This post contains affiliate links, meaning I’ll receive a small commission should you purchase using those links. All opinions expressed are my own. I receive no compensation for reviews.

Review: Don’t You Cry by Mary Kubica

My Thoughts

Obsession, malice, doubt, deceit—
Kubica delivers a dark and edgy psychological thriller
which proves that things are not always what they seem.

Buy Now: Amazon Kindle | Paperback | Audible | iBooks
Related Posts: Mysteries, Suspense & Thrillers

Synopsis

May-17 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.

My Review

“You should have just gone away like I asked you to. Like I told you to. Just go. But you didn’t go, and then you were there, and there was nothing I could do. You stayed until it was me who had to go.”

Chilling, suspenseful and intricate—Mary Kubica once again proves things are not always what they seem with her latest, densely plotted psychological thriller. Don’t You Cry unravels in dual point of view as we seek to figure out what’s happened to Esther Vaughn, a girl who’s inexplicably disappeared.

When her roommate Quinn Collins discovers Esther’s room empty, the window to her fire escape open, she’s not sure if she should panic. Esther was a girl who lived by the book, surely she’d be back soon. But when days tick by and Quinn begins to discover clues that Esther’s life is not entirely as it seemed, the situation escalates and darkens. Worse yet, the more Quinn digs, the more she fears for her own life.

“Who is Esther, really?”

Meanwhile, we also meet Alex Gallo. Intelligent, but forced to give up his bright future to take care of his alcoholic father. He’s been left behind by friends to spend his days working at a crappy, small-town diner. But when Alex sees a mysterious girl, quiet, content to drink coffee and stare off through the window, he becomes entranced. Obsessed even.

“I wonder if she has any idea she’s being watched.”

Alex’s and Quinn’s points-of-views unwind in alternating chapters. Quinn works to uncover what happened to Esther, while Alex tries to figure out who this enigmatic girl is. The story line begins to converge in all the expected ways, but with her usual prowess, Kubica reveals just how wrong we can be with the narrative’s rousing, heart-pounding climax.

I’m a big fan of Mary Kubica and really enjoyed the overall story, but felt it took more time than usual to fall into pace. The approach to the story’s culmination—and the final moments itself—were my favorite part. I did love the themes explored in the narrative: obsession, malice, doubt, deceit. It had a dark, edgy feel I really enjoyed. Kubica is undeniably an author to follow for suspense and thrill seekers like me.