Not That I Could Tell: A Novel by Jessica Strawser
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I get the sense she views neighbors the way I do–sort of like family. You don’t get to pick them, and you’re stuck sharing space whether you like it or not, so you might as well try to get along.
When neighborhood women gather around a fire pit drinking wine into all hours of the night, you never know what’s going to happen. Unfortunately for this group of ladies in Yellow Springs, Ohio, fun and games turn to fuzzy memories and a lot of questions come Monday morning when Kristin, one of the group, doesn’t show up for work and her twins don’t arrive at school.
The police asking questions of Kristin’s whereabouts quickly devolves into an all-out media circus in this once quiet neighborhood. Suspicions fall at the feet of Kristin’s estranged husband, Dr. Paul, one of the creepiest doctors you’ll ever meet.
The main course of the book follows along with the lives of the women remaining; showing how Kristin’s disappearance has affected them, their lives and their relationships to one another. Izzy, the newest member of the neighborhood gang, and the only single-woman, plays a very special role in the drama as she appears to have befriended Dr. Paul.
This is a very well written book. I think Strawser really excels at writing and examining different types of relationships. Additionally, I feel she does a great job exploring women’s issues: what it is like to be a mother, a stay-at-home mother versus a working mother, a single woman, women in love with other women, women’s relationships to their families, different expectations placed on women at different points in their lives, etc. She writes so fluidly; it all has such a nice feel to it.
I was surprised to find that overall the Goodreads rating for this book is around a 3.50; although that still means it is a ‘good’ book, I would have assumed it would be higher, more like a 4. I think the main problem is the fact that this is classified as a Thriller and I would disagree with that designation. I would classify this as a Domestic Drama or even Women’s Lit. It is my opinion, that her books would be better served if they were marketed in that way as if you go into this looking for ‘Adult Thriller’ you may be disappointed. Of course this is solely my opinion, I do not work in publishing, so really, what the hell do I know?
Overall, I had a really enjoyable time with this book. Strawser’s writing always sucks me in and I will definitely pick up anything else she writes in the future. Thank you so much to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review. I always appreciate the opportunity to provide my opinions.