Oh man. When Mary Kubica has a new book, you know I'm running to get it immediately. Or, well, order online because- pandemic and everything.

Local Woman Missing is heart stopping, mind blowing, neglect your children good. You'd be doing yourself a favor by reading this. Truly. Your children might be hungry for a bit, but don't worry, if you let them go long enough, they'll forage some food from the pantry. Plus, you'll read this so fast, they'll get dinner. No worries.

Local Woman Missing - 3.5 ⭐

Super quick synopsis: First Shelly Tebow goes missing. A few weeks later, neighbor Meredith Dickey and her young daughter, Delilah atmre the next to disappear. Suddenly, 11 years later, Delilah returns and the truth about what happens finally reveals itself.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

This was a solid thriller, but probably not one I should've read at 40 weeks pregnant, which may have impacted my enjoyment of this a bit. Told in alternating points of view and jumping from past to present is one of my favorite styles in a thriller, but I did find myself mixing up the women a few times. Overall, I did enjoy the twists and turns in the story - wasnt expecting them - and would recommend it to anyone who can handle the triggers below.

Content warnings: Kidnapping, violence, child abuse, mention of stillbirth, traumatic birth

Review on bookstagram to come!

Local Woman Missing
by Mary Kubica
Published May 18, 2021

Deliah was the first to disappear.... and she reappears 11 years later.

I found this book totally spellbinding. I loved the thrill of the mystery. I have recommended this book to others like myself who love thrillers. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

5 star

3.5 stars rounded down

A very solid murder mystery.

A local woman, Shelby, goes missing and then days later, in the same neighborhood, Meredith and her 6-year old daughter vanish. The neighbors pull together to look for the missing and in the days after the event, two bodies are found but there is no trace of 6 year-old Delilah. Eleven years later, Delilah reappears and is reunited with her father and brother. Now will the truth be uncovered?

The novel shifts between three time periods with a different point of view for each one. Before the disappearances is focused on Meredith, a doula, who is getting threatening text messages; immediately after the disappearances which is narrated by Kate, who with her partner Bea, are close friends to Meredith’s family; and eleven years later which is told from the point of view of Delilah’s younger brother and Kate. There are some third person sections to set the scenes. It's easy enough to keep up with these time and character shifts.

The author presents us with a delicious buffet of suspects to choose from, the resolution gallops in, completely out of left field (maybe just a tad too far out?) and some of the red herrings just take a turn or two round the block and then drop out. But overall, this is well-plotted, the characters are interesting, and I wanted to find out whodunnit.

Thanks to Park Row and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

Thank you Netgalley and Parkrow Books for the gifted ecopy of ‘Local Woman Missing’ by Mary Kubica.
—
𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞…
Three women go missing in a peaceful community. A mother and a daughter along with another neighbor. 11 years later, the daughter returns.
...
I’m convinced this is the year of thrillers!!! I only want books such as Local Woman Missing in my future. I could not put this down!. I needed to know what happened to these women. I was a huge fan of The Other Mrs. Kubica's writing is highly ADDICTIVE. Kubica has a way of making domestic thrillers more than a small town mystery. Any reader becomes so invested in finding out the twist.. I loved everything up until then! I loved the three POV's from Meredith, Kate, and Leo. It really gave you a 360 into the perspectives surrounding all the characters involved. I did not see the ending coming at all! I was a tad bit disappointed to be honest but maybe because I was hoping it had to do with another character. It completely came out of left field but no spoilers though.

However, highly recommend picking this up!

Eleven years ago, new mother Shelby Tebow disappeared while out for a jog one evening. Not long after, Meredith Dickey and her six-year old daughter Delilah vanished without a trace. Now suddenly Delilah has returned, having been held the entire time by two sadistic captors. The only one questioning whether she’s really the missing girl is her younger brother, Leo, while questions are still unanswered about why she was kidnapped and held for so long.

