands on this book. I really enjoyed this one. It was definitely a page turner and I love a book with a multiple character POV. By the time I was a 1/4 way done I was super invested in this one. The main reason I’m not giving this one 5 stars is that the ending was a little too far out there for me personally. I still definitely recommend checking this one out. Thanks to @netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve been a huge fan of Mary Kubica ever since I read her first book of The Good Girl. And wow, she did not disappoint with Local Woman Missing! I was hooked from the very first chapter of Part One with Delilah’s POV.

The book goes back and forth in between 3 different timelines and 4 POVs. I never had any problem following along or distinguishing between the characters. Mary has a way of giving the reader the perfect amounts of information to keep you on the edge of your seat and flipping through the pages as fast as possible. Or at least that’s what I experienced.

I don’t want to go into any details because... spoilers, but suffice it to say that the twists knocked my socks off. I was so entangled in each of these characters and didn’t want to put my book down for regular life to intervene.

This story is heartbreaking and shocking and one that will stay with me for some time. As always, I can’t wait to see what Mary comes up with next.

*Thank you so much to Park Row / Harlequin and NetGalley for the advance copy!*

Mary Kubica never disappoints! Local Woman Missing is SO good. This already has a place on my top thriller list of 2021.

Not long after Shelby Tebow goes missing, Meredith and her daughter Delilah also disappear. Are the two cases connected? Who could have taken them? Fast forward 11 years and Delilah returns. Can she help solve her own disappearance?

I was immediately hooked from page one. I loved the multiple POVs and alternating timelines. They are so well done, kept me questioning everything and built suspense until a literal OMG ending I did not see coming!

And let’s talk about the characters. Kubica had me so invested in each of their lives (Leo!) and I loved all the the intricate relationships between them and how this contributed to the growing tension and mystery.

Thriller lovers, this is a must read !

Thank you to @netgalley and @harpercollinsca for the eARC for review.

When Shelby Tebow went missing, the town was worried. Then Meredith Dickey and her six year old daughter, Delilah, vanished. Their disappearance shook the community. Are they all connected?
Now, eleven years later, Delilah has been found. Shocked from the trauma she endured, Delilah isn't saying much. Everyone wants to know what really happened to her, but no one is prepared for what they find...

This has to be Mary Kubica's best book. I have been reading her for years, loved all of her books, and have never been as thrilled as I was with this book. Prepare yourself for a domestic thriller that twists into unbelievable plot knots.
Local Girl Missing is about two women, and a little girl that mysteriously disappear. Secrets kept, lies told, and a horrible incident tie them all together in a way that is so shocking you will gasp. I did NOT see the end twist coming at all, and was so incredibly thrilled and surprised.
Mary Kubica is excellent at sucking her readers into the lives of her characters. She makes us feel all the emotions, then sneaks up and rips our hearts out. This is the reason she is a go to buy for me, and I scrambled like crazy to get an Arc of this book.

"Local Woman Missing" is a page turner, difficult to put down, twisty and a very disturbing read. The way the story weaves back and forth between the main characters reveals the story little by little which is an engaging and effective way to draw the reader in. What happens when our darker side comes out , read this to find out.

**I received and electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review of this book.

I may not be a thrill seeker in real life, but in my book world, I definitely am. Lately, many of the Thriller books have just been ‘meh’ for me. Local Woman Missing has reminded me what I love about Thrillers! It is the perfect Thriller read!

It begins with a bang! Right away, I was drawn in by what was happening to Shelby. Then the story quickly flips to a little girl who is being held captive and my heart broke wide open. I didn’t understand how the two stories would merge together until a bit later but no matter, it was interesting all the same.

All along I was riveted, figuring out ways to get back to reading as quickly as possible. Then came the end and I was DEVASTATED! In a totally good way but - devastated! It’s been days since I’ve finished the story and my mind continues to wander back to it. This is definitely a stand out read for me in 2021 and will be in my short list of favorite books of the year!

A KNOCKOUT!

