The Other Mrs

4.5 stars!

The Other Mrs. is Mary Kubica doing what she does best—twisting your brain into knots while you try (and fail) to outsmart her. This psychological thriller drops you into a tense, atmospheric world where nothing is quite what it seems, and every character feels like they’re hiding something just out of reach.

The story follows Sadie and Will as they move to a small Maine town after inheriting a house—and a whole mess of secrets. When a neighbor is found dead, the slow burn of suspicion, paranoia, and unraveling identities kicks in. Kubica layers the narrative through multiple perspectives, and each one adds a new shade of doubt, making the final reveal both satisfying and deliciously disorienting.

I docked a half‑star show more only because a few sections drag just a bit, especially early on as the story sets up its many moving pieces. But once the momentum hits, it hits, and Kubica keeps tightening the screws until the last page.

Overall, this is a gripping, twisty thriller with strong atmosphere, sharp tension, and a payoff that makes the journey worth it. A fantastic pick if you love psychological suspense that keeps you second‑guessing everything. show less

I was looking for some junk reading that would keep my attention for a day or two. This wasn't it.

Sadie Foust is a doctor while her husband Will is a part-time university teacher. He is the stay-at-home dad who gets along great with the kids. The family just moved to a small town in Maine because the house was given to Will in his sister's will. However, the gift came with a requirement: that Will's niece, Imogen, gets to stay in the house until she is 18. She is 16 and mad and difficult. Mostly difficult to Sadie.

Shortly after they move in, a woman in a nearby house is murdered. Sadie never actually met the woman but she is soon the subject of suspicion. Another neighbor says he saw Sadie arguing with the woman. There are suspicions show more that Sadie may have thought Will was sleeping with the woman.

Life is not easy for Sadie. Strange things happen and she is accused of doing and saying things that she knows she did not do or say. She suspects Imogen has a hand in it. But it is so confusing.

The book has chapters from the point of view of Sadie, and also by someone called Mouse and someone called Camille. I guessed who these people were but I was wrong. So no, I didn't figure out the big twist in the story. At the same time, I just didn't care enough about Sadie or anyone else to give a damn. If Sadie had thought more about others I might have cared. show less

“The Other Mrs.” is my first book by Mary Kubica, and it immediately captures my interest! I have just discovered a very brilliant and talented master of suspense, who has written such a twisty and compelling thriller.
Will Foust has inherited an old and ominous house in a small-town Maine from his sister who died surprisingly. Sadie, Will’s wife, agrees to move from their unpleasant and disquieted past in Chicago, in order to have a fresh start there.
However, what awaits them is sinister, haunting and evil. Are they able to save themselves, especially Sadie from this harrowing fate?
It is very engrossing and keeps one turning the pages until the end. I highly recommend “The Other Mrs.” to any huge fan of psychological show more suspenseful thriller!
Thank you NetGalley and Mary Kubica for giving me this opportunity to enjoy this unputdownable thriller!

#NetGalley #TheOtherMrs show less

This book is a bit like a roller coaster ride headed uphill before the big drop. The first part just got more and more uncertain and confusing, as characters were added without much of an introduction. And then everything happened quickly, and suddenly everything fell in place and it all astonishingly made sense. I have to hand it to the author: it’s a well thought out and plotted storyline. I can’t say that any of the characters were really likable. They weren’t just dysfunctional - they were really messed up! But at least it was understandable why they were the way they were. My advice? Don’t get bogged down trying to figure things out. Just keep reading as fast as you can!

I liked Kubica’s previous book Pretty Baby so I was excited to get my digital library loan for The Other Mrs.

We start off with Will & Sadie Foust and their young sons arriving in Maine, looking at a house they’ve inherited from Will’s deceased sister Alice. Included in the inheritance is custody of Imogene, Alice’s 16 year old daughter. Sadie has an uneasy feeling about the house and the move. It’s a big change from the apartment they had in Chicago. The house is located on one of Maine’s islands.

Right now with people self isolating I have to say living on an island sounds pretty good. A ferry comes twice a day to take kids to school on the mainland and for people to commute and get groceries.

Frankly there aren’t a lot of show more likable people in this book in the very beginning. I feel a little sorry for Sadie but I definitely did not like her husband Will. This intensified as I read on. The character Imogen was no picnic either but let’s allow for the fact that her mother was dead and she is now subject to these strangers moving into her home.

After reading a little more I’ll say it has a decent plot with a lot of mystery, psychological kind of drama. I think it was around 82% mark that I slapped my head and said, really? I did not like the turn the plot took but I’d read so far that I decided to finish it.

Perhaps Kubica meant to bring awareness about mental illness and slam this ending to a crescendo where you’d say, wow that was amazing. Didn’t see it coming, etc.

Instead it made me feel gypped. I’ve read books where I didn’t like the ending but this was different. She wrapped it up but that twist....yeah. Rolling my eyes.

Obviously this is just my opinion and yes I would read another book by this author in the future. At least one more. show less

The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica is a highly recommended twisty psychological thriller.

Sadie and Will Foust and their two boys, 14-year-old Otto and seven-year-old Tate, moved from Chicago to a small town on an island in Maine. Will inherited the house from his sister after her death by suicide and is now the guardian of his disturbed teenage niece, Imogen. Sadie is trying to view the move as a new start after Will's affair and a troubling incident Otto had at school in Chicago. Sadie was an emergency room doctor in Chicago, but now she will work at the clinic on the island; Will, a human ecology professor, accepted a teaching position on the mainland.

Their lives should be on track to get better, but Imogen's behavior is becoming show more increasingly threatening and the old house is creepy. When their neighbor, Morgan Baines, is found dead in her home, the murder rocks their tiny coastal island. Sadie believes Will might have started an affair with the neighbor and is even more shocked to find that she is a suspect, so she begins looking into the murder herself. What she begins to uncover just increases the underlying tension.

The narrative is told through several different points-of-view. Sadie is the main voice. Camille is a former roommate of Sadie who had an affair with Will and is stalking them. Mouse is a six-year-old girl who is just trying to survive life with a cruel stepmother. It is apparent that all is not as it seems for all three points-of-view, but what is actually the truth is elusive. The setting weighs in creating a heavy atmospheric tension and a sense of isolation.

Kubica has created one tension-filled-throat-grabbing psychological thriller here. It appears everyone is guilty of something and the list of suspects is numerous because no one seems to be completely trustworthy. I enjoyed this thriller from start to finish and it held my attention throughout. The suspense and tension just keeps rising along with questions about what is really the truth. I will admit I was a little disappointed with the ultimate denouement, but the journey there was entertaining. 4.5 stars.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Park Row Books.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2020/01/the-other-mrs.html show less

This thriller has a very gothic and suspenseful atmosphere. The writer’s details brought the old, creepy and unwelcoming house to life. And having it set on a small island, with limited access, made the book even more alluring. I love old houses and the ocean!

Imogen was one of the most interesting characters for me...not exactly likable most of the time...but very unique and intriguing. Who doesn’t love a disresctful, hateful and rude teenager? Great taste in t-shirts