Book Review: The Other Mrs.

THE OTHER MRS. | Mary Kubica
02.18.2020 | Park Row
Rating: 4/5 stars

Sadie and Will Foust have just relocated their family from busy Chicago to a small island town in Maine. This new town brings new challenges, starting with getting to know the niece they’re now in charge of caring for due to an untimely death of her mother. As the family works to adjust to new schools, new jobs, and new relationships their world is rocked by news that their neighbor Morgan Baines has been found murdered in her home.

Sadie is instantly on edge when the news of Morgan’s murder reaches her. Concern for her family and the notion that a murderer may be living within their small community rattle her. In order to cope, Sadie begins to launch her own investigation into this mystery, but what she finds may not be what she wanted to uncover. The more Sadie learns about Morgan, the more she feels the threat of this death revealing pieces of her own life she hoped to keep hidden.

Mary Kubica is one of those names that has earned their mark in the thriller/crime fiction who’s who arena. Her books are ones that I have come to look forward to each year and ones I know I’ll enjoy. THE OTHER MRS. was no exception to this statement! Kubica is back gifting readers an exciting domestic thriller that will keep the reader on their toes!

THE OTHER MRS. gives the reader three alternating POVs with which we meet Sadie, the matriarch of the Foust family; Camile, the other woman; and Mouse, a young girl struggling with an intense stepmother. Each perspective gives the reader subtle hints through their storylines towards the truth of what is happening in Sadie’s new life. These narrators are connected with the main story in one way or another, but it isn’t instantly obvious how they relate. Each narrator was distinctive and had their own unique voice and way in which to tell the narrator their information. The level of detail that Kubica puts into her books truly shined through with these characters and how easy it was to connect with them.

As if trying to figure out how these characters are all connected isn’t hard enough, Kubica also continually throws in twists and turns to Sadie’s story as the book accelerates. I love being kept on my toes while reading. I’m constantly coming up with theories as to what I think is happening in the book and where the author is ultimately planning to take the story. This time around I was super close to the truth, but didn’t have all the pieces figured out. One thing I really enjoyed about this book was that Kubica gave the reader her big reveal before the last few pages of the book. She gifted the reader with several chapters afterwards addressing how everything played out with the aftermath of the truth being revealed. So often I feel like authors take the approach of here’s the massive twist and end scene. Kubica was able to make the story so much more by not taking that approach.

If you’re looking to get into the domestic thriller genre this book is a perfect launching point! If you’re looking for something a little different in the genre that doesn’t check all of the same boxes we see repeated far too often then this is the book for you!

As a side note, I want to thank Kubica for her fantastic personal author’s note at the end of the book. Don’t read this before the story because it gives things away, but make sure to read it after because it truly shows the passion Kubica had behind this book.

This book is available to buy from: Amazon | Book Depository

A huge thank you to Harlequin Books for sending me a free copy of this book!

Disclosure: What Jess Reads is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This in no way influences my opinion of the above book.