"Problematic, but Enjoyable For Some"

By: Mary Kubica

Genres: Thriller Psychological

Posted: September 28, 2016

DON'T YOU CRY held so much promise for me. I adored Kubica's first book, THE GOOD GIRL, so when this came up for review, I pounced. I bumped it up my review list and eagerly cracked it open, ready to be transported by Kubica's tight narration and woven layers. I've been on a real suspense kick this year, and am always looking for well crafted ones, especially those written by women. However, with this particular novel, I was disappointed.

The exceptional writing was still there, but the plot itself and the eventual climax felt simultaneously overwrought and undercooked to me. I do not want to spoil anything here (there are loads of spoilers up around the Internet if you are so inclined, but I never feel that is my role), but some of the details around which the plot functioned were far fetched to me. A key element, for example, I found to be a historically inaccurate understanding of mental health services and it took me right out of the book.

Some of the machinations made little sense; hence my aforementioned dichotomous opinion. The eventual conclusion had me shaking my head and saying "what the hell?!", and not in a good way. This thing just never clicked for me, I'm sad to say.

I will certainly not write off Kubica as an author from here, her other works have been too good for that. Instead, I will chalk this up to one that simply didn't work for me. I have high hopes she'll return more to the elements of THE GOOD GIRL which spoke to me so strongly.

Book Summary

New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl, Mary Kubica returns with an electrifying and addictive tale of deceit and obsession

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.

Don't You Cry by Mary Kubica

Don't You Cry

by: Mary Kubica

MIRA
May 1, 2016
On Sale: May 17, 2016
Featuring: Alex Gallo; Quinn
384 pages
ISBN: 0778319059
EAN: 9780778319054
Kindle: B0181W5CBU
Hardcover / e-Book

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