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Local Woman Missing

Mary Kubica (Goodreads Author)

4.29 · Rating details · 72 ratings · 46 reviews

People don’t just disappear without a trace…

Shelby Tebow is the first to go missing. Not long after, Meredith Dickey and her six-year-old daughter, Delilah, vanish just blocks away from where Shelby was last seen, striking fear into their once-peaceful community. Are these incidents connected? After an elusive search that yields more questions than answers, the case eventu ...more

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Expected publication: May 18th 2021 by Park Row

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Local Woman Missing

Mary Kubica (Goodreads Author)

Release date: May 18, 2021

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People don’t just disappear without a trace…

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Giveaway dates: Jan 02 - Jan 30, 2021

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· 72 ratings · 46 reviews

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Jan 05, 2021 Dorie - Cats&Books :) rated it really liked it

Shelves: edelweiss, mystery-thriller

This new thriller by Mary Kubica really kept me turning the pages quickly!! It sucked me in right from the beginning and I needed to see this story through. I did have some problems with the flow of the past and present storylines. At the start of the book, at times, I found myself having to jot down dates and characters to keep them all straight. I was about 30% through the book when everything started to click into place and I got a real feel for the story and mystery.

There are three different This new thriller by Mary Kubica really kept me turning the pages quickly!! It sucked me in right from the beginning and I needed to see this story through. I did have some problems with the flow of the past and present storylines. At the start of the book, at times, I found myself having to jot down dates and characters to keep them all straight. I was about 30% through the book when everything started to click into place and I got a real feel for the story and mystery.

There are three different groups of characters to keep straight, family units and couples. I liked the diversity of the characters and their different points of view.

The story takes place in a small town which had been considered a very safe place to live. Until the day that Shelby Tebrow goes missing. She had gone for a late run since her husband was home and this was the only time she had to herself as she has an infant to care for. The police start their investigation and many things start to point to her husband Jason as the suspect in her disappearance.

Not much time elapses before Meredith Dickey and her 6 year old daughter, Delilah are reported missing. Her husband Josh is beside himself with worry and still has his son Leo to care for. At first the police have no clue as to their disappearance, UNTIL A BODY AND NOTE ARE FOUND!!

The most upsetting but absorbing POV is that of a young girl who has been held captive in the basement of a house for 11 years. She doesn’t remember her name or where she came from.

She finally escapes and the police think that she may be the missing girl, Delilah. BUT NOT SO FAST!! , there are questions about whether she really is Delilah or not. Her brother Leo can’t decide if she is his missing sister or not, it has been 11 years and he still remembers her as his 6 year old big sister.

There are some triggers here if you have problems with child abuse of any kind and some gruesome murders, this might not be for you.

This is a complicated, twisty thriller to figure out, I certainly did not see how the mysteries would be resolved or who was responsible for the missing women and child.

I thought that this would be a 5* for me until the ending. I allow for believability issues in fiction/thrillers but I couldn’t buy into this one. A bit of too many bizarre happenings at one time, but it didn't really take that much away from my enjoyment of this cleverly plotted book.

I still think this was a very good read and Mary Kubica fans and many lovers of thrillers would enjoy this book.

I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through Edelweiss.
The book is set to publish on May 18, 20 ...more

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Dec 28, 2020 Norma rated it it was amazing

Shelves: holy-shooty-balls, netgalley-edelweiss-approved, favourite-reads-2020

Holy Shooty Balls! Holy Shooty Balls! Holy Shooty Balls!

This is exactly why MARY KUBICA is a favourite author! She never ever disappoints!

LOCAL WOMAN MISSING by MARY KUBICA was an immediately gripping and immersive story that was an all consuming page-turner. Once I started reading this one it was all I could think of and do until I finished. It was absolutely unputdownable!

The story was intense and had me on the edge of my seat from the very first page to the very last one. I haven’t been this ...more

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Dec 30, 2020 Lindsay - Traveling Sisters Book Reviews rated it really liked it

Shelves: edelweiss, traveling-sister-read

4+ stars! Pulse-pounding from start to finish!

A small town neighbourhood. One woman goes missing leaving her newborn baby and husband behind. Weeks later another local woman and her young daughter don’t come home. The town is shocked and devastated. Could there be a link between these families?

This story gripped me from start to finish — I was hanging on every word feeling a strong sense of unease and tension. The mystery is intense, fast-paced, anxiety-filled and something that I felt extremely ...more

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Nov 10, 2020 Chelsea Humphrey marked it as arcs · review of another edition

Shelves: from-publisher, bookstagram-made-me-do-it, recommended, scared-suspense-reads

Head on over to this link for a sneek peek at the cover reveal of LOCAL WOMAN MISSING!

