Just the Nicest Couple: A Novel

by Mary Kubica

Overview

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“Grabs you on the first page and doesn’t let go until you reach the end.” —Laura Dave, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me

A husband’s disappearance links two couples in this twisty thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Local Woman Missing, Mary Kubica

Jake Hayes is missing. This much is certain. At first, his wife, Nina, thinks he is blowing off steam at a friend’s house after their heated fight the night before. But then a day goes by. Two days. Five. And Jake is still nowhere to be found.

Lily Scott, Nina’s friend and coworker, thinks she may have been the last to see Jake before he went missing. After Lily confesses everything to her husband, Christian, the two decide that nobody can find out what happened leading up to Jake’s disappearance, especially not Nina. But Nina is out there looking for her husband, and she won’t stop until the truth is discovered.

"Rich with detail and a mounting, almost suffocating sense of dread, Just the Nicest Couple is a dark and twisted exploration of loyalty, family, and how far we’ll go to protect the ones we love." —Andrea Bartz, New York Times bestselling author of We Were Never Here

Don't miss Mary Kubica's newest novel, She's Not Sorry, where an ICU nurse accidentally uncovers a patient's frightening past...

Look for these other edge-of-your-seat thrillers by New York Times bestselling author Mary Kubica:

• The Good Girl
• The Other Mrs.
• Local Woman Missing
• She's Not Sorry
• It's Not Her

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780778333111
Publisher:	Park Row Books
Publication date:	01/10/2023
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 8.70(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Mary Kubica is a New York Times bestselling author of thrillers including The Good Girl, Local Woman Missing and She''s Not Sorry. Her books have been translated into over thirty languages and have sold over five million copies worldwide. She’s been described as “a helluva storyteller” (Kirkus Reviews) and “a writer of vice-like control” (Chicago Tribune), and her novels have been praised as “hypnotic” (People) and “thrilling and illuminating” (LA Times). She lives outside Chicago with her husband and children.

Editorial Reviews

Just the Nicest Couple is Mary Kubica at her twisty, mysterious best. Every character brims with secrets. Every page holds a surprise. It's entirely unputdownable and everything a reader is looking for in their next read.” —Sally Hepworth, New York Times bestselling author of The Younger Wife

“You won’t know who to trust in Just the Nicest Couple, a domestic thrill-ride which grabs you on the first page and doesn’t let go until you reach the end. A riveting tale about marriage, trust, and secrets, this is Mary Kubica at her best.” —Laura Dave, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me

"In Just the Nicest Couple, Mary Kubica is writing at the top of her game. She wastes no time dropping her characters into an impossible situation and then ratchets up the tension, one twist after another, until the last, shocking conclusion. Just the Nicest Couple is propulsive, addictive, and impossible to put down. But be warned: nothing — and no one — is as they seem." —Julie Clark, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Flight


"Rich with detail and a mounting, almost suffocating sense of dread, Just the Nicest Couple is a dark and twisted exploration of loyalty, family, and how far we’ll go to protect the ones we love." —Andrea Bartz, New York Times bestselling author of We Were Never Here

“Mary Kubica’s Just the Nicest Couple is a masterfully written thriller about deception where we least expect it and the danger of a lie tumbling out of control. Taut and incredibly suspenseful, every moment is perfectly crafted to keep us wanting more. An engrossing, spine-tingling read! —Ashley Audrain, New York Times bestselling author of The Push

"Kubica is a master of unnerving domestic thrillers. Fans will devour [Just the Nicest Couple] in one sitting. —Booklist

"In Kubica’s twisted tale of deception and falsehoods, readers will relish the shock factor in an ending they didn’t see coming." —Library Journal, starred review

From the Publisher

2023-02-23
When a man disappears under suspicious circumstances, a young couple tries to cover their involvement while his wife begins to wonder what they know.

When Christian Scott returns home to find his wife, Lily, upset and scared, he assumes at first that she's had another miscarriage. Instead, Lily shares with him a horrific story: While she was taking a walk at a nearby nature preserve, she'd run into Jake Hayes, the husband of her friend and fellow teacher Nina, and he dragged her into the forest and tried to rape her. She'd only escaped by hitting him on the head with a rock. This sets up the major conflict of the novel: Christian and Lily must try to cover Lily’s tracks in case the head wound turned out to be fatal. Nina and Jake had had a fight the night before, so Nina isn't surprised that she doesn't hear from him at first, but as she begins to realize Jake is missing and then goes to the police, she has no idea that Christian and Lily are working behind the scenes to protect Lily. Eventually she notices that something is wrong with their behavior, though, and she vacillates between investigating them and retreating to her mother's comforting arms. The chapters are divided between Christian's and Nina’s first-person perspectives, and the entire action unfurls after the crime has presumably been committed, which adds an intriguing layer to the suspense. There isn't much of a focus on the victim, as we never get to know Jake except through other people’s reminiscences. Instead, the possible suspects take center stage. The only weakness here is a common one in Kubica’s thrillers: The solution, when it comes, seems a somewhat unearned misdirection, but in this case, it also serves as a reminder that some characters are, as some people are, more invisible than others.

Skillfully built tension will keep the pages turning.

Kirkus Reviews