Jeneva Rose is the New York Times bestselling author of several novels, including the multi-million copy bestseller, The Perfect Marriage. Her work has been translated into more than two dozen languages and optioned for film/tv. Originally from Wisconsin, she now lives in Chicago with her husband, Drew, and her English bulldogs, Winston and Phyllis.
Historically, I love everything Jeneva Rose writes, so I absolutely was looking forward to reading this one. The story is told through Sarah’s and Adam’s point of views in alternating chapters. The characters are well developed and the story kept me guessing until the very end. It wasn’t too heavy, but heavy enough to keep me invested. I can count on Jeneva Rose for a solid story with great characters and a satisfying end. This novel empowers women. It lets the strong female lead, Sarah, rise to the top. Her achievements are celebrated, regardless of the way she wraps up the ending. We are left questioning her sanity and ethics, as intended. I really enjoyed the book.
Adam Morgan – Sarah’s husband, failing author, resentful of his wife’s success, unfaithful
Sarah Morgan- Adam’s wife, prestigious Washington DC lawyer
Kelly Summers – Adam’s mistress that is stabbed to death in Adam and Sarah’s lake house; has an abusive husband
Ann – Sarah’s assistant at the law firm
Matthew – Sarah’s gay best friend
Bob – Sarah’s fellow lawyer and nemesis at the law firm
Kent – the original partner at Sarah’s law firm
Eleanor – Adam’s mother, hates the fact that Sarah works, has a volatile relationship with Sarah and dotes on her son
Deputy Scott Summers – Kelly’s abusive husband, a deputy at the police department
Sheriff Stevens – boss at the police station that is holding Adam
Lisa Jewell is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of nineteen novels, including The Family Upstairs and Then She Was Gone, as well as Invisible Girl and Watching You. Her novels have sold over 10 million copies internationally, and her work has also been translated into twenty-nine languages. Connect with her on Twitter @LisaJewellUK, on Instagram @LisaJewellUK, and on Facebook @LisaJewellOfficial.
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author known for her “superb pacing, twisted characters, and captivating prose” (BuzzFeed), Lisa Jewell returns with a scintillating new psychological thriller about a woman who finds herself the subject of her own popular true crime podcast.
Celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summer crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday. They are, in fact, birthday twins.
A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.
Josie’s life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can’t quite resist the temptation to keep making the podcast. Slowly she starts to realize that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it, Josie has inveigled her way into Alix’s life—and into her home.
But, as quickly as she arrived, Josie disappears. Only then does Alix discover that Josie has left a terrible and terrifying legacy in her wake, and that Alix has become the subject of her own true crime podcast, with her life and her family’s lives under mortal threat.
Who is Josie Fair? And what has she done?
I HIGHLY recommend listening to this book instead of reading it. It really enhances the content. I love podcasts, and I follow several closely. That was my first attraction to this book. I’ve heard a lot of great things about Jewell’s books, but never read any. The beginning of this book was confusing to me, and wasn’t very fluid. It may have been just my frame of mind, of course. Alix has kids still at home, and Josie has grown kids, but I believe one was still at home (Erin), although there is mystery surrounding her from the beginning. Josie is quickly obsessed with all things about Alix’s life. She’s a bit of a kleptomaniac and steals little things from Alix’s house. The characters are fascinating and the book kept me on my toes until the very last words. I will definitely seek out more Lisa Jewell books.
Josie Fair – wife of Walter Fair, whom she married when she was 18, and the mother of Erin and Roxy Fair
Walter Fair – husband of Josie Fair, whom he married when he was 43
Erin Fair – Josie and Walter’s daughter, reclusive in her room
Roxie Fair – Josie and Walter’s daughter, left home at 16, possibly anger issues
Fred – Josie’s dog
Pat O’Neil – Josie’s mother
Alix Summers – popular podcast host, and the wife of Nathan Summer
Nathan Summers – Alix’s husband, works in high-end real estate leasing
Eliza Summers -Alix and Nathan’s daughter
Leon Summers – Alix and Nathan’s son
Mandy – Office Manager at Alex and Nathan’s kids’ school
“Sutanto brilliantly infuses comedy and culture into the unpredictable rom-com/murder mystery mashup as Meddy navigates familial duty, possible arrest and a groomzilla. I laughed out loud and you will too.”—USA Today (four-star review)
“A hilarious, heartfelt romp of a novel about—what else?—accidental murder and the bond of family. This book had me laughing aloud within its first five pages… Utterly clever, deeply funny, and altogether charming, this book is sure to be one of the best of the year!”—Emily Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read
One of NPR’s Best Books of 2021!
One of PopSugar’s “42 Books Everyone Will Be Talking About in 2021”!
What happens when you mix 1 (accidental) murder with 2 thousand wedding guests, and then toss in a possible curse on 3 generations of an immigrant Chinese-Indonesian family?
You get 4 meddling Asian aunties coming to the rescue!