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Dec 14, 2020 Jamie rated it it was amazing

My favorite Mary Kubica book yet!
This book kept me guessing the entire time and I was totally shocked when the twists were finally revealed. This was well written and unputdownable from the first page.
I loved how the stories of Kate, Meredith and Leo all interweave between 11 years ago and the present. I do feel like some of the story was left undone and maybe some of the characters were left hanging but it didn’t take away from the be book.

Local Woman Missing is due out May 2021 and it shoul ...more

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Oct 20, 2020 Catherine McKenzie rated it it was amazing

Mary Kubica never disappoints!

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Dec 28, 2020 Audrey rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020-books, mystery-action-thriller

A woman goes missing. Several weeks later, another woman goes missing, along with her 6-year-old daughter. They lived only a few miles from the first woman. Eleven years later, the daughter shows up, having escaped a childhood in captivity.

WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED? This question kept me up late every single night for the last week or so.

I was so focused on what happened that I didn’t even bother trying to figure out who. The pool of suspects is quite small if limited to just the characters you kn ...more

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Dec 21, 2020 Alexa rated it really liked it

Shelves: thrillers

Not sure where I land on this one? I whipped through it--stayed up wayyyyy too late to go from 45% to the end--but ultimately I don't know if the answers were completely satisfying? Still a good read, so 4 stars, but I'm not 100% on the final third.

But overall, the conceit is super compelling. I got sucked in by the first POV, which is a young girl being held captive in a basement and her harrowing escape. Then it flips to multi-POV both in past and present which all dances around this girl, wh Not sure where I land on this one? I whipped through it--stayed up wayyyyy too late to go from 45% to the end--but ultimately I don't know if the answers were completely satisfying? Still a good read, so 4 stars, but I'm not 100% on the final third.

But overall, the conceit is super compelling. I got sucked in by the first POV, which is a young girl being held captive in a basement and her harrowing escape. Then it flips to multi-POV both in past and present which all dances around this girl, who she is, and how she came to be kidnapped. You know upfront her mom died, and you get the mom's POV in the past, a neighbor's POV after mom (and kid) disappeared, and then the POV of the girl's little brother in the present (he's a teenager now).

What sucked me in was trying to figure out how all the pieces connected. There were a LOT of balls up in the air--a lot of intrigue and shady stuff going on. That said, I did have in the back of my mind this feeling like... why are we in the neighbor Kate's POV? Like I knew it was leading to something but it took a while to get there. Meredith's POV--that's the mom who we know ends up dead--was the most interesting/really spiked my blood pressure repeatedly. God, she has this one confrontation with someone and I was just SO MAD on her behalf and I was coming up with all sorts of clapbacks lol. She's an excellent tragic POV.

I was and am less sure of Leo's POV--that's the 15-year-old son through whose perspective we get dribs and drabs, re: the missing girl returning to her family. There was a weird distance to his POV, in part because he addresses the girl as "you," so it's "you wouldn't look at me and it was annoying"--like that, but combined with some of his own moments and reflection, but I never felt fully immersed in his character? I know the point was "angry bullied teenage boy" but something about it didn't land for me. It was fine, but especially given this is my 2nd Mary Kubica book, I know she's capable of really intense, close POVs? But that's the thing: there was distance in both Leo and Kate's POVs which impacted the reading experience. It was still good! But it didn't feel as close as The Other Mrs did--large swaths of this book felt a bit tell-y?

But, like I said--I zipped through it. I HAD to know how everything connected. Some answers were satisfying, others less so. I'll cover more specific thoughts via spoiler tags: (view spoiler)

I picked this one up b/c I was in the mood for a "wintery" missing woman book, and it delivered. It's a book that feels cold b/c it's constantly rainy and man I love that kind of mood. If "domestic suspense with missing women/kidnapped kid" stuff feels like your vibe, this might suit. I think different types of readers will have different feelings about how things wrap-up. ...more

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Dec 29, 2020 Audrey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: duplicates

I was so focused on what happened that I didn’t even bother trying to figure out who. The pool of suspects is quite small if limited to just the characters you kn ...more

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Dec 04, 2020 Paula Phillips rated it liked it

One of my favorite little benefits of being a reviewer and running a book blog is that we get to read a few books before they are released to the public. Lately, I had been in a bit of a reading slump and none of my romances on my kindle/iPad were grabbing me so I moved to a mystery as that always gets my attention. Local Woman Missing had several storylines running through the book and took me a little while to get into and fully understand what was happening and how it was all connected. The f ...more

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Dec 29, 2020 Jamie Rosenblit rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Mary Kubica, you have done it again! In quite possibly Kubica's best, we are introduced to a small suburban community riddled with tragedy - two women have disappeared under similar circumstances, but are they connected? In dual timelines set 11 years apart, as well as with multiple narrators, Local Woman Missing will have you guessing until the last page - and if you're anything like me, your jaw may drop a bit at that time! ...more

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Jan 02, 2021 Judy D Collins rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-read-in-2021, 2021-releases, top-books-of-2021, netgalley-arc, mary-kubica

Her best yet! Review coming.

