A good thriller with some great red herrings and twists along the way. A friendship put to the test and loyalty at its best. A good story and array of characters.

Thank you Mary Kubica and Netgalley for a copy of the "Just The Nicest Couple".

I have heard much praise about Mary Kubica and was very excited to read my first book by her. Initially I was drawn to Just the Nicest Couple from the blurb and did enjoy the development of the story. Unfortunetaly, half way through the story I found myself drifting off, finding it hard to engage with the development of the characters and not being overly keen about finding out the ending.

I did however enjoy the two different POVs, specially as it gave a bit more understanding of who Lily really is.

I have read several books by Kubica but this one wasn’t as good as the others. I thought this novel lacked the pace and excitement I am used to from this author; instead, the plot was quite slow to get going and equally slow in its developments.

There is a clear contrast established between the two couples in this book. From the outside, it would appear that Nina and Jake, and Lily and Christian have everything they need. For Nina and Jake, it’s the lavish house, comfortable living and successful careers. On the other hand, whilst Lily and Christian may not be as wealthy, they evidently have a rock solid marriage and are happy with life. Yet, as the story progresses, it becomes evident that appearances are deceptive. From Nina’s arguments with Jake and the strain Christian and Lily are under with trying to fall pregnant, all four characters do not have the perfect life.

With Jake’s disappearance and Lily’s involvement, readers are left wondering how far Christian will go to ensure that his wife remains clear of any blame. The narrative switches between Christian and Nina; I found it interesting that readers do not get an insight into Lily’s character even further – it is just from Christian’s perspective. Therefore, I think this is what made me grow quickly frustrated with Lily’s character. She seems really weak and insipid, although this may just be fuelled by Christian’s suffocating desire to protect his wife at all costs.

Although I was keen to see whether Lily would remain blameless for Jake’s disappearance, I was also curious to see what would happen to Nina. I understood her frustrations with the police not taking Jake’s absence seriously and sympathised with her isolated she felt. Yet, the narrative begins to pick up pace when Kubica starts to suggest more about Nina’s work colleague and this had my thriller senses tingling.

It was the last quarter where I thought the story really reflected the writing of Kubica that I have loved in the past. For the most part, I was frustrated by the simple sentences and repetitive structure. It felt quite amateurish to read and I don’t think this was done deliberately to reflect Nina or Christian’s characters. Instead, it did not make the story feel quite as polished as some of the writer’s other books.

Overall, I enjoyed this thriller and found the closing revelations to be completely unexpected. However, I do think you need to be patient with this one as it takes such a long time to build in intensity.

With thanks to HQ Digital and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a relatively fast-paced thriller, involving two couples where one of them is missing. It switches between two viewpoints, Nina whose husband is missing, and Christian whose wife tells him a terrible secret.

The book tells us the story of what happens over the few weeks after Jake goes missing, with plenty of twists and turns along the way. All of the characters in this were pretty much awful. I couldn’t even find it in me to feel sorry for Nina, even though she was clearly being gaslighted from all angles.

That being said, I found I couldn’t put it down once I started and I wasn’t expecting the ending at all!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.

I found Just The Nicest Couple to be an OK read. It didn't grip me as much as I had hoped and didn't have enough twists or turns to make me really love it.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for my ARC.

This was a fast paced mystery thriller with some interesting but not so pleasant characters.
Lily and Christian are a happily married couple who are excited to be expecting a baby after several failed pregnancies.
Christian narrates part of the story and Nina, Lily’s friend and work colleague tells the alternate parts.
Nina and Lily are very close friends and teach together at the same school so when Jake, Nina’s husband, goes missing Lily tries to be helpful. At first Nina thinks he has left her as they have had a massive row before he disappeared but it gradually becomes apparent that this is not the case and the reader realises that Lily is somehow involved.
The plot moves along very quickly causing Lily and Christian to make some very poor decisions. Meanwhile Nina is left in limbo not knowing what has happened to her husband, increasingly relying on her frail mother for support.
I found all the characters rather unpleasant apart from Nina who just seemed unlucky and unfortunately rather easy to manipulate. They were well described but in the case of Christian, rather quick to act in a dubious way.
This author certainly knows how to tell a good story and keeps the tension high during the book. The plot twists come thick and fast and I must say I did not guess the ending when it came.
This is an enjoyable thriller which is well plotted and easy to read. It entertained me on a flight which is always a good sign.
I definitely recommend “Just the Nicest Couple” to both fans of this author and readers who enjoy a twisty psychological thriller. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy.

I really struggled with this book which surprised me as I have loved all her previous work. I found the characters unlikeable to the point that I didn’t care what happened to them. The storyline was too drawn out for me without an explosive ending to compensate. I’m sure others will enjoy it however, this time, it wasn’t for me but it wouldn’t put me off reading future novels.

I really enjoyed this book, it shows the different forms of betrayal in which it can be perceived, kept me on the edge of my seat ..

I like the intense beginning of this psychological suspense that develops as the reader learns about the characters and the events that draw them together. It keeps the reader turning the pages and waiting to see what happens next. It has short chapters from differing viewpoints, which adds to the depth and interest of the story, but despite the suspenseful buildup, the twists are few.

