Thank you to Netgalley & Harlequin Publishing for gifting me this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a twisty turny book that left you guessing along the way. Some of the chapters are set now and others 11 years ago when 2 local woman went missing weeks apart in a small community.

Shelby Tebow is in a broken marriage, her husband cheats on her but she doesn't have much to say on it since she is doing the same thing. She goes out for a run and disappears. Meredith Dickey is a Doula who goes missing weeks later, only Meredith wasn't alone, she was with her 6 year old daughter Delilah who is also missing.

11 years later Delilah is found and now everyone wants to know what happened. Malnourished, scared and broken Delilah is not the girl they once knew.

There are many layers to this mystery, as it twists and turns and slowly unravels. Not only the past unravels, the present unravels as well as Delilah tries to remember what happened to her. Her brother, Leo tries to help her but even he has a hard time connecting to her.

The beginning and middle of the book move along at a good pace but the ending picks up and speeds you headlong into the surprising conclusion. This is the first book I've read by this author and I will be picking another of her books soon. I really loved how she unpeeled each layer of this story allowing us to follow along and learn what happened as the characters learn it.

This book is so good!! Do people really just go missing without a trace or is there always more to it?

New mom Shelby goes missing first. Soon after and very close by mom Meredith and daughter Delilah go disappear. Unlike Shelby, Meredith leaves a note but her husband Josh never buys it being authentic. Now 11 years later Delilah reappears and since she doesn’t seem to remember anything everyone is left with more questions then answers.

I absolutely loved all the characters in this book! It took it a little while to keep them all straight but then I was invested in all of them. I also loved the two timelines, the now and 11 years prior.

The only thing I didn’t love is the feeling that a few things were thrown in that didn’t necessarily need to be. Overall great book! 4.5 ⭐️

The story begins with a child being held in horrifying captivity who somehow manages to escape 11 years later. But what really happened to 6 year old Delilah and her mother Meredith will shock readers to their core. The story unfolds in multiple POV between family members whose lives have all been shattered because of a single moment. Kubica has a knack for writing the best twists into her novels, and this one really surprised me. I loved it! ⁠
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Another twisty thriller from the brilliant Mary Kubica! I was so invested I didn't try to figure out who-done-it--and I didn't--which is always a plus!

Missing women and a missing child. How could this happen in a small, quiet town?

How was it that the child returns years later after being held captive in a completely dark basement with little food and filthy conditions?

The opening chapters of the abuse suffered by Delilah in the basement is disturbing. You will see what being held captive for all that time has done to Delilah's personality and to her family even after she returns.

LOCAL WOMAN MISSING is a pretty intense read and somewhat graphic at times.

The chapters are titled with the stories of three characters.

Meredith who is Delilah's mother disappears the same day Delilah does, and we follow her in the present and past.

Kate is Meredith's neighbor and always thought Meredith's life was perfect, but finds out it wasn’t.

Leo is Delilah's sister. Leo was four when his sister disappeared, and he has a hard time with her return as well as in life in general. He has been labeled the weird kid and is bullied.

There are a lot of characters to keep track of and disturbing scenes, but this book will keep you on your toes with all the tension, the secrets some characters seem to be keeping, and lots of guessing about "who done it.”

Thriller fans and fans of Mary Kubica will not be disappointed.

Your jaw will drop at the ending and have you saying WOW!!

Make sure you put LOCAL WOMAN MISSING in your list of must reads. 5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via Edelweiss and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Mary Kubica is the writer who just pushes you right into the deep end on page one. I appreciate that. There is so much tension in this story! Everyone is shady. Everyone is lying. And the shocks don’t stop until the last page.

Meredith is a midwife. She has a lovely six-year-old daughter named Delilah and a husband who would rather not have his wife out at all hours of the night birthing babies.

When one of her clients goes missing after the baby is born, Meredith is suspicious of the husband. Then Meredith and Delilah go missing. Why? What do these two women have in common besides birth? When Meredith’s body is found without her daughter, the entire town is on the hunt. But with no luck.

Now, eleven years after the event, Delilah returns. Walking into town looking like she hasn’t seen daylight in a long time. While everyone wants to know what happened and where she has been, she is still shell-shocked.

This was a chilling one. However, I am missing a fingernail or two.

