Book Review: “Don’t You Cry” by Mary Kubica

In downtown Chicago, Esther Vaughan disappears from her apartment without a trace. A haunting letter addressed to “My Dearest” is found among her possessions, leaving her roommate Quinn Collins to question how well she really knew her friend. Meanwhile, in a small town an hour outside Chicago, a mysterious woman appears in the quiet coffee shop where eighteen-year-old Alex Gallo works as a dishwasher. He is immediately drawn to her, but what starts as an innocent crush quickly spirals into something far more sinister. 

I had never heard of Mary Kubica, the author of “Don’t You Cry,” but I had been advertising my book, “The Stolen Twin” at the same time this book was being promoted, and the advertising caught my eye.

(The advertising also mentioned “The Good Girl,” the first book by Mary Kubica, and it was a good thing it did, as you’ll see in my next book review.)

I decided to give “Don’t You Cry” a try (based on the advertising), and, oh my God was it a disappointment.

Where to even start?

First off, it was way too slow for a psychological thriller. It just plodded along, seemingly aimlessly, for probably three-quarters of the book.

And it was more than just a slow start. It was just slow. And sort of dull, to make matters worse.

Now, it did eventually speed up near the end. And despite how long it took to get there, I actually found the end rather satisfying (which, just goes to show you, if you can end a book correctly, that can make up for a lot of flaws in the beginning and middle … but you do have to keep your readers actually, you know, reading).

But, I had one other major issue: Alex.

The story was told by two main characters. Quinn was fine (mostly). She was what kept me reading, because eventually I was sucked into the story about what on earth happened to her roommate.

But, Alex.

Oh. My. God.

I could not stand his character. He was also actually the reason I thought the book was so darn slow—every time  we are in his head, it’s like you’re stuck in a rather dull plot that seems to go nowhere. I seriously considered skipping his chapters altogether by the middle, but I ended up settling for very fast skimming, as I knew these two story lines just HAD to come together somehow (and the last thing I wanted was to try and go back and piece it together at the end).

But, believe it or not, Mary Kubica managed to bring it all come together in a way that did surprise me (although that might have been because I was skimming so much). Nevertheless, I didn’t see the end coming, and for that I’ll give the book two stars, maybe three. (Okay, maybe not.)

Here’s the Amazon link if you want to check out “Don’t You Cry:”