The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica
“There’s something off about the house,” begins Mary Kubica’s spine-chilling The Other Mrs. (Park Row Books). Maybe there’s something off about the novel, too, because it’s unnervingly difficult to put down. Kubica’s meticulous writing draws the reader into a labyrinth of lies, secrets and apprehension, with a more than a few entirely astonishing twists.
Sadie Foust has undergone a difficult past and immediately faces an equally difficult future. Wife to Will, a charming man with a distressing history of infidelity, and mother of two boys, one with a traumatic and worrying school experience, Sadie has certainly never had it easy.
Now her family is moving to a remote island off the coast of Maine for a “fresh start” built upon an ill-fated foundation; Will’s sister has just passed away, leaving behind a troubled teenage daughter, Imogen, who becomes the newest addition to their already unsteady family.
If all this wasn’t enough of an obstacle, a murder soon casts terror over the community – and naturally it happened right next door. You quickly find out that there isn’t just something off about the house, but about the island, the neighbors, the alibis and ultimately everything you previously thought was true. Loved ones become persons of interest in a crime much more menacing, chilling, and convoluted than the reader could possibly imagine.
Kubica crafts a truly intriguing main character with Sadie Foust. Though an accomplished doctor, Sadie feels deeply insecure about her relationships with not only her husband but everyone around her; she is a noticeably private individual.
Traditional gender roles receive a fascinating reversal since Will, a college professor, does most of the homemaking, while Sadie works long hours and serves as the primary breadwinner. Her guarded personality means that Sadie often appears somewhat aloof and emotionally distant to both her fictional acquaintances and the reader.
This makes for an interesting narrator since she never divulges every little detail at once. Withholding so many aspects of her personal backstory adds an extra layer of mystery on top of the baffling circumstances Sadie finds herself trapped in. Sadie isn’t the only narrator, however, another twist that provides endless new reveals, red herrings, and second-guessing.
Another, and much more emotionally vulnerable, woman named Camille and an enigmatic young girl known as Mouse emerge every so often to add fresh perspectives and further tangle the plot.
Will, Imogen, Sadie’s two sons and the supporting cast of suspicious personalities are all written with striking vividness, amply providing the necessary background for a successful thriller. Of course, the background itself only exacerbates the claustrophobic atmosphere with its isolated setting.
Beyond being a superbly creepy thriller, The Other Mrs. deals with mature and thought-provoking themes such as strained familial ties, bullying, grief, and mental illness. Kubica delves bravely into the characters’ tormented internal worlds and pulls the reader into a deftly constructed web of disturbing motivations, doomed good intentions, and heart-rending explanations.
By the time you’ve reached the last few chapters, the story has morphed into something shocking and mesmerizing; the climax utterly captivates the reader with its horrifying intensity.
In short, The Other Mrs. is a uniquely gripping page-turner for those in search of a provocative new thriller.
