Reviews with content warning for Pregnancy - The Good Girl

This thriller was definitely a slow burn but it makes up over the course of the book. Written from three different perspectives while centering around Mia without hearing POV which I thought was interesting. If you have the patience, go ahead and read it. You won’t regret it.

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liferhi_inspired's review against another edition

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4.5

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astoriareader's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

SYNOPSIS:

Mia has been kidnapped. Mia is in her 20s. She’s the black sheep in her family. She’s a school teacher.
James and Eve are Mia’s parents. James is a prominent judge, and he cares a lot about image.
Grace is Mia’s sister, and she is the golden child. She followed in her father’s footsteps & went to law school.
Gabe is the detective assigned to Mia’s case.
Colin is the kidnapper, who is working for someone else. At the beginning of book, we learn he kidnaps her to actually help her & goes against the wishes of the person that hired him.

MY THOUGHTS

I had no idea this was Mary Kubica’s debut novel. Clearly, I have been reading hers in all kinds of order. She has quickly become one of favorite writers in the thriller/suspense genre.
This was set in Chicago, which I loved. Since I used to live in Chicago, it was easy to visualize neighborhoods and cross streets.
I read this in 24 hours, and I couldn’t put it down.
Excellent character development.
Multiple POVs. Told from perspectives of Eve, Gabe, Colin. In the epilogue, we are also offered Mia’s perspective.
All the characters are written really well. There’s no cheap writing tactics here. The perspectives come from each character’s world views. Although all the characters are flawed, Kubica deftly makes them understandable.
Well-plotted & expertly crafted.
Lots of twists, suspense, & drama. Complex family dynamics as well.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️read in 24 hours. Kubica is Queen of character development & plotting a gripping story.

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erinreading's review against another edition

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dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

As thrillers go, this one did not keep me on the edge of my seat the way I would like. I didn’t love the way the chapters went back and forth between before and after the main character is returned to her family. I kept reading to discover the reason for one key plot detail to be exposed and when it was, it was less than compelling. I found the story to be believable, probably because the twists weren’t all that dramatic. The epilogue came as no shock to me as I guessed this person’s connection to the crime about a hundred pages prior due to a bit of foreshadowing that was too on the nose. I feel the book and the premise are just okay, not great and not terrible. It’s just an average thriller to me.

ETA: after thinking on it for a few days, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that this book has some subtle language that is somewhat racist in nature. The comments I’m referring to made me feel uncomfortable as a white woman, reading a book written by another white woman. Definitely something to think about…

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