Don’t You Cry

Author: Mary Kubica

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Publication Date: May 17th 2016

Format: eARC (384 pages)

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Synopsis:

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 the stranger’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.

My Rating: ★★★★★

Short summary of this review: WOW, WOW and more WOW!

Unlike most others, this was my first experience of a Mary Kubica novel and gosh did she blow me away. It didn’t take much longer than the first two or three pages for me to be totally captured by this novel.

There are two sides to every story. The first side we see is that of Quinn. Her roommate Esther has disappeared. Nobody knows where she is, all that Quinn knows is that she left through the window, does not have her phone and she is becoming increasingly concerned about her whereabouts. As Quinn and Ben delve further into Esther’s life, they are both surprised and concerned by their discoveries.

The second side of this story is the life of eighteen year old Alex. Alex is going about his every day life working in the local diner when he becomes totally engrossed by the new stranger in town. Pearl, as he names her, is a quiet and mysterious figure and it is not long before Alex is completely obsessed. Little does he know the dark twists and turns his life is about to take.

Throughout my read of this novel, I was totally and utterly obsessed with finding out how these two stories could possibly be relevant to one another. Where was the link? What did Esther have to do with Alex’s life? Who was the mysterious Pearl? Would Esther return? Or was she dead? As the suspense grew, so did my level of obsession. I couldn’t put this down and I finished it in less than 24 hours.

What did I love most about the book?

I really liked the alternating chapters from both Quinn and Alex’s point of view. At first I didn’t understand how they could possible be linked. Then I felt like I was reading two separate thrillers as both stories oozed with suspense. By the end I thought it was perfect how Mary Kubica managed to interweave these two seemingly separate stories into such a fantastic ending. It really was excellent!

Final Thoughts

This is a truly suspense-filled thrilling story from beginning to end. The conclusion of the two stories blew me away and I know for sure that I will be reading more from Mary Kubica soon. I highly recommend this fantastic, thrilling read! Huge thanks to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Have you read the Don’t You Cry series? Which of Mary Kubica’s novels do you recommend I read next?

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