It’s rare when one word makes you read an entire book, but it was true in the case of Mary Kubica’s The Good Girl.  On the first page, the story begins with a chapter title of one character’s name and the simple word “before” listed under it. I was automatically intrigued. Before what? And so I read.

The Good Girl is told from several characters’ points of view. So the reader gets many stories wrapped around one main story. What’s even more interesting is that some chapters are labeled “Before” and some are labeled “After.”All along the reader is questioning: before what? after what?

The story lines go something like this:

• Mia, a 20-something-year-old female art teacher, gets kidnapped after going home from a bar with the wrong guy
• An empty nest mom worries about the fate of her missing daughter while her aloof husband blames the daughter’s carelessness and rebellious ways for her plight
• Aging and lonely detective Gabe finds himself amid family secrets that threaten to come to light as he searches for clues to Mia’s whereabouts
• Colin, a desperate man with a blighted life-story, finds himself without answers to a kidnapping gone wrong

Since this book is a mystery, I won’t share any more information. Grab it today and enjoy a intriguing mystery that will keep you on the edge of your lounge chair until you discover the real secret.

Happy Reading,

~a