When Meddelin Chan ends up accidentally killing her blind date, her meddlesome mother calls for her even more meddlesome aunties to help get rid of the body. Unfortunately, a dead body proves to be a lot more challenging to dispose of than one might anticipate, especially when it is inadvertently shipped in a cake cooler to the over-the-top billionaire wedding Meddy, her Ma, and aunties are working at an island resort on the California coastline. It’s the biggest job yet for the family wedding business—”Don’t leave your big day to chance, leave it to the Chans!”—and nothing, not even an unsavory corpse, will get in the way of her auntie’s perfect buttercream flowers.
But things go from inconvenient to downright torturous when Meddy’s great college love—and biggest heartbreak—makes a surprise appearance amid the wedding chaos. Is it possible to escape murder charges, charm her ex back into her life, and pull off a stunning wedding all in one weekend?
Characters:
Meddy (Meddelin) Chen – Meddy Chen is the protagonist of the novel, photographer in the family business, dissatisfied personally and professionally when we meet her at 26 years old
Big Aunt – Meddy’s oldest aunt, 20 years as a pastry chef, meets with potential clients
Second Aunt – Meddy’s second oldest aunt, does hair and makeup for the weddings
Forth Aunt – entertainment for the weddings
Ma – Meddy’s mother, does floral arranging for the weddings
Nathan Chen – Meddy’s college love, she’s still in love with him at 26 when we meet her, the CEO of the event hotel on an island off the coast of LA
Selena – Meddy’s best girlfriend
Jake – Meddy’s blind date, her mother catfished him into a blind date with Meddy, continues to insert how rich he is in conversation, super pushy, Meddy tases him, he wrecks her car, and winds up as the problematic dead body in the story
Jacqueline – the bride, she’s a sweetheart and not a good match for her jerk fiancee, Tom
Tom Cruise Sutopo – the groomzilla
Maureen – Jacqueline’s Maid-of-honor
I fell so hard in love with Jesse Q. Sutano while reading Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. My goodness, this kind of love is so much stronger than anything I’ve ever felt for some dusty male… I can live in a world of entertaining fiction with this soulmate and I’m all for that. Escapism is what keeps me going…
I love all of the pop culture references in this book. It makes Meddy more relatable and gives us immediate commonalities. Meddy’s family’s first language is Indonesian, and Meddy’s is English, so this makes for fun comedy. The interactions and accents are based on Sutano’s own upbringing and family, so it is absolutely endearing and not stereotyping at all.
Sutano peppers in Chinese/Indonesian cultural tidbits of knowledge, which I loved. It was such a full-bodied, fun read. I really loved the characters, except the ones we are intended to not like.
Mary Kubica is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of many suspense novels, including THE GOOD GIRL, PRETTY BABY, DON’T YOU CRY,EVERY LAST LIE, WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT,THE OTHER MRS.,LOCAL WOMAN MISSING and JUST THE NICEST COUPLE.
A former high school history teacher, Mary holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in History and American Literature. She lives outside of Chicago with her husband and two children.
Her first novel THE GOOD GIRL was an Indie Next pick in August of 2014, received a Strand Critics Nomination for Best First Novel and was a nominee in the Goodreads Choice Awards in Debut Goodreads Author and in Mystery & Thriller for 2014.
LOCAL WOMAN MISSING was an Indie Next pick in May of 2021, a nominee in the Goodreads Choice Awards in Mystery & Thriller for 2021, and a finalist for an Audie Award.
Mary’s novels have been selected as Amazon Best Books of the Month and have been LibraryReads selections. They’ve been translated into over thirty languages and have sold over five million copies worldwide. She’s been described as “a helluva storyteller,” (Kirkus Reviews) and “a writer of vice-like control,” (Chicago Tribune), and her novels have been praised as “hypnotic” (People) and “thrilling and illuminating” (Los Angeles Times). She is currently working on her next novel.
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.
“Complex, richly atmospheric and thoroughly riveting, LOCAL WOMAN MISSING is a thoughtful look at how even the most innocuous secrets between happy couples and beloved friends in tightly knit neighborhoods can sometimes turn so unexpectedly and terrifyingly deadly.” ~ Kimberly McCreight / New York Times bestselling author of Reconstructing Amelia and A Good Marriage
“Dark and twisty, with all the white-knuckle tension and jaw-dropping surprises readers have come to expect from Mary Kubica.” ~Riley Sager / New York Times bestselling author of Home Before Dark
“I’m shamelessly addicted to Mary Kubica’s juicy, unpredictable reads, as much for her well-rounded, fully human, flawed characters as her sizzling plots—and she just keeps getting better. LOCAL WOMAN MISSING is a propulsive journey through a winding maze of secrets, leading to a jaw-dropping twist that I never saw coming. Loved every minute.” ~ Joshilyn Jackson / New York Times bestselling author of Never Have I Ever
“Impossible-to-see-it-coming…. [Kubica] takes readers to a whole new level of deceit and irony.” ~ Booklist
“The twists, turns, and an unpredictable ending make it irresistible.” ~ Library Journal
“A pitch-perfect domestic thriller from the always-reliable Mary Kubica… Don’t miss this unforgettable story about what strong women have to do in desperate circumstances.” ~ Apple Books
I heard mixed reviews on this one, so I decided to find out for myself. I had to make a list of characters, because the time hops, different voices, and perspectives were a little challenging for me to process. This story is based in an upper middle class suburb outside of Chicago. There is a lot going on and a lot of different players. To bring some order to the plot, I also made a list of questions regarding the plot I wanted to answer by the end of the book. I got most of them answered, and some weren’t really important to answer by the end.