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Dec 03, 2020 Mrs Mommy Booknerd http://mrsmommybooknerd.blogspot.com rated it it was amazing

Shelves: review-copy-provided-for-mmbbr, edelweiss

#FirstLine - There’s a smudge of lipstick on the collar of his shirt.

I cannot even. This book was SO good. I am not sure how Kubica keeps doing it! Another book that hits everything a reader loves; an intense and emotionally charged story, characters you relate to, twists, turns and heart pounding moments. I adored every moments of this book and was so excited when everything came together in an “oh snap” way! You will immediately be drawn into this book and will try to piece everything together ...more

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Nov 10, 2020 Ludwig Reads added it

“Mary Kubica takes domestic secrets to a whole new level.”
Ok, I DEFINITELY need this.

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Dec 31, 2020 Amy rated it really liked it

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing house for providing a review copy of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Mary Kubica is one of my favorite thriller writers so I was absolutely thrilled to get a copy of her latest novel.

I’m sorry to say that this won’t hit store shelve until May 18th, but I want to put it on your radar, in the meantime.

Kubica builds a great twisty story that has the just right amount of suspense and whodunit fun that had me flipping the pages as fast as I c ...more

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Dec 06, 2020 Janet rated it it was amazing

Shelves: k-e-k, zz-2020-rev-when-i-read

Date reviewed/posted: December 6, 2020
Publication date: May 18, 2021

When life for the entire universe and planet turns on its end and like everyone else you "have nothing to do" while your place of work is once again closed and you are continuing to be in #COVID19 #socialisolation as the #secondwave is upon us, superspeed readers like me can read 300+ pages/hour, so yes, I have read the book … and many more today.

I requested and received a temporary digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from Date reviewed/posted: December 6, 2020
Publication date: May 18, 2021

When life for the entire universe and planet turns on its end and like everyone else you "have nothing to do" while your place of work is once again closed and you are continuing to be in #COVID19 #socialisolation as the #secondwave is upon us, superspeed readers like me can read 300+ pages/hour, so yes, I have read the book … and many more today.

I requested and received a temporary digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley, the publisher and the author in exchange for an honest review.

From the publisher, as I do not repeat the contents or story of books in reviews, I let them do it as they do it better than I do 😸.

People don’t just disappear without a trace…

Shelby Tebow is the first to go missing. Not long after, Meredith Dickey and her six-year-old daughter, Delilah, vanish just blocks away from where Shelby was last seen, striking fear into their once-peaceful community. Are these incidents connected? After an elusive search that yields more questions than answers, the case eventually goes cold.

Now, eleven years later, Delilah shockingly returns. Everyone wants to know what happened to her, but no one is prepared for what they’ll find…In this smart and chilling thriller, master of suspense and New York Times bestselling author Mary Kubica takes domestic secrets to a whole new level, showing that some people will stop at nothing to keep the truth buried.

I freaking LOVE Mary Kubica and her books and this one was a rockstar (as usual!) - I absolutely inhaled it (a sushi level of inhaling!) as it was utterly...readable. It is a master class in thriller writing - characters that surprise and shock you and a mystery that keeps you guessing until the very end. Amazing book, Miss Kubica---I look forward to telling friends, patrons and book clubs to keep their eyes open for it come May

As always, I try to find a reason to not rate with stars as I simply adore emojis (outside of their incessant use by "🙏-ed Social Influencer Millennials/#BachelorNation survivors/Tik-Tok and YouTube Millionaires/snowflakes / literally-like-overusers etc. " on Instagram and Twitter... Get a real job, people!) so let's give it 🧁🧁🧁🧁🧁 ...more

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Dec 25, 2020 Dallas Strawn rated it it was amazing

Oh my gosh, Mary Kubica has seriously upped her game lately. Her novel The Other Mrs. is still in my top 20 reads of 2020, and then she has truly outdone herself with LOCAL WOMAN MISSING. Kubica is simply getting better and better with each book.

The story setup begins with a woman going telling her husband late at night she’s going for a jog....and she doesn’t return. Later that week, Meredith and her 6 year old daughter Delilah also go missing mysteriously. And then ELEVEN YEARS LATER Delilah ...more

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Dec 12, 2020 Hillary rated it really liked it

I won't go so far as to say this was "unputdownable", but it was definitely "justonemorechapteripromise". Also? While there is tension, it isn't the kind of tension that makes you physically uncomfortable to read, which is likely my least favorite recent trend. ...more

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Dec 28, 2020 Kerri rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley, 2020, mystery, suspense

4.5 stars

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Dec 23, 2020 Ashly rated it really liked it

Shelves: giveaway-review-books

Well, that was a roller coaster of a read.

