Not That I Could Tell

by Jessica Strawser

An innocent night of fun takes a shocking turn in Not That I Could Tell , the next page-turner from Jessica Strawser. When a group of neighborhood women gathers, wine in hand, around a fire pit where their backyards meet one Saturday night, most of them are just ecstatic to have discovered that their baby monitors reach that far. It's a rare kid-free night, and they're giddy with it. They drink too much, and the conversation turns personal. By Monday morning, one of them is gone. Everyone knows something about everyone else in the quirky small Ohio town of Yellow Springs, but no one can make sense of the disappearance. Kristin was a sociable twin mom, college administrator, and doctor's wife who didn't seem all that bothered by her impending divorce--and the investigation turns up more questions than answers, with her husband, Paul, at the center. For her closest neighbor, Clara, the incident triggers memories she thought she'd put behind her--and when she's unable to extract herself from the widening circle of scrutiny, her own suspicions quickly grow. But the neighborhood's newest addition, Izzy, is determined not to jump to any conclusions--especially since she's dealing with a crisis of her own. As the police investigation goes from a media circus to a cold case, the neighbors are forced to reexamine what's going on behind their own closed doors--and to ask how well anyone really knows anyone else.

• ISBN10: 1250107881
• ISBN13: 9781250107886
• Publish Date: 27 March 2018
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 19 October 2021
• Imprint: St. Martin's Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

3 1/2 Stars

For once it was the description that caught my attention when it comes to Not That I Could Tell. A mystery of a missing woman (and her children) in a small and close-knit neighborhood, where everything was never really quite as it seemed? Count me in. As far as the book cover is concerned, the colors on the cover are incredibly pretty, but the title is a little difficult to read, and it certainly couldn’t be spotted or read from a distance.
Jessica Strawser has one other published novel, Almost Missed You, which I admittedly haven’t read. Though I’ll probably considering adding it to my massive TBR pile. I love reading different novels by the same author to see how they’ve grown as a writer. Is that odd?



I was immediately drawn to this novel; it seemed like the perfect balance for what I was looking for. A mystery that would keep me intrigued, while also not being a heavier thriller type novel. I couldn’t say what it was about the description that made me decide to grab it as my Book of the Month choice, but I did.
The small neighborhood full of women and friends was an interesting concept to me; I live in an area where I only have three neighbors, and I couldn’t tell you most of their names (except for the one that complains about everything – him I know). So to get transported to a little world where the neighbors don’t just know each other, but care about each other? How novel! (no pun intended).
I loved the slow build-up of this mystery. In truth I think I appreciated all the little moments and details revealed during the main part of the book more than I did the actual conclusion. Strawser just had a way of making her characters come alive; even though there were a decent number of them (and I have a bad memory for names) I knew who each one was and the little details of their personalities. This is the sort of storytelling I love more than anything (well, that and world building).
I will confess that I do feel that this book did end up breaking the promise. This is a mystery novel, no matter how else we’d choose to label it. As such we should have a chance to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. But in truth there are a couple of secrets we’re not allowed to see until the very end (even though reason would dictate that we’d have gotten a hint to them well before that moment). This disappointed me more than I’d like to admit.
Ultimately I found the ending unsatisfactory, especially in comparison to the rest of the novel. It just didn’t live up to my expectations, nor did it feel like a solid ending. I actually almost would have preferred that the entire last chapter got left out; it would have been better to be a bit more open ended, considering what we were given.
Despite not loving the ending of the novel, there were parts I really did enjoy about this book. I do hope to see more novels from Strawser in the future. I think somebody with fewer pet peeves than me (I hate it when the author hides important details) would really enjoy this novel, so please do keep that in mind.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[pagesbycyndy]

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Let me start by saying that when I read the last chapter of this book my jaw dropped! I cannot think of another time in recent months when an ending took me by such surprise. This book is so well written and the subject matter of abuse/violence against women is so important to call attention to. I truly appreciated the author crafting such a suspenseful story around the subject matter. The character of Izzy, a single woman living alone and a possible target of an abuser, is an interesting character. Izzy had me frustrated with her need for a man and seemingly any type of man but the right one! Clara seemed a bit bored with her stay at home life and definitely was one of my favorite characters. Clara's story is told over time and I was always surprised when more of her background was revealed.  Kristen was a total mystery throughout the book which is probably what the author intended. Paul, Kristen's husband was definitely not my favorite. It was so hard to guess what really happened to Kristen and her twins. There is lots of drama in this book but it still had that small town setting to it which I always seem to enjoy. This book literally kept me guessing until the end as to which direction it would go in in terms of Kristen and her twins disappearance, as I mentioned before my jaw dropped as I read the last chapter.  I look forward to this authors next book.

[zooloo1983]

Welcome to my book review on the blog tour for Not that I could tell by Jessica Strawser!!

This is a story of a woman who disappears one Monday morning, following a Saturday night drinking around the fire pit with the girls. The story is not about Kristin, the perfect mother, friend and neighbour but Clara and Izzy. How they are affected by her disappearance. How no one seems to remember much about Saturday night, I mean did they really drink that much?

