the setup…
Courtney Gray is on a family vacation at a quiet lake resort in Northwoods Wisconsin with husband Elliott and 10-year old daughter Cass. Her brother Nolan and his family (wife Emily, 17-year old daughter Reese, 14-year old son Wyatt and 10-year daughter Mae) are also vacationing with them at a nearby cabin. When Mae returns home after a sleepover with Cass, Courtney soon hears her bloodcurdling scream. She races to her rescue, finding the bodies of Nolan and Emily, Wyatt upstairs asleep and Reese missing.
the heart of the story…
We begin with the murder present day from Courtney’s point of view and seven days earlier from Reese’s perspective. I found the transitions brilliantly constructed as the things discovered during the investigation are given context by Reese’s perspectives. Every family has mess and these two had a lot, causing me to develop multiple theories and countless suspects until I just went with the flow.
the narration…
Jennifer Jill Araya (Courtney) and Brittany Pressley (Reese) are two favorites and gave great storytelling performances. Pressley also sold me on her bratty teenage character. They brought the tension and suspense.
the bottom line…
Kubica does it again, crafting a compelling mystery that unravels slowly but deliberately and with characters who have lots of layers and complexities. I gave up trying to figure out the whodunnit or where Reese might be and just let the story sweep me up and carry me wherever it chose to go. Describing this as twisty doesn’t even come close to doing this story justice and the ending…well, didn’t see it coming. Bravo!
Book Info
- Release Date: February 3, 2026
- Narrators: Jennifer Jill Araya, Brittany Pressley & Gary Tiedemann
- Audio Length: 11 hours, 2 minutes
- Publisher: Harlequin Audio
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Blue Mood Café 
2 thoughts on “It’s Not Her by Mary Kubica @marykubica @jenniferjill.araya @brittpressley @gary_tiedemann @harlequinbooks #ItsNotHer”