The first half of the book went a little slower for me, and I spent time pondering how things fit with the title and where the story was going. Things really picked up in the last half and I was able to start putting some pieces together. I ended up staying up until 2am so I could finish it, it got that good at the end. Even with my guesses at what was going on, I was still not expecting how things turned out. I'll definitely be reading more of this auth ...more

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Dec 25, 2020 Amber Boos rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

WOW, WOW, WOW and WOW!!! Ten stars!!! Mary Kubica has slowly grown on me. Her first few books were good. And by that I mean definitely good enough to make me keep reading her but not knock-your-socks-off greatness! She is one of those authors who just gets steadily better and better. Her last two stories were fantastic and she blows it out of the water with this latest total mindbender of a story! It all begins with 2 completely different scenarios. A woman with an apparent cheating husband and ...more

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Jan 04, 2021 Stephanie Peterson added it · review of another edition

Well if you are a thriller lover Mary Kubica is an author that you definitely should know. This is my 6th book by her and there isn't one I've not loved. I love her writing style, character development, and plot twists. This book my even be my VERY favorite by her. Her writing really captures you and makes you feel like you want to sit down and read the whole book in one sitting. My favorite part of her books are the way she develops the characters. I was so invested in Meredith and Shelby's dis ...more

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Dec 12, 2020 Theresa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: family, friendship, father-and-son, fathers-and-daughters, grief, mother-and-son, mothers-and-daughters, mystery, thriller, suspense

I received a digital ARC through Publishers Weekly from Park Row Books, Harper Collins. A young girl, missing for 11 years, escapes to find her way back home. Told between present and past, multiple alternating characters build a story of intrigue detailing two women who questionably went missing.

I’ve never read Mary Kubica before, but this mystery/thriller was suspenseful and kept me reading. It was easy to follow despite the different characters and moving between past and present with each ch ...more

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Jan 01, 2021 Stacy rated it really liked it

Thanks to NetGalley and Park Row Books for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

4+ stars

Solid thriller that keeps you guessing throughout the entire book.

Shelby Tebow goes missing 11 years ago and a week later so does Meredith Dickey and her daughter Delilah. Delilah is held captive in a basement. The books switches between multiple POVs and from two points in time 11 years ago and today. Keeps you reading thinking one more chapter and then I’ll take a break. Highly recommen ...more

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Jan 04, 2021 Amanda Davis rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This book was absolutely fabulous. I read it in one evening- knowing from the first chapter that that was how it was going to be read, that I wasn’t going to be able to walk away from it.

The telling of a kidnapped girl, her missing mother, and the disappearance of another local woman and what they all have to do with each other, Local Woman Missing is a diabolical tale that is written extraordinarily well and will keep you on edge until the bitter end.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Publishi ...more

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Dec 28, 2020 Kati rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I couldn’t read this book fast enough to find out what really happened. I was immediately sucked into the first part, immersed myself in the middle, and couldn’t pick my jaw off the floor quick enough for the last part. Buckle up, because there are a lot of twist and turns until the very end. The story had me questioning everyone! I love how Mary finished it all neatly and unexpectedly. I will definitely be recommending this to all my book friends!

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Dec 19, 2020 Fernanda Lopez rated it it was ok · review of another edition

As a fan of Mary Kubica's works, she did not disappoint with this new book. It was suspenseful and kept me guessing. I thought the ending was kind of out there, but still interesting. The book did leave some unanswered questions like who was following Kate and Bea? But regardless of that, I highly recommend this book. ...more

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Dec 13, 2020 Johnna Whetstone rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Wow, I’ve not read all of Kubica’s work, but out of the ones I have, this might just be my favorite! So many red herrings, you’ll never ever guess who really done what! It’s chilling to the core, shocking as heck, thrilling as a rollercoaster, and so twisty you might end up with whip lash! A must read for my fellow thrill seekers, especially those who love a good whodunnit! Well written, unputdownable, riveting, and amazing! Highly, highly recommend! Clear schedules and don’t plan on any sleep, ...more

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Aug 04, 2020 Cazlam rated it really liked it

Caught me by surprise

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Jan 08, 2021 Sara Kahlenberg rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

SO good! Kept me on the edge of my seat the entire book! I love being surprised by the end of a suspense book and I always am with Mary’s books! Terrific mystery!

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About Mary Kubica

Mary Kubica

8,123 followers

Mary Kubica is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of many novels. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in History and American Literature. Mary lives outside of Chicago with her husband and two children.