It’s Not Her by Mary Kubica

A family vacation gone wrong.

Two dead bodies.

One missing girl. Or is it two missing girls?

One mother/aunt who is suspicious of everything and everyone.

When Courtney, her family and her brother’s family all head out to a small resort on a small-town lake for a nice summer vacation, things turn out to be the furthest thing from nice you can get. Soon, her niece is missing, she’s keeping a close eye on three other children, and her husband is making choices that have her on high alert. Will she and the small-town detective be able to find her niece before it’s too late?

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My thoughts

This is the very first Mary Kubica novel I’ve read, and I liked it! The story kept me interested throughout and made me want to check out more of her books.

Now, I’ve seen a bunch of people saying the twist in this book was incredible and they never saw it coming… but I guessed it, and pretty early on, too. Kubica gives the readers some pretty big hints as well, so it’s right there to figure it out for yourself. But I was still reading faster and faster to see if I was correct at the end. It was very satisfying when I was!

A big reason It's Not Her got 4 stars from me instead of 5 is because of what Kubica does in the fina chapter of the book. I’m not going to spoil it, but it’s something I sincerely hate in any book, if that’s the choice being made for the final chapter. I think it’s unfair to the reader. So, make sure you go and read this book so you can see what I’m talking about!

Question of the day

Do you have a pet peeve like that, too? When something that happens in books, an author's choice, maybe a certain writing style, trope, or whatever, just drives you up the wall? Because let me tell you, I was reading this book and finished it on a commuter train, and I legit wanted to throw it when I reached the final chapter. So I’d love to know what really gets you going. Let me know!