Published by Harlequin on July 29, 2014
Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Suspense
Pages: 352
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"I've been following her for the past few days. I know where she buys her groceries, where she has her dry cleaning done, where she works. I don't know the color of her eyes or what they look like when she's scared. But I will."
Born to a prominent Chicago judge and his stifled socialite wife, Mia Dennett moves against the grain as a young inner-city art teacher. One night, Mia enters a bar to meet her on-again, off-again boyfriend. But when he doesn't show, she unwisely leaves with an enigmatic stranger. With his smooth moves and modest wit, at first Colin Thatcher seems like a safe one-night stand. But following Colin home will turn out to be the worst mistake of Mia's life.
Colin's job was to abduct Mia as part of a wild extortion plot and deliver her to his employers. But the plan takes an unexpected turn when Colin suddenly decides to hide Mia in a secluded cabin in rural Minnesota, evading the police and his deadly superiors. Mia's mother, Eve, and detective Gabe Hoffman will stop at nothing to find them, but no one could have predicted the emotional entanglements that eventually cause this family's world to shatter.
An addictively suspenseful and tautly written thriller, The Good Girl is a propulsive debut that reveals how even in the perfect family, nothing is as it seems….
When Mia Dennett’s unreliable boyfriend fails to show up for their date – she strikes up a conversation at the bar with a stranger named Colin. At this point, Mia is still reeling from her boyfriend standing her up – she doesn’t seem to have an issue going to Colin’s apartment for a nightcap. A one-night stand with no strings attached – what does she have to lose? Right?
The instructions given to Colin were very simple – Kidnap the girl and deliver her to the designated location. But as we know things don’t always go the way we plan them. Colin has a change of heart and decides to take a detour and hide out in a deserted cabin.
When Mia parents, Judge James Dennett & his Socialite wife, Eve Dennett are notified that their daughter hasn’t shown up to work – they began to worry about her whereabouts. Mia is a very responsible school teacher – so it’s unlike her not to show up to work with a notice.
Detective Gabe Foreman is on the case, and he’s determined to leave no stones unturned. Right from the start, I had a strong liking to Gabe – the way he threw around sarcasm was classic. I sympathized with Mia’s mother who was an emotional mess because she felt helpless when it came to finding her child. James aka the Judge rubbed me the wrong way throughout the whole book – he seemed to be more concerned with himself than anyone else.
Who hired Colin to kidnap Mia? The answer will shake you to the core.
The Good Girl is told from three different perspectives: Mia, Eve, and Detective Gabe Foreman. The chapter alternates between before the abduction and after – once I finished reading the second chapter I was able to flow with Mary Kubica’s writing style. I think it’s one of the reasons readers have compared The Good Girl to Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl novel. I won’t compare the two books because I feel The Good Girl stands on its own without the comparison.
Author Mary Kubica strikes gold with her debut novel. She does an excellent job creating memorable multi-layered characters in this book. If you are looking for a suspenseful read – pick up a copy of The Good Girl.
