SUMMER READING CHALLENGE: Don't You Cry by Mary Kubica

BOOK INFORMATION

Genre: Psychological thriller

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: MIRA (May 17, 2016)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0778319059
• ISBN-13: 978-0778319054

Synopsis: New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl, Mary Kubica returns with an electrifying and addictive tale of deceit and obsession 

In downtown Chicago, a young woman named Esther Vaughan disappears from her apartment without a trace. A haunting letter addressed to My Dearest is found among her possessions, leaving her friend and roommate Quinn Collins to wonder where Esther is and whether or not she's the person Quinn thought she knew. 

Meanwhile, in a small Michigan harbor town an hour outside Chicago, a mysterious woman appears in the quiet coffee shop where eighteen-year-old Alex Gallo works as a dishwasher. He is immediately drawn to her charm and beauty, but what starts as an innocent crush quickly spirals into something far more dark and sinister than he ever expected.  

As Quinn searches for answers about Esther, and Alex is drawn further under Pearl's spell, master of suspense Mary Kubica takes readers on a taut and twisted thrill ride that builds to a stunning conclusion and shows that no matter how fast and far we run, the past always catches up with us in the end.

Review: This is the third book by this author, and each one seems to be even better than the last. She has an amazing knack for psychological thrillers which has me waiting breathlessly for each new release.

This one will keep you guessing from beginning to end (and you'll be wrong time after time, trust me!), and you won't want to stop reading until you find out just what is going on. The story is told alternately by Quinn, a girl whose roommate has gone missing, and Alex, an 18-year-old boy who at first seems to have no connection to the rest of the story. Eventually their stories converge, however, and lead to two very climactic scenes.

As with the other two books, I would LOVE to see this one made into a movie.

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.**

Rating: Four stars

About the author

Mary Kubica is the bestselling author of THE GOOD GIRL (2014) and PRETTY BABY (2015). She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in History and American Literature. Mary lives outside of Chicago with her husband and two children and enjoys photography, gardening and caring for the animals at a local shelter.

BOOKSPARKS SUMMER READING CHALLENGE: Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica

Destination: Bundle up in the Windy City

Book Information

Genre: Thriller

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: MIRA (July 28, 2015)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0778317706
• ISBN-13: 978-0778317708

Synopsis: A chance encounter sparks an unrelenting web of lies in this stunning new psychological thriller from national bestselling author Mary Kubica

She sees the teenage girl on the train platform, standing in the pouring rain, clutching an infant in her arms. She boards a train and is whisked away. But she can't get the girl out of her head...

Heidi Wood has always been a charitable woman: she works for a nonprofit, takes in stray cats. Still, her husband and daughter are horrified when Heidi returns home one day with a young woman named Willow and her four-month-old baby in tow. Disheveled and apparently homeless, this girl could be a criminal—or worse. But despite her family's objections, Heidi invites Willow and the baby to take refuge in their home.

Heidi spends the next few days helping Willow get back on her feet, but as clues into Willow's past begin to surface, Heidi is forced to decide how far she's willing to go to help a stranger. What starts as an act of kindness quickly spirals into a story far more twisted than anyone could have anticipated.

Review: After reading THE GOOD GIRL, as well as this book, I am a huge fan of Mary Kubica! I hope she continues to write amazing books for many, many years to come.

I found this novel to be even more thought-provoking and shocking than THE GOOD GIRL. I definitely got blindsided by several of the developments in this story.

Chapters alternate perspectives between Heidi, her husband Chris, and the teenaged Willow. Each of them has a very different outlook on life, and on the current situation. Chris sees Heidi as someone who wants to take care of every neglected, abandoned, mistreated, etc. creature on Earth--so when she brings home Willow and Ruby, he knows there is trouble ahead.  He also has a very sarcastic wit, particularly in dealing with their own daughter's foray into vegetarianism (he is very much a meatlover!)

Heidi starts out as a very caring and concerned ally for Willow, but slowly begins to take over Ruby's care, insinuating that she knows best. As we learn more about Heidi's past experiences, her present behavior, which becomes stranger and stranger, begins to make sense in a creepy sort of way.

Willow is a very complicated young woman. She also has a hidden past, as well as an agenda when it comes to Heidi. I alternated between feeling sympathetic toward her and wanting to shake some sense into her.

There are several other characters who play various parts in the story, but these three (along with Heidi and Chris's daughter, Zoe, and Willow's baby, Ruby) are the main focus. As their lives intersect and entwine, the pace picks up, and emotions run high, both in the story and for the reader. The ending is a complete and total surprise, and very satisfying.

Already chomping at the bit for the next release from this author!

Rating: Five stars

About The AuthorMary Kubica is the bestselling author of THE GOOD GIRL (2014) and PRETTY BABY (2015). She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in History and American Literature. Mary lives outside of Chicago with her husband and two children and enjoys photography, gardening and caring for the animals at a local shelter.

The Good Girl, by Mary Kubica

Synopsis: "I've been following her for the past few days. I know where she buys her groceries, where she has her dry cleaning done, where she works. I don't know the color of her eyes or what they look like when she's scared. But I will." 

Born to a prominent Chicago judge and his stifled socialite wife, Mia Dennett moves against the grain as a young inner-city art teacher. One night, Mia enters a bar to meet her on-again, off-again boyfriend. But when he doesn't show, she unwisely leaves with an enigmatic stranger. With his smooth moves and modest wit, at first Colin Thatcher seems like a safe one-night stand. But following Colin home will turn out to be the worst mistake of Mia's life.

Colin's job was to abduct Mia as part of a wild extortion plot and deliver her to his employers. But the plan takes an unexpected turn when Colin suddenly decides to hide Mia in a secluded cabin in rural Minnesota, evading the police and his deadly superiors. Mia's mother, Eve, and detective Gabe Hoffman will stop at nothing to find them, but no one could have predicted the emotional entanglements that eventually cause this family's world to shatter.

An addictively suspenseful and tautly written thriller, The Good Girl is a compulsive debut that reveals how even in the perfect family, nothing is as it seems…. 

Thoughts: Oh. My. Goodness. I don't know what else to say. I loved this book from beginning to end---and while I had a tiny suspicion about the information revealed in the epilogue, it STILL took my breath away.

The story is told by a variety of characters, which helps to paint a more complete picture. The fact that each character is read by a different person gave even more realism to the story. 

Considering that this is the debut novel by this author, I expect great things from her in the future, and will be anxiously awaiting her next release. 

This is one of those books that is going to stick with me for a long time to come.

My rating: Five stars