Name: Alexa M's review of Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser
Item: Not That I Could Tell
Rating: 3
Author: Alexa M

Jessica Strawser

"Full of slow-burning intrigue, Strawser's second novel will appeal to fans of Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies and Jennifer Kitses' Small Hours." —Booklist *Book of the Month Club Selection An innocent night of fun takes a shocking turn in Not That I Could Tell, the next page-turner from Jessica Strawser, author of Almost Missed You. When a group of neighborhood women gathers, wine in hand, around a fire pit where their backyards meet one Saturday night, most of them are just ecstatic to have discovered that their baby monitors reach that far. It’s a rare kid-free night, and they’re giddy with it. They drink too much, and the conversation turns personal. By Monday morning, one of them is gone. Everyone knows something about everyone else in the quirky small Ohio town of Yellow Springs, but no one can make sense of the disappearance. Kristin was a sociable twin mom, college administrator, and doctor’s wife who didn’t seem all that bothered by her impending divorce—and the investigation turns up more questions than answers, with her husband, Paul, at the center. For her closest neighbor, Clara, the incident triggers memories she thought she’d put behind her—and when she’s unable to extract herself from the widening circle of scrutiny, her own suspicions quickly grow. But the neighborhood’s newest addition, Izzy, is determined not to jump to any conclusions—especially since she’s dealing with a crisis of her own. As the police investigation goes from a media circus to a cold case, the neighbors are forced to reexamine what’s going on behind their own closed doors—and to ask how well anyone really knows anyone else.

A Novel

Not That I Could Tell

Cindi Coan

An innocent night of fun takes a shocking turn in Not That I Could Tell, the next page-turner from Jessica Strawser. When a group of neighborhood women gathers, wine in hand, around a fire pit where their backyards meet one Saturday night, most of them are just ecstatic to have discovered that their baby monitors reach that far. It’s a rare kid-free night, and they’re giddy with it. They drink too much, and the conversation turns personal. By Monday morning, one of them is gone. Everyone knows something about everyone else in the quirky small Ohio town of Yellow Springs, but no one can make sense of the disappearance. Kristin was a sociable twin mom, college administrator, and doctor’s wife who didn’t seem all that bothered by her impending divorce—and the investigation turns up more questions than answers, with her husband, Paul, at the center. For her closest neighbor, Clara, the incident triggers memories she thought she’d put behind her—and when she’s unable to extract herself from the widening circle of scrutiny, her own suspicions quickly grow. But the neighborhood’s newest addition, Izzy, is determined not to jump to any conclusions—especially since she’s dealing with a crisis of her own. As the police investigation goes from a media circus to a cold case, the neighbors are forced to reexamine what’s going on behind their own closed doors—and to ask how well anyone really knows anyone else.

Alexa M

3.5
this is not really a thriller in my opinion, more of a 'mommy drama' lol. i definitely enjoyed reading it but didn't think it was anything special. i think someone more interested in the 'mommy drama' sub-genre would enjoy it a lot more!

Cindy

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Let me start by saying that when I read the last chapter of this book my jaw dropped! I cannot think of another time in recent months when an ending took me by such surprise. This book is so well written and the subject matter of abuse/violence against women is so important to call attention to. I truly appreciated the author crafting such a suspenseful story around the subject matter. The character of Izzy, a single woman living alone and a possible target of an abuser, is an interesting character. Izzy had me frustrated with her need for a man and seemingly any type of man but the right one! Clara seemed a bit bored with her stay at home life and definitely was one of my favorite characters. Clara's story is told over time and I was always surprised when more of her background was revealed.  Kristen was a total mystery throughout the book which is probably what the author intended. Paul, Kristen's husband was definitely not my favorite. It was so hard to guess what really happened to Kristen and her twins. There is lots of drama in this book but it still had that small town setting to it which I always seem to enjoy. This book literally kept me guessing until the end as to which direction it would go in in terms of Kristen and her twins disappearance, as I mentioned before my jaw dropped as I read the last chapter.  I look forward to this authors next book.

Melissa Moore

This was an interesting book. Gone Girl reminiscent. The whole time I was captivated by what could have happened to Kristen. I loved the diverse types of relationships in this neighborhood. I was glad to see major character development from Izzy. Then that ending. I honestly didn't see that coming but then again was not that surprised. This book kept me hooked and I was happy with the ending. Looking forward to more from this author.

Interesting book about neighbors and what we really know about eachother.
I enjoyed this as an audiobook and wanted to keep listening to see what happened next.

Samantha Seeman

A solid 4.5 star rating! This was everything I had hoped for from Truly Madly Guilty (and didn't get). I really enjoyed this and will look out for more books by this author.

