Local Woman Missing

Women are going missing in the suburbs of Chicago. First, it’s Shelly Tebow, who disappeared while running. Next, Meredith Dickey and her six-year-old daughter Delilah go missing, causing panic in friends and neighbors.

Local Woman Missing opens with Delilah’s point of view, held captive in a dark basement. She has no idea where she is and who her captors are. She has been locked away for years and is nearing her breaking point. Not sure of the day, time, or year, all she knows is her name is Delilah Dickey.

The next perspective is Meredith, eleven years earlier. Mother of Leo and Delilah, Meredith is a doula and yoga teacher with a seemingly perfect life. But is everything perfect underneath her housewife veneer? Meredith starts to receive threatening text messages, saying she deserves to die because of what she did.

Another perspective from the past is Kate, next-door neighbor to the recently missing Meredith and Delilah. After being so close with her neighbors, she takes it hard when they disappear and decides to start looking into their mysterious disappearances. Kate starts to learn that maybe everything wasn’t as perfect as it looked in Meredith’s life, and she tries to balance her investigation with being there for Josh, Meredith’s husband, and her young son Leo.

The final perspective is Leo in the present, right after his long-lost sister is found. Leo has had a hard and lonely life since the disappearance of his mother and sister, and is having a hard time believing she is really back. She is nothing like she was eleven years ago, and Leo is slow to trust that Delilah is really his sister.

The alternating perspectives give a comprehensive version of what happened in the past and what is currently happening in the present of this story. From the very first page, this book captures you with an interesting plot and a well-written story. I read this book in only a few hours and couldn’t put it down for a minute. Each chapter draws the reader deeper into the plot and each layer of mystery.

There were so many suspicious characters to keep readers on their toes. Right when I thought I knew where this book was going, a new detail would come to light, completely changing my point of view. This domestic thriller is fast-paced and, as always, Mary Kubica weaves a unique and interesting narrative. This is my personal favorite book by Kubica, with the characters being relatable and intriguing. I had no idea where this book was going to end up, but I truly did enjoy the journey.

Thank you to Park Row Books and Mary Kubica for my ARC of this book. Opinions are my own. Local Woman Missing comes out on May 18, 2021