An avid fan since her first book, and every one since —the master of domestic thrillers, NYT bestselling author Mary Kubica returns following (The Other Mrs.), with LOCAL WOMAN MISSING —the dangerous lengths some will go to keep their secrets. Misdeeds and events that will change lives forever.

The powerhouse author is at the “Top of her Game!” Her best yet. I say that about each of her novels, but this one is off the charts:

"Complex, intense, unexpected twists, unpredictable, and richly atmospheric!"

This novel could not be more perfect for TV! Super thrilled Black Bear Television has nabbed the rights to Mary Kubica’s “Local Woman Missing,” an upcoming mystery novel about a series of strange disappearances. It is a good thing since there is NO WAY this novel could be limited to a two-hour movie. LOCAL WOMAN MISSING deserves many seasons! RENEW. RENEW. RENEW. I hope they do not change a thing.

Her other two books, “The Good Girl” and “The Other Mrs” also optioned for film/Netflix. Every book she has written has landed on my Top Books of the Year. A favorite author!

When anyone asks me what book to read, I say, “Mary Kubica.” That is all you need to know. Anything with her name on it has my seal of approval. I read anything she writes.

Set in Chicago, in a lovely historic neighborhood in the suburbs. As with her other books, she immediately draws you in with her vivid descriptions and richly atmospheric. She grabs you and keeps you there from the first page to the last. There is never a dull moment.

We meet an intriguing cast of characters who are neighbors. However, everyone has secrets, and no one is as they appear. Never trust your neighbors.

At the opening of this novel, a wife and mother, Shelly, awaits her husband, Jason, to return home so she can have some “me time” away from the baby. She goes for a run at night. (Of course, there will be more planned than a run. She is off to meet a married guy parked down the street for a bit of car action. Jason is also having an affair. The night does not go as planned.

Next, we switch to a young girl held captive in a basement and abused by an evil woman and man. She has been there for eleven years. She must escape her captives if she wants to remain alive.

Back to the suburbs, we meet neighbors Kate and Bea, a lesbian couple. Next door, and Meredith, John, with two children Delilah and Leo.

Shelly goes missing, then shortly after that, Meredith and Delilah go missing? How can this happen? Is it a serial killer, or are they connected?

Now years later, the girl escapes and returns home. Some woman gets the reward and brings her to a hospital.
However, is she the girl who went missing eleven years earlier? What happened to these women?

Kubica masterfully maneuvers multiple characters, timelines, narrators, points of view, and the PLOT! OMG! LOCAL WOMAN MISSING is a (domestic suspense) psychological thriller lover’s dream come true. There are many “hold your breath heart-pounding moments.” No way you can put this one down.

Keep up, readers; you do not want to miss a thing!

You will never read another novel like this one. I must find out the inspiration behind this killer novel. The creativity is brilliant, and the writing is utterly flawless. The skill to be able to juggle all these moving parts yet it appears seamless. BLOWN AWAY!

There are many red herrings; however, you will NOT be able to figure this one out. It will shock you. Many people may or may not like the ending; however, I thought it was perfection.

Jaw-dropping, propulsive, dark, chilling! Buy this book now before the TV series! Top Books of 2021.

A special thank you to Park Row and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy. Also purchased the hardcover and audiobook.

#JDCMustReadBooks

The Review

This was such a compelling read. The author does an incredible job of weaving together a complex narrative that keeps the reader guessing the entire story. The characters feel alive and do a marvelous job of engaging the reader on an entirely different level, eliciting emotions like sadness and rage to disbelief and heartbreak. The alternating timelines and POV’s were an inspired choice, as they really help the story connect with the mystery and intrigue the author has established here.

What will draw the reader in is the intensity of the narrative and how the author manages to weave each POV and timeline to keep the mystery alive. The story shifts and changes so many times that readers are constantly shocked to discover new secrets and new suspects in this growing case, as the true mystery doesn’t even begin until after Delilah returns home.

The Verdict

A brilliant, thought-provoking, and heart-pounding thriller, author Mary Kubica’s “Local Woman Missing” is the perfect suspense novel for fans of the genre this summer. Written in a way that screams for a cinematic or miniseries adaption, the twists and turns will keep readers engaged throughout the entirety of the novel, and by the book’s end readers will be shocked as the final revelations are shown. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!