The story is told from four points of view using dual timelines, two from the past. It wasn’t difficult to keep up but it was a minefield of red herrings, really good ones! It begins with Delilah’s harrowing captivity and breathtaking escape, which set the tone for what was to come. What happened to her was always in the background as the events leading up to her disappearance unfolded. I was hooked from start to finish, trying to figure out angles and who might be an unreliable narrator. I’m not usually swayed so convincingly by false paths but this one accomplished that with ease.

I listened to the story and loved that four separate narrators were used for the multiple points of view. Each were well skilled in representing their characters and it was always easy knowing when there was a shift (it also helped that it was also announced). The pacing was perfect and all managed the storytelling in a way that kept me glued to my headphones. The story was fascinating with particular attention to character development, not always easy to do when the mystery is the thing. The final revelation was a surprise, though I was hoping for a more explosive twist and it took maybe a little bit of belief suspension. But! It didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment. This one had me at page one and never let go. 4.5 stars

I loved this book!! It kept me on my toes the entire time, and I struggled to put it down because I needed to know what would happen next. This is the perfect example of what a thriller should be.

This book starts off with a bang and I had no idea where it was headed. Thankfully, author @marykubica pulls back a bit and fleshes out the diverse array of characters. While I love a page-turner, I also like details and multi-faceted characters, and Kubica gives us both!
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She kept me guessing while also sharing a totally engrossing storyline. I loved the multiple points of view narration and alternating timelines and thought it was a perfect way to share this complicated suspense-filled read.
I highly recommend adding this one to your thriller/suspense TBR list! 4.5/5 stars

Thank you to Park Row Books for my gifted copy. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Another amazing Mary Kubica book. This one was a real page turner and definitely didn’t guess the twists and turns.

This was exactly my type of book! The timelines were initially a little irritating (I've seen some DNF reviews) but after a few chapters they all made sense. The beginning has an extended section that was completely enthralling and after that I needed to know what happens. There are lots of little sections to this mystery and little reveals are peppered throughout the story keeping me always wanting more. I legitimately can't think of a single thing that I didn't like about the story!

The characters were also super interesting, especially the younger brother during the present day and the lesbian couple in the older timeline. I was always very interested in the different perspectives and the flow between perspectives was never too long. I don't have a lot else to say other than this is probably my favourite mystery that I've read this year and I need to read more from Mary Kubica.

As a fan of everything Mary Kubica writes, this book was no different for me. I love that she always manages to surprise me with twists in the plot. From the opening chapters where a young girl escapes her captors and another young mother vanishes, I was hooked.

I was unable to provide a timely review of this book, however, I participated in a virtual book tour and promoted this book in a blog showcase post: http://thebookdivasreads.com/2021/05/16/book-showcase-local-woman-missing-by-mary-kubica/.

Mary Kubica is back on track! I loved all her early books but didn’t care for When the Lights Go Out or The Other Mrs., but with this book she’s back in her groove. Lots going on here, with great characters and sooo much drama below the surface of this suburb! The ending was pretty implausible but this was a great read all the same, and I was surprised about what really happened. Highly recommended.

I'm not a fan of the short, choppy sentences and the many clichés used throughout the book. Those seemed more prevalent in this mystery than in her previous books. I loved the plot, and the now and then make-up of the book, but the writing style was just too simplistic.

My First Mary Kubica's book and totally recommended this book to suspense thriller readers.

It's about kidnapping cases in a small town, where people know everyone and everything.

It is a scary and twisted complex suspense read, although there's something a bit unbelievable for me, I still enjoyed it nonetheless, I still keep turning page after page, I still devoured it pretty fast.
The jumping storylines between the past and the present a bit confusing at first, but once I get the hang of it, all is good. This book has multi POV that I really love, but the one took the center stage is the victim the little girl pov that got me wince with all the horrid details, it's like I was there in the basement with her.

Overall it's an amazing first experience for me and definitely will read other books from this author.

