Mary Kubica has done it again! As an amazing mystery/thriller writer, Kubica kept me on my toes. From chapter to chapter, I was kept guessing on who was responsible for a mother and daughter's disappearance. The multiple perspectives added to the mysterious tone of this novel. The writing was descriptive and on point. The story follows many characters in a community as they become involved in a search for a mother and her daughter who disappeared mysteriously. As you read, you become immersed in the community as they try to solve the mystery of multiple disappearances and who could be responsible.

Maybe it’s pandemic fatigue. Or maybe it’s just me. My expectations may be a bit high? But when Mary Kubica is referred to repeatedly as the “queen of the domestic thriller,” I am so ready for a grabber -- you know, the kind where you just want people to leave you the bleep ALONE so you can go back to your book. That is what I was hoping for when I received a copy of Ms. Kubica’s Local Woman Missing from ? and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

A couple of caveats: it uses alternating points of view, and jumps back and forth in time, so if either of those turn you off, be forewarned. The story starts “eleven years ago,” with a woman going out for a run and meeting a somewhat vague and clearly disastrous ending. Flash forward to present day, with Delilah who went missing at the age of 6 and was missing for eleven years. Her mother, another narrator, tells her story from 11 years ago (see a pattern here?).

The story Delilah tells of her life during the time she was missing is horrific, and totally creeped me out. The story is dark and it seems like it is always raining, the streets are wet, the car was wet, etc. Delilah shows up and is reunited with her father and brother (her mother has been dead for about 11 years (pattern?). But before you know it, it turns out that the girl everyone welcomes back turns out NOT to actually be Delilah. Or is she? There was a DNA test, right?

Eventually, all is revealed. Sort of. We do find out who it was who met a bad fate while out for a run, where Delilah was for 11 years, and who the girl is that they think is Delilah, and WTH is up with that DNA test? Oh, and what about the women who live next door to “Delilah” and her father and brother?

So I was hoping for one thing, and got another. I didn’t care for any of the characters, I couldn’t wait to find out what it was all about, and I was just basically annoyed. I went back and looked at Kubica’s last two books, and saw that I only gave one star to When The Lights Go Out in 2018 and The Other Ms. in 2020. So why did I think I would like this one? I’m pretty sure I am not Ms. Kubica’s audience, although some in my book club just LOVE her, and will enjoy this book. I’ll even recommend it to them. But for me? Third time is the charm -- or the last straw. One star.

As a fan of Mary Kubica's works, she did not disappoint with this new book. It was suspenseful and kept me guessing. I thought the ending was kind of out there, but still interesting. The book did leave some unanswered questions like who was following Kate and Bea? But regardless of that, I highly recommend this book.

Local Woman Missing sends you down one path then another as everyone tries to figure out who is responsible for two missing women and one missing girl. I didn’t see where this was going until very close to the end. Mary Kubica keeps the reader engaged and anxious to get to the end to see who is responsible if heihly recommend this to all.

Shelby Tebow goes missing, and so do mother-daughter pair Meredith and Delilah Dickey. Police wonder if the two incidents are related. Now, ten years later, Delilah turns up, and everyone is dying to know what happened. Local Woman Missing is a thriller that isn't to be missed!

Many thanks to the publisher for granting access in return for an honest review.

In this story a woman goes missing, and before anyone can blink, yet another woman - Meredith -and her young daughter go missing from the same tight-knit community. Told from multiple perspectives, when the truth unravels it will twist your gut (much like it does Meredith's) when you learn who the bad guy is!
Highly recommend this for suspense and true to #marykubicabooks - its dark and disturbing!

In Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica, two women, both mothers, go missing ten days apart in a community outside of Chicago eleven years ago. Worse, one of them had her daughter with her when she disappeared. One case goes cold, both cases leave families in distress.

In another state, a young girl held captive in a dark basement makes a shiv out of her spoon with which she is fed from a dog bowl. After stabbing one of her captors, she makes a break for it. She tells the person who finds her that her name is Delilah Dickey, a girl who has been missing for eleven years.

While one woman’s husband is behind bars for her murder, the other husband, Delilah’s father, is a shadow of his former self when he and his son Leo are reunited with Delilah. Through police investigation, therapy, and hypnosis, Delilah may be able to put the pieces together about what happened on a day eleven years ago.

But then something strange happens. Even though the DNA test confirms Delilah’s identity, her best friend from childhood notices that a facial feature is missing, one that cannot be accounted for through eleven years of growth and change. Doubt builds about the girl claiming to be Delilah, and Delilah’s father is shattered again.