Local Woman Missing

Mary Kubica

On Sale Date: May 18, 2021

9780778389446, 0778389448

Hardcover

$27.99 USD, $34.99 CAD

Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological

352 pages


Social Links:

Website: https://marykubica.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaryKubicaAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaryKubica

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marykubica

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7392948.Mary_Kubica


Buy Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Local-Woman-Missing-Mary-Kubica/dp/0778389448/

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/local-woman-missing-mary-kubica/1137387568

Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/books/local-woman-missing/9780778389446

IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780778389446

Local Woman Missing is a wild, intense, twisted ride, and I loved every moment.

We have suspects galore, all of them with secrets. Some we think we can trust, until maybe we can’t, and others we want to despise, until maybe we don’t.

This story’s timeline jumps around between “before” and “after,” with multiple narrators. I noticed some readers complained of difficulty following along. I had no trouble staying rooted in the story, but it’s something to be aware of if this sort of thing is a problem for you.

I didn’t read the synopsis until after I’d read the book. It gives away something I’m glad I didn’t know going in, which happens late in the story. I recommend going into this one blind for that reason. It’s just more fun not knowing.

Even with that bit of a spoiler, this is a fast-paced thriller that will keep you on edge throughout.

LOCAL WOMAN MISSING by Mary Kubica is a standalone domestic thriller/mystery that for me read more as a mystery than domestic thriller. The story is told by various characters in two interwoven timelines which are eleven years apart.

Eleven years ago a new mother, Shelby Tebow disappears while on a night time jog. Soon after a mother, Meredith Dickey and her six-year-old daughter, Delilah also disappear without a trace.

Now, eleven years later, Delilah returns with everyone trying to find out what happened to her. What is discovered will have repercussions in families throughout the neighborhood.

This story ends up for me being a satisfying mystery story, but I never felt it was what I would call a domestic thriller. The beginning, while intriguing also became more confusing as characters were added and I had to keep checking which timeline I was in until about a third of the way into the book. I liked the mystery and would have liked a few red herrings or clues throughout instead of the sudden resolution out of the blue. Delilah’s story I assume was added for the thriller quality, but it just never was believable to me.

I am in the minority with my opinion and others have loved this book. Ms. Kubica has several other books, but this one was just an OK read for me.

In Mary Kubica's new thriller Local Woman Missing we have two women that go missing in a local neighborhood and one young child. No one knows what to think when the first woman goes missing, but then the second woman and her young child go missing. It blows everyone's minds. Next shocker- 11 years later the young child comes back. Where has she been all this time? Who had her? Is her mother even still alive? Buy it to answer all these questions and so much more.

WOW i just finished this book a few seconds and I leapt to write a review. WOW is all I can think right now!!!!!!!!  So many emotions running through me right now all because of this book. This is an amazing story and insane but oh so good!!!!!!!!Ms Kubica surely continues to shock with her twists and turns in her novels!!!!  I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Good Morning and happy Tuesday!! Happy PUB Day to Mary on this remarkable and addicting read!!

I started reading a little on Friday and on Saturday I just couldn’t put it down. The words were real, the story-deeply woven and just SO good! I ended up finishing late Saturday night and just had to process it. It was one of those stories that you simply don’t see the ending until it’s right there and bites you. I really enjoyed it,

Two women and a child go missing, the Dad never stops looking for his little girl when years go by and just when he thinks he can’t take anymore, suddenly Delilah is back. The thing about secrets is, they can’t always stay buried. This story will take you on a ride and what a wild and deep ride it is. I highly recommend!! A perfect rainy day read, much like what we’re experiencing here in Louisiana right now.

Special thanks to the author, Harlequin and NetGalley for this review copy!!

I’m a big fan of multiple characters and multiple storylines. I love it when an author can pull off multiple storylines that at first, don’t seem to have anything in common and then somehow ties beautifully together at the end.

