Book Review: It’s Not Her by Mary Kubica

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5

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Well, my friends, it’s been a minute since I dove into a truly twisty domestic thriller, and I could not have picked a better one to jump back in with.

I’m a huge fan of Mary Kubica, so I was already excited going in. But this one? She absolutely knocked it out of the park.

I pride myself on trying to figure out the twist or the villain before the big reveal. With this one, I was kind of right… kind of wrong… and also completely blindsided. Which, honestly, is exactly what I want from a thriller.

As always, I’ll keep this spoiler-free. But if you want to go in completely blind like I did, I highly recommend it.

The story is told through multiple points of view and shifts between past and present. Courtney Gray is vacationing at a secluded lake resort with her husband Elliott, their daughter Cass, her brother and sister-in-law, and their kids. What should be a peaceful family getaway turns into a nightmare when Courtney discovers her brother and sister-in-law dead in their lakeside cottage.

Her niece Reese is missing. Her nephew Wyatt is found upstairs asleep and unharmed.

From there, everything unravels.

The small resort town is full of secrets. Elliott had been out fishing that day and some of his details feel… murky. Reese’s disappearance raises unsettling questions. And then there’s the lingering shadow of another girl who went missing years ago. Some people say she looks like Reese. Others say the only similarity is that they were both young and pretty.

Courtney starts suspecting everyone — including her own husband. The paranoia builds fast. Every character seems to be hiding something. And just when you think you’ve got a handle on where it’s going, Kubica shifts the ground under your feet.

This was a riveting domestic thriller that I genuinely could not put down. It was twisty, tense, and unsettling without being overly graphic or terrifying. I was constantly tempted to flip to the end just to see how it all played out.

Mary Kubica does what she does best here: layered characters, slow-burn suspense, and a final stretch that makes you question everything you thought you knew.

If you love closed-setting thrillers, messy family dynamics, and stories where everyone is a little suspicious, this one absolutely delivers.

On sale now, you can grab your copy here.

Huge thank you to the publisher Harlequin Trade Publishing | Park Row, NetGalley, and Mary Kubica for the advanced reader copy.

Book Review: The Invisible Woman by James Patterson & Susan DiLallo

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5

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I don’t think James Patterson could write something I wouldn’t enjoy, and his newest collab The Invisible Woman definitely didn’t disappoint. It has everything I love in one of his books: short, punchy chapters that keep you turning the pages, memorable characters, and that addictive pacing that pulls you in from the first page to the last.

Elinor’s career at the FBI ended badly—she took the fall for someone else’s mistake. Now she’s middle-aged and, for all intents and purposes, invisible. Turns out that’s exactly what the FBI needs. The catch? She’s undercover as a nanny for a wealthy family with ties to a drug cartel. And no one knows she’s there, except for the jerk who wrecked her career and her best friend (you know, just in case someone has to ID the body).

Watching Elinor handle a baby, a moody teenager, and two unruly dogs while undercover made for the perfect read. She’s sharp, relatable, and honestly, just really fun to root for.

I really hope this is the start of a new series because Elinor is amazing.

The Invisible Woman by James Patterson and Susan DiLallo comes out January 5th, but you can preorder your copy here!

Huge thanks to James Patterson, Susan DiLallo, Little, Brown and Company, and NetGalley for the ARC!

Still See You Everywhere By Lisa Gardner

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5

🌶️ 🌶️ /5

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While I do my best to make sure my reviews are spoiler-free, I may inadvertently reveal information that can help you connect plot points. So, here’s my TL;DR spoiler-free review: soild thriller with good twists, reaches a little too far for my liking, villian’s end is a cop out.

Oh man, oh man, my girl Frankie is back! Still See You Everywhere is the third book in Lisa Gardner’s Frankie Elkin series. And if I thought things couldn’t get any worse for Frankie than they did in Wyoming, boy, was I wrong. I highly suggest you go back and read book one, Before She Disappeared and book two One Step Too Far before diving in to Still See You Everywhere

This time around, Frankie is off to an atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, outside of Hawaii. She’s been recruited to find the younger sister of Kaylee Pierson, a condemned serial killer nicknamed The Beautiful Butcher. Leah disappeared 12 years ago while fleeing from an argument Kaylee was having with her then-boyfriend, Sander MacManus. With just weeks until she’s set to be put to death for killing 18 men and feeding them to her pigs, Kaylee has one dying wish: Find her sister.

It turns out that Leah is now MacManus’ ward, living a life of luxury no other 17-year-old girl could dream of. MacManus owns the atoll and is developing it into an eco-friendly resort—the same one Frankie has just been sent to. As in the other books, the cast of characters Frankie makes her family are eccentric, lovable, and just a little shady. One also happens to be an FBI agent deep undercover. I’ll let you guess who, but I called it from the start, just not the reason why they were there.

Chaos ensues when MacManus arrives on the island ahead of schedule with extra security. Turns out The Beautiful Butcher has escaped. Thought she couldn’t find her sister on an atoll in the middle of the ocean, cut off from all communication? Guess you’re wrong. After grievously injuring her attorney, Kaylee has stowed away on the plane and is now on the atoll.

As is typical in the Frankie Elkin books, bloodshed ensues, Frankie gets hot feelings for a hot guy, lots of people die, and Frankie finds the missing person. Out of the 3 books so far, this one was my least favorite as I felt it went a little too far sideways. From Boston to Wyoming to the Pacific is a far distance for Frankie, who doesn’t drive, to travel. I was also hoping that we would see more of a certain fella from Boston, but he doesn’t turn up. Sad face.

I still thought it was a great read, full of twists and turns, and an unpredictable ending that I didn’t call. (But it kind of felt like a cop-out.) I’m once again amazed at Frankie’s ability to maintain her sobriety when faced with certain death, but it felt weird that there are no AA meetings for her to attend, as the previous 2 books relied on them heavily.

On sale now, you can grab your copy here.

As always, I encourage you to read this book and form your own opinions, just as I have. Thank you to the author Lisa Gardner, the publisher Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC copy of this book.