BOOK REVIEW: When the Lights Go Out by Mary Kubica

Title: When the Lights Go Out
Author: Mary Kubica
Publication: September 4, 2018
Publisher: Park Row
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
Pages: 336

SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)

A woman is forced to question her own identity in this riveting and emotionally charged thriller by the blockbuster bestselling author of The Good Girl, Mary Kubica

Jessie Sloane is on the path to rebuilding her life after years of caring for her ailing mother. She rents a new apartment and applies for college. But when the college informs her that her social security number has raised a red flag, Jessie discovers a shocking detail that causes her to doubt everything she’s ever known.

Finding herself suddenly at the center of a bizarre mystery, Jessie tumbles down a rabbit hole, which is only exacerbated by grief and a relentless lack of sleep. As days pass and the insomnia worsens, it plays with Jessie’s mind. Her judgment is blurred, her thoughts are hampered by fatigue. Jessie begins to see things until she can no longer tell the difference between what’s real and what she’s only imagined.

Meanwhile, twenty years earlier and two hundred and fifty miles away, another woman’s split-second decision may hold the key to Jessie’s secret past. Has Jessie’s whole life been a lie or have her delusions gotten the best of her?

REVIEW:

**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

I had heard many good things about author Mary Kubica. She’s a best seller with an array of books that are right up my mystery/thriller loving alley. When the Lights Go Out looked like it was going to be another great novel to add to my shelf. 

To start out, this book had a lot of intrigue before you even open the cover. The description alone told you that you were about to encounter a psychological mind game mixed with mystery. Definitely catching from the go. Kubica has an eclectic writing style that is interesting to read and feels like your brain putting a puzzle together as you progress into the book. That adds a layer of interest that some books don’t have.

While the idea behind the book was good, I found it very hard to get into and stay into this novel. Being up front, I was not able to finish it. That is not to say it was bad writing or a bad story, the concept that played out in the book was not appealing to me in the end.  I understood the main character to be confused and almost hallucinating due to insomnia and other factors, but I found myself confused more times than not to a level that made understanding the book in general hard. 

This isn’t to say that I would not read Mary Kubica’s work in the future, because I would. I just did not connect with this one. I do like her style of writing and obviously a lot of people enjoy her work. I would encourage everyone to take a look for themselves and let me know your own thoughts! I’ll be checking out her next book.

STAR RATING: 2/5

When the Lights Go Out by Mary Kubica is available now on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and you can check your local bookstore. Make sure to add it to your To Reads list on Goodreads and leave feedback for the author when you are finished. You can check out more from New York Times Bestselling author Mary Kubica on her website HERE

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