I honestly cannot believe how quickly I got through that book. I mean it wasn’t that long, and suspense/thrillers always tend to be fast reads for me (except Stephen King, jeez those go on forever) but it was a quick couple days to get through it. I was really happy with how it turned out. As I mentioned, the description reminded me a LOT of Truly Madly Guilty. I was skeptical to pick it up for that reason alone (because I was sooo disappointed by it I didn’t want to waste more time on a similar story). However, I was pleasantly surprised that Strawser did a much better job with that kind of event. It may not have been as twisty as some people like their suspense novels, but I still enjoyed the story up to the very end. Some parts were a little slower than others, but all in all I think this is a worthwhile pickup. Actually, it would probably make a really good beach read for some people! So far, my BOTM choices have been heavy hitters in the enjoy-ability department, which is probably why I keep the subscription service (even though I haven’t gotten to half as many as I have). I am glad I was able to squeeze this into my read books for April.

For more of my thoughts, see my blog review:
https://modernwitchsbookshelf.wordpre...

Lauren Lopez

I was hooked from the first chapter! The story is told from two different points of view. The chapters alternate between the point of view of Clara, a stay-at-home mom who has the perfect husband and kids, and Izzy, the neighborhood newcomer who has an unrequited love for her brother-in-law. I felt as though Clara was still the main character throughout the story as she played the largest part in the plot playing out. There are very short blips written in italics that are presumably shared in the point of view of Kristin, the missing mother of twins, that help you to understand who is ultimately to blame for her disappearance. Those hints from her do not entirely give away if her disappearance was a choice or not though. I found myself reaching for the book in any spare moment I had. I almost felt like I was the detectives racing the clock to solve the mystery. There is a little revelation at the very end that I didn’t see coming, and I think that being a little unpredictable made it even better.

Emily C Peterson

Corrie White 

While a pretty predictable story... I couldnt put this book down. Absolutely fantastic writing. Will definitely be reading more works from this author in the future.

Lynn Braden

The ladies who live in a neighborhood in Yellow Springs, Ohio go home and sleep off a night of sitting around a fire pit with wine and good company. However, when they awaken in the morning, they discover that one of the woman, Kristen, and her two children are missing. Clues found by the police leave two distinct possibilities; she ran from an abusive relationship with her soon-to-be-ex-husband, Paul, or she and her two children were murdered. Clara doesn't believe that Paul is completely innocent as her husband does, and something in her past makes it difficult for her to stay out of the media circus that revolves around the disappearance. Izzy is dealing with her own doubts about Paul, but they are clouded by her feelings about the recent marriage of the man she loves to her sister who is now pregnant.
Not That I Could Tell is told from the perspective of both Clara and Izzy, which basically draws a picture of friends and neighbors and how their lives impact each other. Throughout the story, Izzy's pain at the loss of both her sister and her lover is palpable. Clara's seemingly perfect life with her husband, Benny also cracks a little under the strain of the media attention surrounding Kristen's disappearance. The mystery is mostly overshadowed by the affect it has on the lives of everyone involved. There is a nice little twist at the end that makes the resolution a little more satisfying, but overall, for those expecting an intriguing mystery, Not That I Could Tell is a bit disappointing.

Jolie

** spoiler alert **
           Not That I Could Tell caught my interest. I was in the mood to read a mystery. The synopsis called to me. What I wasn’t expecting was how into the book I got. And believe me, that is a good thing.

Not That I Could Tell had a very basic plotline. A popular, well-known mom who is going through a divorce disappears without a trace. Her soon to be ex-husband, a popular gynecologist, discovers them gone. Clara, their closest neighbor, is dragged into the case. Another neighbor, Izzy, befriends the ex-husband while battling her own demons. Everything comes together in an explosive ending that has a massive twist at the ending.

I enjoyed that the author kept Kristin’s disappearance under wraps. The reader finds out what happens to her in a letter or statement at the beginning of every other chapter or so. So many scenarios went through my head while reading, it wasn’t even funny. So I wasn’t expecting what was revealed at the very end of the book.

I liked Clara and I kind of felt bad for her. She got sucked into the drama. Her mother’s helper decided to start a newsletter and the first thing she writes about? Kristin’s disappearance. She illegally taped a conversation between Kristin’s soon to be ex-husband and the police. She also put Clara’s name on it as a contributor. Which brought an added scrutiny to Clara’s life. It also brings up memories that Clara has tried to forget. Memories that make Clara wonder what exactly was going on at Kristin’s house.

I felt awful for Izzy. She couldn’t win in this book. Her sister marries the love of her life. Then she finds out news that sends her into a downward spiral. Then her father tells her that she needs to stop acting the way she was acting. Everything was not going her way. The only thing that even looked good for her was the friendship she had with Kristin’s ex-husband. And even that…well, read the book.

I loved the ending of Not That I Could Tell. While I saw what happened to Izzy happening, I did not see the twist coming. It blindsided me. But looking back, I could see small hints of it in the book. So, kudos to the author for doing that!!

Not That I Could Tell is a well-written drama that shocked me at the end of the book. The characters were fleshed out. The plot was fantastic. I couldn’t get over the twist at the end of the book. Talk about being blindsided.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Adult

Why: language, sexual situations, and mild violence

I would like to thank Jessica Strawser, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Not That I Could Tell.

All opinions expressed in this review of Not That I Could Tell are mine.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

Cindi Coan &
Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser

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