Very Well Done!

NetGalley/ 18 May 2021 Harlequin/Park Row

With short, punchy chapters, Local Woman Missing is one of Kubica's finest works. Told from multiple perspectives in shifting timelines, this gripping narrative absolutely explodes on the page.

The story opens with a young girl being held captive in a basement and what transpires is her harrowing escape—this incredible hook sets the table for the rest of the story. With a tight cast of characters that are not always reliable, Kubica manipulates her reader like a magician.

Local Woman Missing is perfectly plotted and visceral. This story takes domestic secrets to a whole new level—some people will stop at nothing to hide the truth.

Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica

“There’s a smudge of lipstick on the collar of his shirt.”

He’s cheating, she’s cheating, a late-night rendezvous gone wrong, and I am SO in. Then came Delilah’s narrative and the extraordinary child abuse – beaten, starved, and living in filthy conditions and total darkness for so long, she doesn’t even remember how old she is. And just like that, I’m out.

I kept hoping Delilah’s account would end quickly, but it went on and on. I love Mary Kubica and have chosen her novels for our store’s book club in the past, but not every book is for everyone, and this one was just too dark for me.

I don't think it's fair to give starred ratings on books you don't finish, but because I can't submit this review without stars, I'm giving it one because I couldn't finish it.

Thank you, Harlequin/Park Row, for this digital review copy.

Wow ! A deliciously intense thriller with many twists and turns ! I love this author and highly recommend ! Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Park Row for the opportunity to read and review this book ! #Netgalley #Harlequin #ParkRow #LocalWomanMissing

What is happening in the neighborhood? All of a sudden three women are missing but no one connects the dots and eleven years later the truth comes out.

Local Woman Missing is the first book by Mary Kubica that I have read. An enjoyable and absorbing thriller, the novel featured some well-developed characters and plot details. Kubica appears to be a skilled writer, juggling multiple timelines and narrators to develop the suspense. However, to wrap up the many plot threads in the conclusion, the author resorts to a great deal of telling rather than showing. Rattling off the resolution of each component, the author nearly derails the barreling locomotive of tension she has been building.

Confusing Front. Interesting Ending. This book has one section at the front of the book that seems to go on *forever*... and yet is the singular most fascinating passage of the tale. In this particular section, we get a girl who is trapped in utter darkness and we *feel* what it is doing to her after being here for so long. Then she *finally* breaks free and runs for her life, and we feel her utter terror viscerally.

And then... the book completely transitions into a more "typical" domestic psychological suspense/ thriller. There is someone threatening someone. There is a murder. There is a suicide. And through 2/3 or so of the book, we get a fairly standard (though to be clear, engaging, if a bit confusing to pick up on at first, particularly in the mind-shock of coming from the escape into this) tale.

But then... Kubica begins to do things that you're not supposed to do in this genre. We get a major reveal *before* the last 20% of the book. And then we build... and we get *another* reveal before the last 10% of the book! And another! And the actual ending... well, it isn't the complete mind-bender that so many of these books end on. Which may be a good thing, depending on your tastes. And which I enjoyed just because it *didn't* go the "typical" route, if for no other reason.

Truly an interesting story, one that could have arguably been told in a better way. But still engaging and still worthy of reading - and without any objective flaws to hang a star reduction on. Therefore it maintains the full five stars and is very much recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley, Mary Kubica and Harlequin for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a huge Kubica fan and was so excited to be able to read this novel and I can't wait to add it to my collection. I found this one a bit slower paced than her usual novels, but I enjoyed it just as much. There is so much to figure out and there wasn't one moment where I had it figured out correctly. I loved all the twists and most of them I really didn't see coming. I found myself savouring the writing of this one and really loved the different perspectives but the different characters. There were such different, although connected perspectives and I still couldn't figure out the ending, Definitely recommend.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

WOW! WOW! Is what comes to mind. I've been a fan of Mary Kubica since her first book The Good Girl. I've enjoyed her style of writing and how she's able to draw you in with her characters. This book was no different. There were a few twists and turns and a WAIT! WHAT?! I read this book in pretty much a day. I couldn't put it down.

I can't wait til her next book!

