The Book:
Don’t You Cry by Mary Kubica, 2016
The Characters:
Quinn
Her roommate Esther, who has disappeared
Alex
The Plot (from Goodreads):
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.
As Quinn searches for answers about Esther, and Alex is drawn further under the stranger’s spell, master of suspense Mary Kubica takes readers on a taut and twisted thrill ride that builds to a stunning conclusion and shows that no matter how fast and far we run, the past always catches up with us.
The Twist:
Ingrid, the agoraphobic, was the mother of dead Genevieve in the abandoned house across the street from Alex’s house. She was also Esther’s mother. Genevieve was the girl that Alex had been following this whole time, with her hair dyed to look like Esther.
Genevieve had tried to kill Esther when she was a baby, so Ingrid gave her up for adoption. Esther found Genevieve online but then tried to pay her off to go away so Genevieve tried to kill her. Quinn eventually finds Esther’s body in her storage unit. She has hypothermia but survives.
Alex figured out who Genevieve was just in time, and went to protect Ingrid. He was accidentally stabbed in a scuffle and died.
The Ending:
Esther and her mother (Ingrid) were reunited, and Alex was a hero for saving Ingrid. Genevieve went to jail for murder. I was a little confused why Alex was such an important character (he got his own whole POV!) but then his death was just carelessly glossed over like he didn’t matter. He may not have had many friends, but his death would certainly have a huge effect on his father.
The Review:
This one was a re-read from many years ago since I ran out of audiobooks and needed something available immediately on Overdrive! Some passages were familiar, but for the most part, I couldn’t remember anything about the story.
The story is told from two completely separate points of view: Alex’s and Quinn’s. They’re in entirely different towns. At times it felt like the two stories had almost nothing to do with each other, but they do come together in a satisfying spree of question-answering at the end.
Overall, Don’t You Cry is a reasonably enjoyable thriller. If you liked The Good Girl, you will certainly like this one too.
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