At that point, Kubica slams the plot into reverse when the false Delilah makes a run for it and accelerates at full speed to an unexpected climax. I was a little unsettled about the resolution as it did not seem feasible to me but news stories about captive women do support such an ending.

Mary Kubica, a one-time high school history teacher, lives outside of Chicago with her family. This is her sixth psychological thriller.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting March 11, 2021.

I would like to thank Park Row Books and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were well developed and kept me engaged. Sometimes I am wary about books that jump around in the timeline of events, but this was well done and it was easy for me to follow along. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a good mystery with some good twists and turns.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book! I LOVE Mary Kubica's book!! I stumbled upon her first one and have read almost all since that one! This one really had me wondering what happened???? In the end I was shocked and surprised! This was another great read that I would highly recommend and have already!! Thank you again to NetGalley!

Local Woman Missing was full of mystery, suspense, and drama. I absolutely was not expecting it to end the way it did, but I was surprised and impressed with the storyline and plot from beginning to end. There were some slow parts, but as the final piece of the puzzle is revealed, everything slips into place. The book is written from alternating points of view and sometimes it was difficult to determine what happened when, but it was totally worth reading. I would definitely recommend this book to fans of crime, drama, and suspense-especially those who love a good plot twist and some shady characters. Loved it!

Local Woman Missing is a gripping, unputdownable thriller that sucked me in from beginning to end. I loved every minute of it and look forward to reading more from Mary Kubika.

I spent the weekend reading Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica. Thanks to Harlequin Books, Mary Kubica, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. The reader starts out 11 years before the current day with a short prologue of a woman going for run, and meeting a vague but implied bad ending. The reader then transitions to the story of Delilah, in current time, before heading to another character 11 years before. I quickly caught on to this format of back and forth and made note of which character was where in time. We go on to learn that Delilah went missing around age 6 and has been missing for 11 years. Her mother was found dead around the time Delilah vanished. Her mother, Meredith, is also a narrator in the book, also telling her story from 11 years ago. As a reader we are drawn to the characters and their stories. Everyone has been damaged by past events and everyone has a piece of the puzzle. There are twists, turns, and surprises will that will fool the best sleuths. I did think the writer occasionally overdid some of the atmospheric details. There was a lot of rain, and as readers we were bombarded with description of it at times. In one scene the car was wet, the roads were wet, the road was slippery because it was wet from the rain, etc... The reader can make that jump in my opinion, no need to get that deep into description for me. If you like C.J. Tudor of The Chalk Man or Alice Feeney of Sometimes I Lie you will enjoy Local Woman Missing. It's publish date is 05-18-2021.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: May 18, 2021
Mary Kubica, the Queen of domestic suspense, returns with her seventh published novel, “Local Woman Missing”. As a huge fan of Kubica, I was delighted to get the chance to read this novel and I was pulled in from page one.
First, Shelby Tebow disappears while running. Then, Meredith Dickey and her young daughter, Delilah, disappear without a trace. The small, quiet community both women call home is in shock- could the two disappearances be connected? Who would want to take the women, and are they still alive? Eleven years later, Delilah is found, wandering around the woods, with very little memory of where she came from and who took her. The only thing she knows is that Meredith is “dead”. But if so, where is her body? When the body of Shelby Tebow is discovered around the same time, brutally murdered and discarded in a local bog, the entire town is suspicious. As police investigate, neighbours begin to turn on each other, and soon another secret is revealed- the young girl found in the woods is not Delilah. Is something sinister brewing in their once-quiet community? And is one of their neighbours responsible?
This novel is told from two different perspectives, Meredith and her neighbour Kate, across two time periods (eleven years ago, and present day). Initially, the reason for the historical narration isn’t made known, as is Kubica’s way, but as the novel plays out, we find out why “eleven years ago” becomes so important. The narrators and the time periods are clearly labeled and this is a good thing, especially at the beginning, as I struggled to keep up. However, it wasn’t long before I was able to follow along with the plot and keep up with its flow.
There are many potential suspects throughout the novel, and Kubica does a great job at keeping the mystery a secret until the final chapters. When the ending hits, it was definitely a pulse-pounding, unsuspecting turn of events that was both entertaining and unpredictable!
For fans of Kubica (myself included), “Local Woman Missing” will check all the boxes! Page-turning suspense, identifiable characters, and a twisty-turny ending is what makes Kubica such an entertaining writer. I have read all of her past novels and I look forward to her future ones with much anticipation!