One night Shelby Tebow goes missing, and shortly after Meredith Dickey and her six-year-old daughter, Delilah, disappear from just a few blocks away. For years, people question if these disappearances are connected, and now, eleven years later, Delilah returns.

The premise of this novel sounded absolutely incredible, and I was immediately enticed by the story of a missing girl returning home, and the questions that would arise. While I was intrigued early on in the novel, and questioning the various clues sprinkled throughout, I was disappointed by the direction the story went. I still enjoyed reading the book, and while this was not my favorite thriller, it definitely will be for a different reader!

Thank you to NetGalley and Park Row Publishing for providing me with an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Two women dead. A young girl missing. No answers. Eleven years on, a malnourished young woman is found lost and injured, claiming to be Delilah Dickey, vanished for eleven years. But is she really Delilah? Where has she been, all this time? Who took her - and why - on the day her mother apparently committed suicide?

The book is told in multiple points of view and three timelines, although it purports to be two, Now and Then (eleven years ago). I found the Then stuff really confusing, because it jumps back and forth between the POV of Kate, a veterinarian who knew both the missing women and was involved with the search for them, and Meredith, one of the missing women in the days before she went missing. It’s not always clear when exactly in the timeline the story is, before or after, and for the longest time I couldn’t even figure out why we were in Kate’s POV.

The biggest annoyance for me in the book was the villain reveal, however. When the vast, VAST majority of violence against women is committed by men, it’s not a ‘shocking twist’ when the villain turns out to be a lesbian woman. It’s harmful fear-mongering against a member of a minority who already suffer quite enough discrimination and unfounded accusations and attacks. When I found myself thinking “could have been worse, she could have turned out to be villainous BECAUSE of her lesbianism” and “well at least she’s not the only LGBTQ+ character in the book and the other one isn’t a villain” I knew I was making excuses for the author, though, and told myself to snap out of it.

Stop making ‘lesbian villain’ the Shocking Twist in mystery/thrillers. It’s not shocking. It’s just bigotry. And I’m seeing far too much of it.

One star.

4 Must Be Willing Stars
* * * * Spoiler Free
I hadn't read Mary Kubica before but I knew her fans were devoted, so when I saw Local Woman Missing, I snapped it up right away. I also only read the blurb and took on my mystery/thriller mindset, meaning I would be willing to go wherever Mary wanted to take me.

I dove in hard and from the start I was there with all of these characters. The tease of what was to first to come was there but still hidden. Then we were front and center knee-deep in the ugly, living it through the characters the ugly was happening to...We got to feel all of the emotions from those who felt lost, ignored, or terrified.

The story is told in the present and the past, linking the actions so that all of the questions seem to be answered. It is important to pay attention because it is the layers of information that are dropped in bits and pieces that will smack you later.

The first part was intense and worked full speed. The profile of the son and his insights were the best and made you feel for him so much. It is the feeling of not equal, not as important as what was lost made me hurt for him. The latter part didn't capture me as much as the first part but answered all the questions or in my case, confirmed my "Nancy Drew" instincts. A good sign was I wanted to know more about how the characters were doing after it was all over.

Now when I'll see Mary Kubica's name for a new release, my little fingers will go click click

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

I’ve been a fan of Mary Kubica since I read The Good Girl (and have pretty much read everything else she has written- Pretty Baby, Don’t You Cry, Every Last Lie and The Other Mrs.)

What I Liked:

That cover (and title!)

At the first of the book- when you are reading about Delilah. Pulse pounding!

How this book will make you question what goes on behind your neighbors doors… and how well you really know the people in the neighborhood.



Bottom line: Solid read. It took a few twists that I was not expecting- still liked it, though!



*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*

This thriller has such a great amount of twists and turns. I could not put this book down. I had to know who the murderer was and what happened to Delilah. It is so sad to see what can happen when a family member is missing.
I love how the author handles all of these horrible situations. I received a copy of this book from Harlequin for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.