Reviews

Something She's Not Telling Us by Darcey Bell

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marzipan9's review against another edition

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3.0

Good build up, meh ending.

tasharobinson's review against another edition

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3.0

I was instantly grabbed by the opening of this book, where a helicopter mom tries to pick up her daughter from school and discovers she's been kidnapped — by a woman on the school's approved pickup list. And I was even more intrigued by the point a couple chapters in where the POV switches to the kidnapper, and we start getting to know her and liking her a lot more than we like the mom. But the deeper I got into the book, the more the ending was foreshadowed — what's going on with the kidnapper and why — and the twists come a bit out of nowhere and rely on some pretty unlikely behavior on the part of smaller characters. Plus we spend a fair bit of time in the head of the mom's brother, who whiffs back and forth between sympathetic trauma victim and self-absorbed asshole so often that the book gets whiplash. And then it builds up toward a thrilling climax, but abruptly stops. There are an number of frustratingly unresolved threads (the author spends so much time building up the question of what horrible thing Ruth did to the taxi driver to warrant his extremely unlikely and risky behavior, but we never find out what happened between them; the stolen passport is never found and there's no fallout from it; Eli just abruptly disappears as a character), and the ending is just so unsatisfying. This is a brisk, compelling read that kept hauling me back in — it's been a long time since I felt this energized to finish a book by an author I haven't read before — but the payoff left me disappointed.

avidreader8725's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

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

2.0

Content Warnings

thenextgenlib's review against another edition

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4.0

Loved the suspense and build up to this book! My only issue is the ending and I felt like this was true of A Simple Favor too: the ending just doesn’t quite come together or have a good conclusion. I feel like it almost nails it but isn’t able to stick the landing. Just my opinion. I did read this in one sitting so it definitely kept me engaged.

exlibrislynne's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

brooke_review's review against another edition

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4.0

Something She’s Not Telling Us is the perfect title for Darcy Bell’s new suspense novel because there is definitely something off about Ruth, Charlotte’s brother Rocco’s new girlfriend. Charlotte, a successful NYC florist, is used to Rocco bringing home ladies who are off-kilter, and although Ruth seems more normal than some of the others, Charlotte thinks she sees something sinister lurking under her perky, perfect façade. Charlotte’s worst suspicions are confirmed when she goes to pick up her daughter Daisy from daycare one afternoon and learns that Daisy has already been taken without permission … by Ruth. Where is Charlotte’s daughter, and who exactly is the woman who has kidnapped her?

Something She’s Not Telling Us is a multi-perspective novel that starts with Daisy’s kidnapping and then travels back in time to the day that Rocco brought Ruth home to meet Charlotte’s family. From there, readers are slowly introduced to Ruth throughout this deceptive, yet delicious, story. Who is the real perpetrator here? Who is the one telling the lies? Is Ruth really a bad person, or does Charlotte just not like anyone that Rocco dates? Who can be trusted?

Something She’s Not Telling Us is a solid entry in the women’s suspense genre and is entertaining throughout. With intriguing, yet unlikeable characters, and an uncomplicated plot, reading this book is a breeze. However, the ending of this thriller leaves something to be desired, which I find to often be the case in books that try to be too over-the-top. Nonetheless, this novel is fun and compelling; just don’t expect to be blown away by how everything wraps up in the end.