Review: It's Not Her by Mary Kubica

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What's the Vibe?

small-town secrets

unreliable truths

messy family drama

tension building

Huge thanks to Harlequin Audio for the advanced copy of It's Not Her by Mary Kubica for review. .

I went into this thinking it was my first Mary Kubica book, only to realize partway through that I had actually read Just the Nicest Couple with my sister. So not my first, but still one I was pretty curious about, especially given how often her books get talked up.

The story kicks off while Claire is on a family vacation with her brother’s family and her own. One morning, she wakes up to her niece running to her house covered in blood. Her brother and sister-in-law are dead, her niece is missing, and her nephew somehow slept through the entire night without a clue that anything was wrong. As the small-town secrets start to surface, so do the secrets of the people closest to Claire. The only thing she’s certain of is that she’s the only one who isn’t guilty.

I listened to this one on audio, and the narrators did an incredible job. Each voice felt believable and distinct, which really helped keep the tension high. From the start, we hear from both Claire and Reese. Claire’s story begins the morning of the murders, while Reese’s timeline starts before the family even arrives at the cabin. I really liked the dual timelines and getting insight into how both of their minds worked. Seeing what led Reese to behave the way she did during the trip added a lot of context, and honestly brought me back a little to the days of having a teenage daughter.

Based on how people talk about Mary Kubica’s writing, I was expecting to be completely blown away, and that just didn’t happen for me. There wasn’t anything wrong with the book at all. It was a solid story with some really good twists, some that I saw coming and some that I didn’t. It just wasn’t the mind-blowing thriller I had built up in my head.

That said, I think expectations matter a lot here. If you go into this ready for a strong, entertaining thriller that plays with truth, lies, and small-town secrets, you’ll probably really enjoy it. It just didn’t quite hit the level I was personally hoping for.

If you enjoyed The Last Thing He Told Me, or Then She Was Gone this is a book that will thrill you!