Local Woman Missing did pretty well with all of the different viewpoints, multiple women missing and shifting timelines. At first, I wasn’t a huge fan of the plots being 11 years apart. It seemed like too much of a time gap, but at the end it worked out and I enjoyed getting brother Leo’s view who was just a baby when his mother and sister disappeared.

4 calculators out of a potential 5. I’m pleasantly surprised with Mary Kubica’s newest novel. I swore off her a few years ago after When the Lights Go Out, but I’m really glad I choose to read Local Woman Missing!

Thank you to Netgallery and HARLEQUIN – Trade Publishing (U.S. & Canada) for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was a thrill! It has a lot of characters and terrifying situations going on, and goes from present day to 11 years in the past. It starts out in the present day when a girl named Delilah who has been missing for 11 years finally reappears.

11 years ago in an affluent suburb a woman named Shelby goes missing. Not long after, another woman named Meredith and her 6 year old daughter Delilah go missing. The novel continues with details in the past of how Meredith’s husband and friends tried to find them, as well as currently how everyone is reacting and adapting now that Delilah has returned home.

Not everything and everyone is as they seem and I will say that some things seemed a little too unrealistic and I was in disbelief no one had figured anything out before. Overall though it really kept me hooked and I was shocked at the big reveal!

Thank you to the author and Park Row books for my copy.

Shelby is missing. Then Meredith and her daughter, Delilah, go missing..from the same neighborhood. But, the mystery is not solved for 11 years when Delilah returns.

Meredith is a doula. She is someone who helps, or rather supports, a pregnant woman through her birth. This is the tie which binds her and Shelby. But, is it the reason they are missing or is something more sinister happening?

This story is told through many voices and from the past to the present. This could get confusing. However, this story is so well written and so captivating….I was enthralled.

What a fantastic read…all the way from start to finish! The story grabs you right off the bat! Then it twists and turns around itself and the ends up with quite a few surprises! All I can say is…OH WOW!

Need a good thriller…oh my word! DO NOT MISS THIS ONE!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Shelby Tebow goes missing while out on a run. Soon after, a mother, Meredith, is found dead and her daughter Delilah has disappeared. Eleven years later, a young girl escapes from a basement prison. Who is she? Does it all tie together?

This is a heartrending thriller by Mary Kubica. It is full of twists and turns and will keep you guessing until the end. The story is told from several points of view, which can be unsettling at times. There are some occurrences which seem a little unrealistic, but overall this is a riveting, captivating story.

I received a free copy of this book from Harlequin via Netgalley. My review is voluntary.

New mom Shelby Tebow went missing. Then a few days later Meredith Dickey and her six-year-old daughter Delilah disappear without a trace. Now, eleven years later, Delilah has emerged. Told between alternating perspectives and time periods, this story uncovers what really happened to these missing women.

This story started out a little confusing. Each of the chapters jump between different perspectives and time periods. When I didn’t know the characters, it was difficult to keep track of everyone. After reading a couple of chapters, I figured out who everyone was and it was easier to follow.

This story kept me guessing until the end. Once I figured out what was happening in the story, I was glued to the book because I had to know what happened. I had a couple of guesses as to what happened, but I was wrong. It was actually quite chilling at a few parts. There were a couple of graphic scenes, involving a traumatic childbirth, child captivity, and murders. This story was quite intense but really hard to put down.

I really enjoyed this thriller! I highly recommend it for an addicting read.

Thank you HarperCollins for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Eleven years ago, a local woman disappeared. Then, just a few weeks later, another woman and her young daughter seemingly vanished into thin air. This is the basic premise of Mary Kubica’s newest novel Local Woman Missing. Alternating between past and present, as well as from different points of view, the reader learns the fate of the missing persons as well as the impact these events have had on their families and friends.

Local Woman Missing is an immensely entertaining book. The characters are very well-drawn, the plot is well-done, and the shifts from past to present as well as the different perspectives are nearly flawless. The twists are unexpected and the overall story moves at a nice pace. It is a multi-layered story that mystery/thriller fans will enjoy. I know I did!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.