I have discovered that it is fairly hard to review a thriller/suspense novel as you cannot say too much without giving anything away, therefore this going to be short and sweet…
Author: Mary Kubica
Genre: Thriller
Version: Hardback (320 pages)
Publisher: MIRA (May 17, 2016)
Source: NetGalley & Purchased
Book Synopsis:
An electrifying tale of deceit and obsession from “New York Times” bestselling author of “The Good Girl “Mary Kubica
In downtown Chicago, Esther Vaughan disappears from her apartment without a trace. A haunting letter addressed to My Dearest is found among her possessions, leaving her roommate Quinn Collins to question how well she really knew her friend. Meanwhile, in a small 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, but what starts as an innocent crush quickly spirals into something far more sinister.
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.”
My Thoughts:
When I first laid eyes on Don’t You Cry, I knew I was going to read it. I mean just look at that cover! It is absolutely stunning. Even though I was approved for a ARC for review, I still went out and purchased the book prior to reading it. I just had to have it for my bookshelf. This was my second Kubica book, my first being Pretty Baby, which I listened to a few months ago via audiobook. You can read my review here → Book Review: Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica.
Don’t You Cry starts off with one of our main characters, Quinn, waking up to the fact that her roommate has gone missing. Esther, or “Saint Esther” as Quinn refers to her, is seemingly the perfect roommate, but as Quinn digs deeper and deeper into her roommate’s past, Quinn realizes that she may not know Esther as well as she thought she did… Enter our second main character, Alex, an 18 year old who despite loads of potential, is just coasting through life. One day, while Alex is working his dead-end job at a coffee shop, a mysterious woman walks in and sits down. Alex immediately feels drawn to her. Who is this woman?

I felt that the alternating perspectives worked very well in Don’t You Cry. It really set the tone of the book as we do not discover the connection between Alex and Quinn until the end of the book. I really enjoyed formulating theories about how it was all going to pan out. I had guessed some aspects of the plotline, but by no means had everything worked out. One thing Kubica does very well is to lure her readers into a false pretense that we have things all figured out, but then throws us for a loop. Her characters also tend to be more than what they seem. I like to be kept on my toes, and I feel like Kubica succeeded in Don’t You Cry. Overall, I really enjoyed how this thriller panned out. It was enough to surprise me, while still being believable at the same time.
The book starts off with a bang, but quickly loses steam in the middle. This book was painfully slow to set up, but towards the end it is a quick race to the finish. Really my biggest hang up about this book would be the pacing. This seems typical of Kubica’s books, at least it has been true of the two I’ve read. The other thing I didn’t particularly care for was the romance subplot in Quinn’s story. I think the book would have been better off without it as it was not developed enough to add to the story and just felt awkward to me. I think this is a worthwhile read, but not Kubica’s best book in my opinion. I preferred her other book, Pretty Baby, to this one. I have heard good things of her other novel, The Good Girl, and will definitely be checking it out in the future.
My Rating: 
*Actually 3.5 stars*
Thanks to MIRA via NetGalley for a copy of Don’t You Cry in exchange for an honest review.
About the Author:
Mary Kubica is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of THE GOOD GIRL and PRETTY BABY. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in History and American Literature, and lives outside of Chicago with her husband and two children, where she enjoys photography, gardening and caring for the animals at a local shelter. Her first novel THE GOOD GIRL 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.
With thrillers, I always want to spoil the ending and talk about it but I can’t and it’s so frustrating XD With this one I didn’t expected it because I had thought of something even more twisted! haha I liked it but I agree with you in everything. I also didn’t care about the love story, what was the point?
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I’m totally with you in that a lot of thrillers are really hard to review, because spoilers. I’m trying to get better at them. I think you did a fab. job here. I’ve been seeing the cover for this one around, and it’s certainly striking.
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Striking is the perfect word! I think it’s the fact that the girls on the cover are looking directly at you whereas most people on covers are not looking head on. Also i find the contrasting eye colors alluring as well.
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Yeah, it reminds me a little of the Scream posters from the 90s.
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*groans* I totally agree with you on the difficulties of reviewing mystery/thrillers. I always find myself wanting to gush about everything that’s happened and then sort of not actually being able to say more than what the blurb does. Oh the struggles. Great review though!
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Right? I will re read my review 100 times because I’m terrified of accidentally posting a spoiler without realizing it 😳
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Wow, freaky cool eyes those girls on the cover have!! Wonderful review, Amanda dear!!
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Thanks Lola 🙂
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Mary Kubica is one of my all-time favorite authors. Her novel The Good Girl was my favorite read of 2015. Love this review!
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I’ve heard it’s her best book! I will definitely be reading it at some point 😊
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The two different colored eyes on the cover is beautiful for sure, but I always take issue when women are depicted with their mouths slightly open like that. It’s typically designed to indicate one of two things: surprise, or something lewd is about to happen.
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Well in this case I am interpreting it as surprise lol 😂
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