Local Woman Missing: A Novel of Domestic Suspense

by Mary Kubica

• ISBN10: 0778389448
• ISBN13: 9780778389446
• Publish Date: 18 May 2021 (first published 4 May 2021)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Park Row
• Edition: Original ed.
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[Joni Reads]

3.5 Stars.
The ending was just way too unrealistic. I felt like there were storylines that were hinted at but then never mentioned again.

I was really interested in this book because I heard just good things about it but it just fell flat for me. The story didn't flow right. I think the issue was that the flashbacks took place in two different times but really close to each other. We flashback to before the disappearances and have one POV as Meredith eleven years before she disappeared but it is in March and there is another flashback in Meredith's neighbor Kate's POV and it takes place 11 years before but in May. I took me more than half the book to notice that little "March" and "May" above the first paragraph in the new chapters when it changed POV so I was a really confused. I assumed some of the shady things happened with Meredith were happening due to an event that happened in the book but then realized that the stuff was happening before that event had gone down. We found out about the event through Kate's POV.

If it sounds confusing it's because it was.

The ending just really became convoluted. It was the normal "all hell breaks loose" like at the end of most thrillers but instead of it still making sense I was just more and more frustrated with the unbelievable-ness of it all.

But again- I'm in the minority in my opinion so definitely read other reviews before deciding whether or not to read this.

[CrowNoYami]

4.5 Stars.

 

I really enjoyed listening to this novel. It had enough twists and turns to keep me interested and a lovely voice actor. I did not know that the killer/kidnapper was until told which is so important with this genre.

 

Would read from this author again when in a suspense mood. <3 

[layawaydragon]

Made it through the Prologue and Deliliah's Part One for a total of 82 pages before quitting. Not one but TWO random-ass 'thrilling' scenes and then starts switching to thREE different POVs in Part Two that doesn't immediately connect to anything that happened in the first two scenes. You can't do two cold opens

[mrs_mander_reads]

This was a big fat bust for me. I was hooked the first 250 pages or so, and then once the reveal started I was so let down. I'm not sure if it was the way the reveal was written or just the identity of the killer / sequence of events. I won't recommend this one.

[Quirky Cat]

Local Woman Missing is the latest novel to come from Mary Kubica, though it's the first one that I've personally read by her. Still, this one was more than enough to catch my attention.

Years ago, two women and a young girl went missing. The first to go was Shelby Tebow. Soon after, Meredith Dickey and her daughter, Delilah, disappeared as well. It tore apart the small community, leaving them suspicious of their neighbors.

Now, years later, the community has only just begun to heal. Only, something is about to happen to shake the community once again, as young Delilah appears, no longer lost but very hurt and confused.

"He stares at her too long, his expression unclear. "When people do dumb shit like this, they always wind up dead."

Local Woman Missing is a complex and disturbing tale of missing persons, betrayal, and secrets. This is a thriller that had its ups and downs to go along with a massive number of twists and surprises.

The novel is told through multiple perspectives, which helped to keep the tension going. Some events happen in the past, and then the current circumstances. Naturally, the revelations from the past tie into the present. That made some of the twists a bit easier to predict. But I didn't mind that much at all.

The characters are where Local Woman Missing really shined, at least in my book. I really enjoyed Kate's perspective, while Leo's side of things worked hard to break my hard. It was just the right balance to keep me invested right up to the end!

Thanks to Park Row and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Mary Kubica is not an author whose work I am familiar with, but having heard great things about her, I was happy for the chance to read Local Woman Missing.

What the Story is About

Eleven years ago Shelby Tebow, Meredith Dicky and her six-year-old Delilah went missing. The disappearances rattled the community, and everyone wondered at the connection between the two incidents. Searches conducted resulted in more questions, leaving the families of the victims devastated. Eleven years later, Delilah returned after escaping her captors. Due to the horrors she experienced at the hands of her captors, she had difficulty adjusting to her new environment. Everyone’s happy to see her return. However, her brother Leo has difficulty reconciling this Delilah with the one he knew eleven years ago. The questions on everyone’s mind were,
1. What happened to Delilah the day she went missing?
2. What happened to Shelby and Meredith?

The story featured an array of relatable characters. Discovering their personality traits from the positive to the negative proved to be an interesting experience. The emotions they each displayed aptly fit the situation in which they are in at the time.

Told from multiple POVs and alternate timelines, Local Woman Missing took me on a thrilling and mysterious journey. I did not know where the story would take me, but it made me eager to see where the journey would end. T

A few persons appeared to have a connection to disappearances, however it turned out to be someone least expected. I never would have pinpointed that person as a suspect.

I loved how the story developed, however the ending came out of left field. With all that had happened throughout the story, I found the ending weak and questionable. Even as I am writing my review I am wondering how is that even possible. Despite this, I enjoyed the story and would definitely read more from this author.This review was originally posted on Totally Addicted to Reading

[Jeff Sexton]

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.