Mary Kubica, the Diva of Domestic Thrillers is back! This one was crazy. I feel like you never quite figure out what in the world is happening until the very end & Local Woman Missing is not different.
11 years ago, Shelby Tebow went missing. Then, a few days after that, Meredith Dickey & her daughter, Delilah, go missing. The town is in turmoil and suddenly their quiet suburb, where nothing much happens is turned upside down. And as if that isn't crazy enough, after being gone for 11 years, Delilah suddenly shows back up in the same area she had gone missing. What is going on here?
No spoilers, people! You must read this novel to find out. And it's a fairly quick read, because you won't want to put it down. 3.5 stars. The beginning with "Delilah's" narration is a bit hard to read.

*Special thank to NetGalley and the publisher for this early e-ARC."

I wanted to love this one but it just fell flat for me. I was all in up until the last quarter of the book when it just got...convoluted and far-fetched and messy. And then it ended so randomly and suddenly.

I was highly entertained and committed until I just... wasn’t. Overall this was a miss for me, unfortunately.



Thanks to Harlequin for a copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.

Thank you so much to @marykubica , @parkrowbooks and @netgalley for this ARC!!!!!! I have been so honored to read and review Mary’s new and upcoming thriller. Out on 5/18/21. MARK YOUR CALENDARS! You don’t want to miss out on this one.

Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
HOLY EFFING CRAP. I got to telling you. Mary Kubica….you do not disappoint. At first I though this book was going to start out slow for me. The first chapter ends like 20% in. But never mind that. I can’t deny I was hooked the whole way. This thriller kept me on my toes the entire time. i couldn’t flip the page fast enough to find out what happened at the end. There were about 4 POV’s but the way Kubica laid out this story there was no room for confusion. Not only is there a huge plot twist at the end, there’s a whole lot of little twist thrown at you throughout the book. I found myself GASPING at the way Kubica came up with these amazing “WTF” moments. I read the good girl back in 2018 and to this day it is one of my favorite thrillers. I’m so happy I got approved for this one on NetGalley because Kubica is hands down one of my favorite authors.

This is one of those mysteries that will make an imprint. First, it is gripping. You just cannot stop reading until you find what happened. Second, you are not going to forget it. The things that happen to the characters make an imprint for sure. Finally, I could not decide whether or not I was finding red herrings or plot holes. But, judging by the amount of time I have spent trying to decide, this book deserves 5 stars.

Probably one of the elements I found most interesting was the concept of consent in obstetrics. This is not talked about a lot, certainly not something I had thought about even though I have given birth three times.

This was so twisty and full of intrigue. I couldn't quite guess where it was going, so that is a rare treat. I only wish that there was a bit more elaboration about a plot line later in the book and how that all works out. I am being vague because it is a pretty integral part of the story, but then it just kind of ends and we move on to something else. I loved it, though, not my usual read. Definitely worth reading.

Eleven years ago, women starting disappearing in a small community. Some of these women turned up dead, and others just completely disappeared. The case went cold leaving families and a community wrecked in unimaginable ways. Then one of the missing girls returns. Case solved. Not quite? Eleven years later, there are still more questions than answers, and then finally the case puts all the major players on a collision course to a shocking conclusion. Some secrets just don’t stay buried, no matter how hard you try.

I loved this book! The twists and turns were so well done, many of which I didn’t see coming. This thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat, and every time you think you have something figured out, think again. It took a little bit to get a feel for all the characters in the story, because quite a few of them had very similar names. However, it didn’t take long to become invested in the book, especially since the story started fast and didn’t slow down for the entire 300+ pages of the novel.

All of the characters were complicated. None of them were truly perfect, but their flaws made for a perfect, twisty story. It did bother me that some of the storylines didn’t have a true conclusion or weren’t completely fleshed out, but it didn’t take away from the heart of the story. In addition, the book wrapped up extremely quickly. Almost too quickly. It was satisfying, but seemed to come out of nowhere, and the entire plot was wrapped up in a few pages. I like my conclusions a little more drawn out, but this is a personal preference.

I haven’t read any of Mary Kubica’s other works, but I will definitely be coming back for more! Local Woman Missing is a book full of suspense and thrill that will keep readers on their toes from first page to last page. Highly recommend. 4.5 stars.

I received a free digital ARC from NetGalley and Harlequin in exchange for an honest review.