Book Review: Don't You Cry by Mary Kubica

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

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 Pearl'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 Thoughts:

I have read both of Kubica's other novels, The Good Girl and Pretty Baby.  I loved The Good Girl but I found the characters in Pretty Baby to be annoying and unrealistic.  I was very interested to see how I was going to like Don't You Cry.  I am pretty sure this book will remain on my top ten best books of 2016 list.  Don't You Cry was so filled with twists and turns and every single time I was sure that I knew what was going on, Kubica would throw in another twist and everything I thought I knew went out the window.  For  me, this book was very unpredictable, I had no idea what was going on until Kubica wanted me to know and it kept me intrigued through the entire story.

The story starts out with Quinn.  Quinn lives in Chicago with her roommate Esther.  Quinn wakes up after a night out to discover that Esther is missing.  Her bedroom window is open, her blankets are on the floor and Esther is gone.  Quinn is sure Esther will return and spends the day waiting for her.  When Esther doesn't return and Quinn finds some disturbing letters and other strange items in Esther's room, she finally starts to really worry.

Then we skip to Alex.  Alex lives in a small town in Michigan, about an hour from Chicago, and works at a local diner.  His mother left his father and him when Alex was  young and Alex's father is nothing but a drunk.  Alex has heard stories about the dilapidated old house across the street from him.  Stories that claim the house to be haunted by a 5 year old girl who drowned in a bathtub while her mother was busy attending to her younger sister.  Alex and his father see strange lights in the house and just figure it is squatters.  Then comes the day when "Pearl" enters the diner that Alex works at.  Pearl fascinates Alex and he takes a great interest in her.

This story is told in alternating views of Quinn and Alex.  You don't have any idea how the stories intertwine until the end (even though you think you might know....you don't).  Quinn works hard to find out what happened to Esther and in return she finds out some horrible things that make her believe Esther actually wants Quinn dead.  Alex gets to know Pearl and then finds that she holds some very dangerous secrets.

This book is fast paced, intriguing, and completely unpredictable.  It hooks you from the very first page and keeps you turning those pages late into the night.  If you want a psychological thriller that you can't put down, get this book when it comes out.  You won't be sorry!

**A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book**