By: Mary Kubica
ISBN: 978-0778369110
Publisher: Park Row
Publication Date: 2/18/2019
Format: Hardcover
My Rating: 5 Stars +++ Top Books of 2020 Sadie and Will Foust have only just moved their family from bustling Chicago to small-town Maine when their neighbor, Morgan Baines, is found dead in her home. The murder rocks their tiny coastal island, but no one is more shaken than Sadie, who is terrified by the thought of a killer in her very own backyard.
But it’s not just Morgan’s death that has Sadie on edge. It’s their eerie old home, with its decrepit decor and creepy attic, which they inherited from Will’s sister after she died unexpectedly. It’s Will’s disturbed teenage niece Imogen, with her dark and threatening presence. And it’s the troubling past that continues to wear at the seams of their family.
As the eyes of suspicion turn toward the new family in town, Sadie is drawn deeper into the mystery of Morgan’s death. But Sadie must be careful, for the more she discovers about Mrs. Baines, the more she begins to realize just how much she has to lose if the truth ever comes to light.
Read my Reviews | Mary Kubica Books
View my Q&A with Mary 9/4/18
My Review
"Propulsive, disturbing, and absorbing. An insanely twisted psychological thriller!"
If you have followed my book blog since 2014, you are aware I am an avid Mary Kubica fan! Starting with her debut, The Good Girl and the five books since— each has been a glowing 5 Star read (see my review links below).
One of my favorite authors, she continues to be on my top author and book list every year. I will read anything she writes and always anxiously awaiting the next.
The queen of domestic suspense returns with her best yet, THE OTHER MRS. After reading, you can see why Netflix has adapted this atmospheric and chilling thriller! She keeps getting better if that is even possible. Here is your chance to read before the feature film.
THE OTHER MRS. is unpredictable, with more twists than you can imagine, unreliable narrators, and a myriad of entertaining and mysterious sharply drawn characters. A flawless execution, an intense, disturbing psychological thriller with a jaw-dropping finale that will blow you away!
Hint: readers, I would recommend you refrain from the wine while reading (Sadie likes her wine). It would help if you were alert. Keep up. A lot is going on. You do not want to miss a thing. You will not be able to determine which character is telling the truth or what secrets they are hiding. What is real, and what is false?
No one does atmospheric, isolation, hypnotic, captivating, and spellbinding better than Mary!
Let’s dive in.
Will and Sadie Foust leave their Chicago home behind. (unfortunately, not all their secrets) are left in the Windy City.
There is a lot of history to be soon slowly unraveled. Let me say this family has a LOT of drama. From Sadie’s job as a physician, Will’s infidelity (former professor) and obsession of women, and son Otto’s (age 14) issue at school with a bully. Their other son, Tate (age 7), is pretty much drama-free thus far.
The family decides to get a new start and put Chicago in their rearview when Will inherits a farmhouse on a small remote island off the coast of Maine. It is very isolated, and the only way to arrive is by ferry, which closes each evening. However, things are not as idyllic as they imagined it would be.
Kubica sets the mood, and you have a strong sense of unsetting, disturbing, and foreboding. Something is about to happen, and it will not be pleasant.
Will’s sister committed suicide (hanging) and left the house to Will. His sister had Fibromyalgia and evidently could not live with ongoing pain and all the meds. (on a side note, I live with this condition as well; however, refuse to take any medications – and live with it. Not fun).
The home comes with Will’s 16-year-old orphaned niece, Imogene, who is very strange, eerie, and troubled. She dislikes her new live in Aunt and Uncle. She makes their life miserable. She is very Goth, and she found her mother hanging. Sadie is afraid of her and thinks she is a bad influence on her boys. She begins her own sleuthing.
On top of this, soon, a woman neighbor is murdered. Who did it? The woman’s husband, his ex, or any one of the characters? Officer Berg is on the case. Let the games begin! Everyone is a suspect, and you do not know who you can trust.
We hear from Camille, Sadie, and a little girl which his tormented and abused called “Mouse.” (with Fake Mom). The last ten percent we hear from Will.
Then the criminal murder investigation leads to Sadie. Will is acting strangely, and Sadie soon discovers information from Will’s past, which deals with his past wife and former fiancée. Sadie is worried about the neighborhood, Otto (is he regressing), Will (can she trust him), the necklace which belongs to the woman who was murdered shows up in her house, and now she is afraid of Imogen since she has threatened her. Someone is out to get her, and she must save herself and her two boys.
The secrets of the past refuse to stay buried! There is a killer on the loose. Whoundit?