This book sucks you in in the beginning, but then ends flat. The storyline started out solid but the ending was rushed and I found it to be unbelievable.
I’ve enjoyed this authors other books, but this was not one of them.

Another winner from Mary Kubica! I was thoroughly engrossed in this novel, every step of the way. The multiple viewpoints and time jumps took a bit to get used to, but the clear titles and distinct character voices made it easy to adjust. Once of Kubica's strong points for me is always her characters. I feel like I know them by the end of the novel, and I'm completely invested in their lives. A great spring/summer read full of drama, suspense, and very satisfying twists.
Thanks to Harlequin and NetGalley for the advance digital copy to review. All opinions are my own.

I have always loved Mary Kubica's and I'm here to tell you she's written her best book yet!!! Thank you to @harlequinbooks and @netgalley for the eARC!

Local Woman Missing is a fast paced suspense novel. Each chapter is told from different points of view. The story begins as a young girl who has been kidnapped escapes and shows up on the doorsteps of a woman. The child claims her name is Delilah. Eleven years ago Delilah and her mother, Meredith, went missing. Delilah is returned to her father Josh and his son Leo. Prior to their disappearance, another local woman; Shelby, goes missing. Just who in this town could be responsible? Josh's neighbors; Bea and Kate, are eager to try and put the pieces together to try and help Josh find out who is responsible for Delilah's disappearance and who is responsible for the two woman who went missing 11 years prior. But soon, Leo; Delilah's brother, starts doubting that his sister has returned. So just who is the young girl? Is it Delilah? Or, is it someone else?

Local Woman Missing releases on May 18, 2021. If you are a lover of suspense, you won't want to miss this one! It's so good!

This review will be shared the week of 3/1/2021-3/5/2021 at jensreadingroom

I’m not sure how this is my first #marykubica but I can tell you it won’t be my last. This one completely blind sighted me - I 100% in NO WAY connected any of the pieces together until the very end (again, that’s the highest praise I can think of for a #domesticsuspense #psychologicalthriller

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This one hits the shelves on May 18th and is 100% #worththeread. This one does a better job of anything I’ve recently read in making my view of characters and the people I view as “good” and “cool” and “my favorites” utterly shift and break throughout the stormy narrative. Major character development skills and depth for such a quick, easy read.

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Also - maybe it’s just me - but Meredith Dickey has MAJOR #NicoleKidman in #TheUndoing vibes (buy it in May and get back to me with your thoughts).

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A string of disappearances during an infamously torrential downpour in a Chicago suburb. The first to go? A young, new mother running at night. The second and third? Beloved and affluent Meredith Dickey, a practicing doula and devoted mother and wife, and her little girl, Delilah. As the case goes cold, Josh Dickey and his son, the only child he has left, are left in shambles.

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Eleven years later and Delilah suddenly appears, the truth of where she spent the last decade almost more disturbing and terrifying than the thought of her death. As everyone struggles to find the truth behind these three disappearances, it eventually becomes clear that a cold-blooded killer was at the center of all of it - hiding in plain sight.

Mary Kubica is the Queen of domestic thrillers, especially ones set in the outdoors. Not officially, just something I noticed. Thank you to Netgalley for a digital ARC of this in exchange for my honest review. I adored this book from the very first page. Kubica delivers a suspenseful, fast-paced, and exciting story. The character development was spot on. This novel does have the parallel past and present timelines--I personally love that..
This will be another huge hit for Kubica and popular with patrons.

Wow, what a ride that was! I grabbed this title from a long backlog of eARCs without reviewing the summary and thought I was grabbing a quirky rom-com. Imagine my surprise. I was not intending to stay up racing through a thriller. This book grabs you from the very first sentence and doesn't let you go. This is my first Mary Kubica, and the first book in a long time that was so gripping.

The author weaves into the story multiple instances where a woman might feel powerless: an acquaintance we suspect is being abused but can't do anything about, an older male obstetrician's gruff and harmful manner, a friend accusing you of something you didn't do, losing electrical power in a storm, your child being harmed at the daycare you need to keep working. These are interesting plot tangents, not quite red herrings, but enough to make you question if that character had a motive for murder.

The ending and the resolution of the murder/kidnapping works, I just feel like the character made too much of a personality change towards the end. But maybe that's what the author was trying to show- the lengths someone will go to protect what they love and hold dear?

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

What we’ve come to expect form Mary Kubica....edge of your seat page Turner with suspenseful plot and great characters.