I was okay with the ending. I would have given the book 3.5 stars, if possible. It absolutely kept my attention, but the very unrealistic nature of a lot of the circumstances in the story made it lose some appeal for me. It does serve its purpose as a thriller, and I will read additional books by this author. I liked the fact that I didn’t even almost guess the ending.
Josh Dickey – Married to Meredith, father to Delilah and Leo
Meredith Dickey – second to go missing with Delilah, Married to Josh, Delilah and Leo’s mother, doula, didn’t show up to work unbeknownst to Josh for a few weeks, planned to testify in court against Dr. Feingold for malpractice when delivering Shelby and Josh’s baby, Grace
Delilah Dickey – second to go missing with Meredith, kidnapped and lived in a dark basement for 11 years
Leo Dickey – Delilah’s younger brother, one of the first person voices in the book, angry and resentful when Delilah comes home, 4 years old when Meredith and Delilah go missing
Gus – trapped in the basement with Delilah
Kate – Bea’s partner, Josh and Meredith’s neighbor, vet
Bea – Kate’s partner, Josh and Meredith’s neighbor, musician, has recording studio in the garage, born leader
Shelby Tebow – first to go missing, cheating on her husband with Sam, Meredith was Shelby’s doula
Jason Tebow – Shelby’s husband, cheating on his wife, insurance agent, wanted to play NFL football but didn’t due to knee injury, seems like a huge jerk all-round
Grace Tebow – Shelby and Jason’s baby girl, an infant when Shelby disappears, sustains brain trauma due to Dr. Feingold using forceps during birth
Dr. Feingold – Jason tells Kate and Bea that this was Shelby’s only enemy, doesn’t have good bedside manner, Meredith planned to testify against him in Tebows’ malpractice suit
Charlotte – neighbor in late 50s who lives alone with her husband and watched kids in the neighborhood, keeps Delilah and Leo when they are young
Janette – midwife that Meredith works with
Cassandra and Marty – neighbors, Marty and Meredith dated in college and she lost her virginity to him
I think I put off reading this one because of the hype that surrounded it when it first came out in 2015. Then there was the first movie adaptation in 2016, followed by a 2021 Indian Hindi-language version directed by Ribhu Dasgupta and produced by Reliance Entertainment. I don’t generally like or watch movie adaptations of the books I read because I am more creative and accurate with my imaginative perspectives of the settings and characters than Hollywood (also, Bollywood, in this case, I guess). I am going to watch both versions for this one after I finish reading, though. It was a really great psychological page-turner, if not a little confusing at times, due mostly to Megan and Rachel’s hazy mental states. Paula Hawkins may have done it on purpose.
Full disclosure: This book opened some doors and shut some doors for me personally. Alcoholism and addiction are things that have brushed my life very closely and have changed the absolute course of my life in some respects. I have never read a first-person view that so accurately depicts the aftermath of an addictive episode; the guilt, the desperate attempts to remember, the embarrassment that comes in waves, the depression that goes hand in hand with addiction and binging. Rachel is the catalyst that makes me begin to examine some of my own drinking habits and reevaluate whether or not alcohol is even something I want in my life at all. It also helps me understand some of those who have experienced similar circumstances and humanizes them for me better than I can on my own.
Richard – Nellie’s fiancee, strong, security, allows Nellie to sleep, overcome insomnia, blue eyes, built like a wiry runner, professionally accomplished
Vanessa – Richard’s ex-wife – sales associate at Sak’s on third floor designer floor, 5’6″, smaller than size 4, living with Aunt Charlotte, Lives in NYC
Aunt Charlotte – Vanessa’s mother’s older sister, artist, no children,
Do not skip the epilogue. It is super important, and an absolutely intriguing twist that I would never see coming. I may need to read this one a second time through after all discoveries are made.
This book confirms my belief that I’m better off single. I’m kidding, kind of… The characters and plot highlight the disgusting underbelly of what humans are capable of doing to other humans. I honestly think every love struck teen and twenty-something needs to read this to kind of bring them back to ground level and show them that maybe they should spend ten years traveling and getting to know themselves before settling down… Also, money is a lot but it isn’t everything. I do recommend. If you are cynical, it will make you more so, and I am totally okay with being more cynical.
Pretty Colors Unabridged 