Cleverly crafted, you will not be able to put this one down. It is dizzying, disturbing, and heart-pounding. Your head will be spinning, trying to figure out what will happen next. You will be holding your breath! Fans of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train will find a lot to like here.
Mary tackles some high-charged topics of infidelity, obsession, manipulation, violence, bullying, suicide, and mental illness. The weather elements and isolation of the island all set the mood for this dark and chilling novel. Kubica’s strength as a master storyteller shines as she pilots this stormy ship, controlled, tightly plotted, and superbly written.
I highly recommend THE OTHER MRS. all her books. Top Books of 2020!
I ADORE her girls (books, front covers) and hats off to the marketing team for this unique branding. As I mentioned years ago, someone, please snap a photo of the Chicago billboard with all her gals lined up. I am sure it will be forthcoming. I cannot wait to see what is next!
Read my Reviews (links above).
A special thank you to Park Row and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy. Pre-ordered the hardcover and the audiobook.
On a side note:
The entire time I am reading about "Mouse" I am thinking of our Palm Beach Island "Church Mouse" and must stop back in, where you can find Jimmy Choo and Valentinos that range from $250 to $292, (what a deal) and lots of great treasures and finds(Worth Avenue) from the wealthy. Designer women’s and men’s clothing, furniture, crystal, silver, artwork. (50th season) The Church Mouse has donated more than $10 million to local charities such as food pantries, after-school programs, homeless shelters, and domestic violence shelters through The Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea’s Outreach Ministry. (sorry, Mouse, but it is for a good cause and thin you would approve).
PS. I had to contact Audible the other evening by phone. The gal noted how many thrillers I read and in my collection (I have hundreds). I am the queen of audiobooks. The Audible rep asked me if I could recommend a good thriller audiobook. Of course, I say, "Mary Kubica." She had never heard of her. OMG! What rock have you been under? Anyway, I gave her the entire list and the new one, she was ecstatic.
Praise for The Other Mrs.
Kubica ratchets up tension and intrigue in The Other Mrs. Her salacious, thoroughly mysterious characters bear the qualities we all crave in a thriller—seductive, seemingly unknowable, and altogether unpredictable.” ~ Karin Slaughter, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Widow
“Imagine you’re on an escalator with people you know and love and it starts going faster, which is scary, and then it’s speeding. Terrifying. The Other Mrs. is Mary Kubica’s best work yet.” ~ Caroline Kepnes, bestselling author of You
“Brilliant! An utterly absorbing tale of deception and subterfuge. Kubica is a master of sleight of hand. Absolutely loved it!” ~ Liv Constantine, bestselling author of The Last Mrs. Parrish and The Last Time I Saw You
“In The Other Mrs., Mary Kubica weaves a labyrinth of deception and family secrets, each one more shocking than the last, with an ending that left me thunderstruck. If you have any doubts Mary Kubica is a master of the genre, this book will change your mind.” ~ Samantha Downing, bestselling author of My Lovely Wife
“THE OTHER MRS. is Mary Kubica’s best book yet—which is saying a lot! I tore through the twisty, spine-tinglingly creepy pages.” ~ Sarah Pekkanen, #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of An Anonymous Girl
“THE OTHER MRS. is Mary Kubica’s most twisty, unpredictable and atmospheric thriller yet. Inscrutable, intriguing characters and a perfectly sinister setting create an insidious sense of dread that propels you to the very startling conclusion.” ~ Gilly McMillan, New York Times bestselling author of The Nanny
“Brilliantly propulsive and engrossing, with characters you’ll really care about and twists you won’t see coming, THE OTHER MRS is that rare thing: a thriller with heart.” ~ JP Delaney, New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Before
“Secrets abound in The Other Mrs. as the plot moves at a brisk pace, with believable—and surprising—twists and a startling finale.”
—Sun Sentinel
About the Author
Photo by Sarah Jastre
Mary Kubica is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of five novels, including THE GOOD GIRL, PRETTY BABY, DON’T YOU CRY, EVERY LAST LIE and WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT. A former high school history teacher, Mary holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in History and American Literature. She lives outside of Chicago with her husband and two children. Her first novel THE GOOD GIRL was an Indie Next pick in August of 2014, received a Strand Critics Nomination for Best First Novel and was a nominee in the Goodreads Choice Awards in Debut Goodreads Author and in Mystery & Thriller for 2014. Mary’s novels have been translated into over thirty languages and have sold over two million copies worldwide. She’s been described as “a helluva storyteller,” (Kirkus Reviews) and “a writer of vice-like control,” (Chicago Tribune), and her novels have been praised as “hypnotic” (People) and “thrilling and illuminating” (Los Angeles Times).
She is currently working on her next novel.
