Great thriller, with so many twist and turns I couldn't keep my assumptions straight. I enjoyed reading the story and I can pinpoint every point when I thought I knew exactly what was happening and who had done it. I am looking forward to reading more from this author. A solid 5 stars for me. ( )

Suspense

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of this suspenseful read! Told from a few different POVs, this story may seem like the main plot is a whodunnit when Sadie and Will move to a new small town and their neighbor is murdered soon afterward.
But it's so much more than that, so many subplots that keep you guessing - who is "Mouse", a 6yo girl abused, and one of the POVs? What really happened after Sadie discovered Will's affair in Chicago, a town they've moved from to get away from their haunted past? Why is Sadie, a doctor, not treated with respect...by anyone? What really happened with Will's sister who supposedly committed suicide? What's up with her unstable daughter, Imogene, a girl who "comes with the house" when Sadie and Will move to his sister's old home?
And even when you figure out the answers to most of these questions, the ending is so good and unexpected, that you'll be on the edge of your seat as you read those last pages! ( )

The Other Mrs. By Mary Kubica is a 2020 Park Row Publication.

After Will’s sister dies, he and Sadie, and their children, move into her home and become guardians to Will’s teenage niece. Sadie doesn’t like the house- or her niece- but she and Will need a fresh start. But when one of their neighbors is murdered, Sadie begins to suspect the woman’s husband- it’s always the husband, right? But nobody else seems to think he’s guilty- in fact, the only suspect seems to be Sadie!!

Well…

It’s not the worst of psychological thrillers- It was a fast, easy read and I marked off a book that has been sitting on my TBR list since 2019. Other than that, I can’t think of too many positive things to say.

Without revealing too much, it was obvious to me where the plot is headed early on. For me, this is a topic I’ve encountered on and off in crime fiction for decades and to be honest, there’s not a whole lot of new ways to spin that one. But, to her credit, the author did manage to create a pretty sick and twisted scenario out of a tired plot device- for lack of a better phrase.

Unfortunately, though, it fell flat for me. I could still see the ending coming a mile off- the ‘surprise’ savior was not much of a surprise and though there were a few tense moments, the conclusion was just too pat, limping lamely across the finish line.

Overall, this had some entertainment value and a few clever surprises here and there, but otherwise it was rather bland and crossed my own personal plausibility threshold.

2 stars ( )

This was very Last House on Needless Street, though I liked that one a lot more. The characters all require an extreme suspension of disbelief, a doctor didn't think to look into her blackouts? Her children didn't give her enough clues? 😑 ( )