2018 Book Review #26: Not That I Could Tell

I discovered a new-to-me author by perusing the "new books" shelf at my towne library.  This was great!  Now I want to look for her other book!

STORY SUMMARY

Everyone seems to know one another in the small town of Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Yet no one knows why one of the young mom's, in a certain neighborhood, has disappeared, along with her preschool-aged twins, Abby and Aaron!

Kristin was a vivacious, social mom.  Her full time job was as a college administrator and she was married to a very popular Ob/Gyn doctor named Paul.  They had what appeared to be the perfect marriage, perfect preschoolers in a perfect pre-school environment and she was even a perfect mom who came up with great ideas for school snacks and party favors.  However, Kristin and Paul were actually in the middle of a divorce settlement.....and now...she's gone!  And it seems like this was planned as some of her things are missing.....clothing, favorite dishes passed down from her own mother, the twins' belongings......except for a mysteriously left behind book cover of Abby's favorite pre-school book.  A book she could never part with!

Everything seemed so perfect that Saturday evening sitting around the fire-pit.

Clara, a good friend and neighbor of Kristin's, hosted a "girls night out" gathering in her backyard.  She and her husband Benny had just put in the new fire pit.  Benny and Clara have a pre-schooler named Tommy who is good friends with Abby and Aaron and is in their class at Circle of Learning Preschool.  They also have a toddler baby named Maddie.  Clara invited her neighborhood women friends to her gathering.  Besides Kristin, there was Izzy (short for Isabelle) a young single woman whose best friend Josh (and whom she secretly loves), just married her younger sister Penny.  Izzy is one of the morning show producers for a local radio station in nearby Dayton.  She has recently moved into the neighborhood and lives right next door to Paul and Kristin.  Paul, however, has recently moved into his own little apt while the divorce is going on.

Another neighbor at the gathering was Natalie...she is a military wife and is finishing up her college degree;  they have a daughter named Hallie who is 12.  Hallie pops into Clara's every day after school and is a very precocious tween. She is the writer and editor of a little self-published newspaper that she distributes to the neighborhood and she's always looking out for "good news".

Also at the gathering were Randi and Rhoda, new parents to baby Adele who own their own artsy shop named Moondance.  

The ladies sit around the fire sipping wine and sharing secrets.  Little do they know, Kristin will show up missing as of Monday morning.

As the week turns into a month, the investigation into her and the twins disappearance continues and it seems to turn up more questions that answers! At the center of all of this, is Paul.....

The disappearance has triggered some horrible memories for Clara who was an eye witness to a horrible crime back when she and Benny were first engaged.  She thought she had put those memories to rest but they keep coming back up to haunt her.....and now she begins to have some doubts about this investigation.

As the police investigation goes from being out in the media mainstream to a couple months later of being a cold case, all of the neighbors being to examine their own lives and what's going on behind their own closed doors.....and they begin to ask one another "how well does anyone really know anyone else....."

MY THOUGHTS

This was a fast-paced read.  Excellent character development and quaint setting made for a pleasant summer story.  The story opens at the end of summer and ends around Christmas time.

The ending is a nicely wrapped up ending without being sappy and with a couple of nice surprises.

The story that involves Izzy gets wrapped up as well and you begin to cheer her on.

This book's main theme deals with domestic violence.

It also deals with how imperfect we all are as parents and as friends/neighbors/family.  It's about relationships between women, moms, and sisters.

The author points out in her notes that Yellow Springs really does exist and some of the quotes used at the beginning of each chapter really come from trusted sources.  However, it is a work of fiction.

A couple of quotes jumped out at me as I was reading:

"And then a new hymn had started, like a promise.  When you think the spell has been broken, when you think you might have imagined it, don't give up.  If you wait, there can be more." (pg 96, Not That I Could Tell, c. 2018)

"On your wedding day you're choosing to love that person forever, but that's just the beginning.  You have to continue to choose them, every day. It's not like your other options are going to go away---it's up to you to turn them away.  Marriage isn't what it once was to a lot of people.  And if you really want it to work, you're not making a one-time vow--- you're committing to a lifetime of remarrying that person every day." (pg 305, Not That I Could Tell, by Jessica Strawser, c. 2018)

In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 17 and older (due to some mature content)

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 9.5