5 June 2016

Review #453: Don't You Cry by Mary Kubica



My rating: 4 of 5 stars


“You will never find the real truth among people that are insecure or have egos to protect. Truth over time becomes either guarded or twisted as their perspective changes; it changes with the seasons of their shame, love, hope or pride.” 


----Shannon L. Alder



Mary Kubica, the national best-selling American author, pens her new psychological thriller, Don't You Cry that unfolds a gripping and mystifying story about two women among whom one of them goes missing all of a sudden leaving that woman's roommate baffled and curious about the fact whether she really knows her as she used to think, and the other woman reaches a small dead-end town, leaving especially an eighteen year old boy suspicious as well as infatuated not only with her beauty but also with her innocence.




Synopsis:

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.



Little did Quinn Collins knew that after a regular weekend one-night stand in her rented apartment, shared with her roommate, Esther Vaughan, she will never ever see the face of her caring friend-cum-roommate, Esther. Esther has disappeared without a trace and since there's nothing much to do but to wait till seventy two hours before the local police take the matter into their hands, so Quinn decides to snoop and do a little digging on her own. And while investigating, she stumbles upon a series of letters addressed to My dearest and signed by her roommate which are bit creepy and also she figured that there are so many things that she didn't know about Esther, especially the mystery about the previous roommate that Esther had before Quinn, and that scares the hell out of Quinn as she is certain that this investigation may be life-threatening.

Alex Gallo is an 18-year old boy living under the same roof with his alcoholic good-for-nothing father in a dead-end town, where nothing ever really happens unless it is the tourist season, he also works in the town cafe. But one fine and regular day, his cafe has a new customer who looks like outside this town but Alex is enthralled by this female customer's beauty, hair and most above all, her innocence. He follows her like a puppy outside the cafe and everywhere possible until he realizes that she has taken shelter in a haunted house across his own house, and that he needs to take care of her needs if she is going to live in a dilapidated house for a while. But as their bond of trust grows, Alex is left more and more curious with this woman's activities and before its too late, he anticipates that it is life-threatening to maintain a friendship with a total stranger like her.

Once again, Mary Kubica creates magic with this story that will not only leave the readers sweating in anticipation but will also keep them turning the pages of her book frantically, like she always does. This book, too, proves to be an addictive story just like her previous one, and this time the story is even more evil, sinister and scary and will keep on playing games with the minds of the readers until they start begging for the answers. Also the book's cover image will definitely arrest the minds of the readers instantly but somehow, the clever readers can get a faint idea about the story of the book, hence a different book cover would have been much more appropriate.

This book centers around the relationships within a family, like mother-daughter, sister-sister, especially the book reflects a strong message that we need to take care of each and every one of the our family member, devoid of any illness or problems of a particular family member, otherwise, giving up, might cripple the whole backbone of a family and it might definitely come haunt us one day. This theme is strongly incorporated into the story line, as at the end of the book the readers are bound to get the underlying message from this story.

The writing is absolutely fantastic though it takes a few chapters for the readers to adjust with the author's writing style which is very descriptive and contains visual imagery. The prose is evocative as it brings up the past and the pain related to it with the articulate narrative style that flows with ease and makes the readers perceive the depth of the story line perfectly. Moreover, the story is laced with crippling fear that will haunt the readers' minds as the two protagonists follow behind the footsteps of two young women.

From the story, it feels like the author has a strong grip over her psychologically challenged characters which are either depicted as flawed or broken up by their past. The story is told from Quinn and Alex's POV. In the beginning the author gives the readers a brief sketch and outline of her main characters and leaving them with breadcrumbs with their mysteries. Slowly, along with Quinn's investigation, the rest of the main characters started to unfold vividly thus making the readers contemplate and understand the wounds of each character clearly.

Quinn's determined and constantly curious yet scared demeanor will make the readers hold on to her till the very end. Her search for her roommate who turns out to be a dangerous woman not only scares her but also keeps Quinn moving forward until she gets to know what actually happened with her roommate. So while going through relationship drama with a guy who is also her colleague, Quinn turns out to be a brave young lady. Alex, on the other hand, might annoy the readers a bit because if his stalkish-kind of attitude towards this new woman in his town, but gradually with Alex's stalker more like curious demeanor the readers will finally warm up to this teenage character.

There are many layers to the mystery and the author peels it's each layer teasingly, thus keeping the readers hooked on to the story line till the very end. The mystery has also been mixed with lots of emotions, tension and past mistakes. The climax is so unexpected that will surely throw the readers off the edges of their seats.

Verdict: Fans of mystery, be sure to grab a copy of this compelling psycho-thriller.

Courtesy: Thanks to the publishers from Harper Collins India for giving me this opportunity to read and review the book. 
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Author Info:
Mary Kubica is the bestselling author of THE GOOD GIRL (2014) and PRETTY BABY (2015). She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in History and American Literature. Mary lives outside of Chicago with her husband and two children and enjoys photography, gardening and caring for the animals at a local shelter.
Visit her here 



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