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A review by amandasbookreview
Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser
4.0
*I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
One Saturday night, the neighborhood women gather around a small bonfire, enjoying a night without kids and drinking a glass of wine. The next morning, everyone is feeling the effects of the wine so they all stay indoors on the cold rainy day. The next morning, the women notice that Kristen and her twins are gone. Vanished. Police come to investigate and the husband she was divorcing decides to move in. He is the most obvious suspect but he seems harmless. Soon Kristen’s secrets start to emerge from the investigation but there is still no sign of where she could be. Soon a month goes by and the case officially goes cold. The women in the neighborhood look at each other and realize they really don’t know each other as well as they thought they did.
This is a psychological novel so I will make sure the ending is not revealed. My one complaint is that there wasn’t a whole lot of suspense. I felt it was more the mystery of the disappearance and the realization of not knowing someone. This book involved lots of speculation and gossip which is probably realistic. Being a part of moms groups myself, I see how this could become out of control quickly and skepticism rises.
What I absolutely loved was the focus the story brings to domestic violence. In situations like domestic violence, the perpetrator does not usually show violent tendencies in public. Domestic violence is very much behind closed doors. I also loved how the story mentions that there aren’t options for women in these situations. This is something that needs to be fixed. I don’t want to give the story away but this aspect of the novel was right on point.
I also loved the friendship. To have someone look out for you like the women in the neighborhood do for each other is priceless. Overall, I really enjoyed the novel! I was expecting more suspense but was pleasantly surprised with the overall tone of the novel!
One Saturday night, the neighborhood women gather around a small bonfire, enjoying a night without kids and drinking a glass of wine. The next morning, everyone is feeling the effects of the wine so they all stay indoors on the cold rainy day. The next morning, the women notice that Kristen and her twins are gone. Vanished. Police come to investigate and the husband she was divorcing decides to move in. He is the most obvious suspect but he seems harmless. Soon Kristen’s secrets start to emerge from the investigation but there is still no sign of where she could be. Soon a month goes by and the case officially goes cold. The women in the neighborhood look at each other and realize they really don’t know each other as well as they thought they did.
This is a psychological novel so I will make sure the ending is not revealed. My one complaint is that there wasn’t a whole lot of suspense. I felt it was more the mystery of the disappearance and the realization of not knowing someone. This book involved lots of speculation and gossip which is probably realistic. Being a part of moms groups myself, I see how this could become out of control quickly and skepticism rises.
What I absolutely loved was the focus the story brings to domestic violence. In situations like domestic violence, the perpetrator does not usually show violent tendencies in public. Domestic violence is very much behind closed doors. I also loved how the story mentions that there aren’t options for women in these situations. This is something that needs to be fixed. I don’t want to give the story away but this aspect of the novel was right on point.
I also loved the friendship. To have someone look out for you like the women in the neighborhood do for each other is priceless. Overall, I really enjoyed the novel! I was expecting more suspense but was pleasantly surprised with the overall tone of the novel!