The characters remain enigmatic, which adds to the mystery, I guessed the outcome by following the clues, and it was an enjoyable, if not resonating, read.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

This was a great read and I was engaged from page one. Nina arrived with her husband, Jake, and now he’s missing. Lily and Christian are Nina’s friends, but did they have something to do with Jakes disappearance.
The book is written from the POV of Nina, Lily and Christian. Each chapter reveals more of the human inadequacies of each character.
I liked how the story unfolded and I liked the characters. I had an inkling of one of the twists but this didn’t detract from the enjoyment of the story.
Thanks to HQ and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#JustTheNicestCouple #NetGalley

Mary is one of my favourite auto buy authors, i so look forward to her next book coming out everytime I finish one. This one had me so gripped from the very beginning, it’s is nail biting edge of your seat, page after page of thrill. As always with Mary, great characters, now always likeable but then they aren’t meant to be. So loved this and I just couldn’t put it down, highly recommend. Huge thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this early copy.

Just The Nicest Couple is a domestic thriller told from different points of view. It is the story of two couples Nina and Jake and Lily and Christian and the aftermath of what happens when Jake goes missing.
It is a story of secrets and lies with short chapters which I flew through in a day. I have to admit that I had it all figured out after a massive mistake was written in the book, or was it a mistake? I now believe it was a very subtle and clever hint by the author and I applaud her for it.
If you like domestic thrillers then you will probably enjoy this, there are lots of red herrings and enough twists to keep you guessing for much of the book.

Rating 4.5 stars rounded off to 5

Wow! Talk about getting blindsided!

A brilliant thriller to kick off the year with!

Thanks NetGalley and HQ for the ARC! I was delighted to get approved after loving #LocalWomanMissing by the author.

Hope my aesthetic reel for the book does it justice.

Synopsis -

Jake Hayes, the reputed neurosurgeon is missing. Nina, his wife is worried, when days later, he isn’t back home and initially she only thought he was giving her some space, after their recent nasty fight. Lily, the best friend and colleague of Nina, believes she might be the last one who saw Jake. Together with her husband Christian, they are determined to keep her encounter with him a secret. Can they get away with it all?

Review –

This is my second book by Mary Kubica and man! She has moved to the top of the list of my favorite thriller authors!

The choice of the POVs of Nina and Christian was really smart! While Jake’s disappearance takes the spotlight, the background of these couples, the states of their marriage, work life and friendships become equally important to the storyline.

The first half of the book is slow burn – steadily building up the tension and momentum for what is to occur. As theories begin to form in my mind, I wondered who is to be trusted and who is not. But the second half is an adrenaline spiking page turner!

Kubica pulls a rabbit out of a hat kind of trick, as she completely took me by surprise😱. I was baffled as to how I missed making the most basic of guesses 🤯and all the credit goes to her water-tight plot construction and character development. I simply ate up everything at face value. 😆

I guarantee you won’t see the twist coming at the end! Although it might feel a bit too neatly tied up to be true, I was very happy for how it all unraveled. I don’t want to say more, so as not to give anything away!

In my view, this is a sumptuous treat for domestic thriller fans who love a jaw dropping twist! 😲

Highly recommend!

I absolutely loved this book, racing through it at great pace. It is impossible to put down as you just have to know what is going to happen next. The tension increases throughout as the torment for the characters grows. Lily finds herself in a helpless position with a man, Jake who she believed to be a friend. A situation develops and believing she has murdered him, it begins a chain of events that makes her guilt more and more difficult to hide but her loyal husband, Christian makes somewhat irresponsible decisions for her that ultimately could be her downfall. The man’s wife, Nina is a colleague and friend who believes her husband has left her after a row. As time passes and Jake doesn’t turn up for work and he uses neither his phone nor money, alarm bells begin to ring for Nina. A fast paced story that alternates being told from the perspective of the main characters and a degree of empathy is with them all. As a climax is reached, there are twists that I didn’t see coming and culminate in an excellent conclusion to this well conceived story.

Great book!!! Christian comes home from night to find his wife, Lily scared and looking out the window. Eventually, Lily admits she hit Jake on the head when he was trying to force himself on her. Nina is worried Jake left her after a fight, but it soon becomes clear that Jake is missing. Is Jake dead? Did he leave Nina? Who knows what happened to him? Lily and Christian get more and more desperate as Nina becomes more and more suspicious of them. What will the ending reveal? Not what you will expect!

The length of the chapters and changing of POV’s made for an easy read. The characters were interesting in how they behaved and reacted to events but believable nevertheless. The plot was engaging simply a book you had to get to the end of as you just weren’t sure how it could all resolve. Now for my complaint. The ending had one twist too many for me. The story could have finished without it in a far more believable way. Can’t say more without revealing the plot and I do still think it’s a good read so don’t let my opinion put you off reading it. It isn’t meant to but rather just to offer my thoughts.

I felt this started off well and it had me intrigued. I had many theories about the story as I read and I did keep changing them. The one that I stuck with around just after half way though, was proved at the end and I felt it was quite obvious who was responsible.

The writing was good, the characters not so much but it all made a quite good read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

The Nicest couple or are they ?

The story revolves around two couples a murder and who done it.

Really enjoyed it, yes did the people in the story make stupid decisions and yes many a time I was shouting in my mind don't do it!

Loved the twist, did not expect the ending, if you read a lot of thrillers it may come across as slightly dull, but overall I had a good time.
Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy for an honest review.

This was everything you need for a thriller and crime story. It is not as black and white as you first think and like most typical thrillers, is full of twists. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words some text written has been typed in red and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Reviewed as an advanced copy from Netgally,

I did ultimately enjoy this book, however it started off quite slow and and took me a while to get into it, the story was from Nina and Christians perspective, Nina being a friend and colleague of Christians wife Lily, I would say once I got to about 30% in I really enjoyed the story and I did finish the book fairly quickly as I couldn't put it down, big twists at the very end, however I felt the ending could have been elaborated a bit more and I felt a few chapters from Lily's perspective would have been useful.
I would recommend this book as it was a good story that was enjoyable once it got going.