★★★☆☆
Mary Kubica
This suspenseful thriller immerses us in the cases of Shelby Tebow, Meredith Dickey, and her six-year-old daughter Delilah, who go missing from a quiet town. Shelby disappears after going for a late-night run. Shortly after, Delilah and Meredith vanish. Delilah returns eleven years after the disappearances, reigniting interest in the mysterious events that rocked the community.
The book’s initial chapters were compelling, reminding me of the chilling captivity scenes in Emma Donoghue’s Room. However, the book quickly devolved into more typical thriller territory, with multiple twists designed to shock but seeming ridiculous and far-fetched instead. This shift was disappointing after such a promising start, leaving me dissatisfied.
This is my third Kubica book, and it isn’t as good as the first two, The Good Girl and The Other Mrs. I remember being truly surprised by the plot twists in The Good Girl, and The Other Mrs. was a decent read, too.
“The scar I’ve still got, but the memory of it is gone.” Local Woman Missing, Mary Kubica
However, I’m unlikely to remember much about Local Woman Missing besides its strong opening. The characters were not unique, and the writing was just okay. For me, a sign of great writing is how many interesting lines I stop to jot down while reading, and I found very few in this one.
Even though this one was a bit of a disappointment, I’ll still give Kubica another try, holding out hope that she pens another one as interesting as The Good Girl.