The story unfolds through their eyes. Clara, the best friend, mum of two and Izzy, the new single neighbour who has a soft spot for the soon-to-be ex-husband Paul.

It is also a great sales pitch for Yellow  Springs. I mean who wouldn't want to live in a nice idyllic neighbourhood despite what happens behind closed doors.

There were a lot of questions going through my mind reading the opening chapters. Is Kristin dead? Will this be like Gone girl? What happened in Cincinnati? What happened to Kristin first husband? Did she actually run?

You really do have to pay attention to every word that the author writes. Sentences that are in the book which could be considered as throwaway comments actually do mean something. One that springs to mind (without giving any spoilers away!) was Clara picking a letter up from the post box, an everyday chore but this time, being noted by the author so blasé had to mean something more and I was proven right!!

You have Hallie, the teenage girl, who in my eyes, was me, the reader. She was her own detective and she wanted to get to the truth and wasn't afraid of finding out what was going on, no matter what the cost was. She is a spirited teenage girl and I would love for my little girl to grow up to be like her!

The two main women in the story are extremely relatable, they could be your friend, your neighbour or even you!

Clara, who is visibly shaken by her friend who goes missing, is a mum of two. She worries about the children and the impact that this has on her children's life. It brings back the memories of the events that happened in Cincinnati. She starts to re-evaluate how well do you really know someone. She finds herself trying to 'mother' Izzy and protect her Paul. Come on let us be honest who would not want a husband like Benny is just damn near perfect and the voice of much-needed reason for Clara, as sometimes her thoughts run away from the truth. 

Clara made me reevaluate how well do we know people when she was doing it.  Kristin lived a life where she was a friend to everyone, always helped with bake sales, friends, but was it all an act? Do we really know anyone? Can you trust what you know about people? Like an unreliable narrator, you know what they wish to know, there are secrets. In this story, it was exactly that Kirstin allowed her "friends" and neighbours only know what she wanted them to know, keeping the real "Kristin" hidden. To them, she was the Perfect mother, neighbour and friend.

Izzy's story is one I relate to, definitely when I was growing up. Watching the guy you wanted to be with, being in a relationship with someone who was close to you and trying to deal with the hurt, the guilt and the want for them. (I am married now got the guy in the end!) It was heartbreaking as she missed her moment with the guy. You feel her guilt as she pushes away her loved ones as she tries to learn to accept her new life without him.

We focus on these relationships with each other and outside the circle. One relationship we review is that of Paul, the estranged husband. Clara watches him and writes him off immediately, she suspects something has happened and she believes he is no good and does not trust him full stop. Izzy however, views it a different way, why should they look at the husband first. He seems nice enough...right?!

*I received this book from Net Galley for my honest review*
See my blog for more reviews www.zooloobookblog.co.uk

[chymerra]

Not That I Could Tell caught my interest. I was in the mood to read a mystery. The synopsis called to me. What I wasn’t expecting was how into the book I got. And believe me, that is a good thing.

Not That I Could Tell had a very basic plotline. A popular, well-known mom who is going through a divorce disappears without a trace. Her soon to be ex-husband, a popular gynecologist, discovers them gone. Clara, their closest neighbor, is dragged into the case. Another neighbor, Izzy, befriends the ex-husband while battling her own demons. Everything comes together in an explosive ending that has a massive twist at the ending.

I enjoyed that the author kept Kristin’s disappearance under wraps. The reader finds out what happens to her in a letter or statement at the beginning of every other chapter or so. So many scenarios went through my head while reading, it wasn’t even funny. So I wasn’t expecting what was revealed at the very end of the book.

I liked Clara and I kind of felt bad for her. She got sucked into the drama. Her mother’s helper decided to start a newsletter and the first thing she writes about? Kristin’s disappearance. She illegally taped a conversation between Kristin’s soon to be ex-husband and the police. She also put Clara’s name on it as a contributor. Which brought an added scrutiny to Clara’s life. It also brings up memories that Clara has tried to forget. Memories that make Clara wonder what exactly was going on at Kristin’s house.

I felt awful for Izzy. She couldn’t win in this book. Her sister marries the love of her life. Then she finds out news that sends her into a downward spiral. Then her father tells her that she needs to stop acting the way she was acting. Everything was not going her way. The only thing that even looked good for her was the friendship she had with Kristin’s ex-husband. And even that…well, read the book.

I loved the ending of Not That I Could Tell. While I saw what happened to Izzy happening, I did not see the twist coming. It blindsided me. But looking back, I could see small hints of it in the book. So, kudos to the author for doing that!!

Not That I Could Tell is a well-written drama that shocked me at the end of the book. The characters were fleshed out. The plot was fantastic. I couldn’t get over the twist at the end of the book. Talk about being blindsided.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Adult

Why: language, sexual situations, and mild violence

I would like to thank Jessica Strawser, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Not That I Could Tell.

All opinions expressed in this review of Not That I Could Tell are mine.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**