“A twisty, captivating, edge-of-your-seat read.” –Megan Miranda, bestselling author of All the Missing Girls “Creepy and oh so clever!” –Alice Feeney, bestselling author of Sometimes I Lie 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 … 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?
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Mary Kubica does it again, proving that she is a master of suspense and the twisty-thrillers that keep you glued to the pages late into the night. Not to be missed!
I lost sleep reading this book. Pun intended. 3.5 stars
When the Lights Go Out was Mary Kubica’s first for me. I’ve heard such great things about her other books and I was thrilled when I got the chance to read her latest. The book had me hooked immediately. I was invested in the character’s heartaches, I could feel what they were feeling. Kubica was definitely amping up to something huge, I could feel it in my bones.
Lights had suspense with every turn of the page (or swipe of the screen?). Jessie is reeling and Eden is falling and this mother/daughter storyline has you so wrapped up, you don’t know what is true or who is real. It’s funny what lack of sleep can do to a brain.
Without giving anything away, I will simply say the ending is not what I expected. I feel it will probably piss some off, while others may laugh and say, “Ha, damn. She got me good”. Which one will you be?
Kubica brilliantly unravels the lives of two women in this tense and haunting tale of identity and deceit. WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT will keep you questioning everything-and everyone-until the riveting conclusion. A twisty, captivating, edge-of-your-seat read.
Mary Kubica always does a great job at pulling the reader into her stories and not letting go until the last page. I was highly invested in the story and the characters but was disappointed in the resolution of this novel. I’m still a huge Kubica fan though.
Creepy and oh so clever with a brilliant twist that I did not see coming!
I’m not sure where to even begin!! This book was absolutely insane…..a very good insane!! It drew me in from the very beginning and kept me entranced right up to the end. I was in the edge of my seat almost the entire time because I never knew what was going to happen next. I definitely didn’t see that ending coming!!
Jessie is ready to start college. Her entire life has been her and her mom. No dad, no grandparents or family friends – just her and her mom. And now her mom has died of cancer. She rents an apartment and tries to start over but then the college calls and says that her financial aid form can’t be accepted because her social security number shows as belonging to a dead person, Jessie begins to question her entire existence. She doesn’t know who she is or where she comes from and everything in her life is even more bizarre because she can’t sleep at all and it’s been days since she slept and her life is becoming even more confusing. Her confusion can, at times, make the story confusing for the reader but I think that’s what the author intended. The novel is told from two viewpoints – Jessie’s and her mom’s backstory is told by her mom. While we are keeping up with Jessie’s confusing life, we are getting a fairly calm but difficult story about her mom’s desire and inability to have children which leads us back to the question of Who is Jessie and where did she come from?
This was an enjoyable suspense novel that kept me turning the pages until the end.
If I had written this review at the halfway mark of this book, I’d have called it my new favorite by Kubica hands down. It has all the twists and turns and unexpected dips and drops that you expect from a great thriller these days, plus, of course, the unreliable narrator. I was hooked from the start and even stayed up late reading so I could finish it in just 2 days. Now, having said all that, here’s what I have to say about the end of this book: it was a letdown. It has the kind of twist ending that I didn’t see coming (because in all honesty, it’s the oldest twist in the world and I thought Kubica was better than that). I’m sure some people will love the twist. I’m one of those on the other side of it. I felt like I invested so much into a storyline that I deserved a better resolution. It’s a good book, but that Ha, Gotcha Kubica threw in is, in my opinion, what kept it from being a great book.
IF YOU WANT TO LEARN ABOUT SURVIVAL \, THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU.
I like suspense books, so I was immediately attracted to the book when I read the brief.
It is a little hard to get used to the arrangement of chapters and skipping between past and present but after the first chapters are already used to writing, enter the plot and wait anxiously to solve the mystery.
Overall it’s A suspenseful book that keeps you tense until the last seconds of reading. It also combines romance, tension, surprise.
Recommended reading.
I am a huge fan of Mary Kubica! When the Lights Go Out is a twisty, what the heck is going on type of book! I was pulled in from the first page and loved reading the story from the viewpoints of Jessie and her mother, Eden. I didn’t see the ending coming!
No identity, no birth certificate, no social security card, no mention on her mother’s income tax forms.
Jessie found out she was non-existent, but how could that be possible? Was she really born in Illinois? Was Sloan really her last name? Was what her mother told her not the truth? If not the truth, why?
We follow Jessie after her mother passed away with no questions answered about her life and her identity. She never thought to ask her mother because the need never came up to wonder why she was an unknown person.
Meanwhile Eden’s story is being told along with Jessie’s. What is the connection? Does Eden have the answers to the questions of her missing identity?
The book had a slow start, but once it got going, I didn’t want to put it down. The slow start was because I was a bit confused, but I knew that would not continue and the book would get tense and interesting.
I, of course, was correct. WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT was a thriller with odd characters. Jessie was totally off-the-wall and Eden was strange as well.
As usual Ms. Kubica has created another spinning tale that keeps you guessing and wondering along with Jessie about her life and her mother’s parting words about finding herself.
WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT has a unique, creative story line with some upsetting situations, but the ending will have you saying: Ah ha as well as have you scratching your head.
ENJOY if you read Ms. Kubica’s newest. 4/5
This book was given to me as an ARC. All opinions are my own.
Jessie has spent years taking care of her mom Eden who has cancer. After her mom dies, Jessie tries to move on with her life by applying to college and moving to a new apartment. The college informs Jessie there is a problem with her social security number, it belongs to a dead 3 year old child. Jessie starts questioning her entire life. As she searches for answers, the reader is taken on a thrilling ride! The book is told by Jessie and her mom Eden. Eden’s chapters go back in time and follow until the latest years. I truly loved the characters as they are flawed and real. I felt for Jessie in every step she takes to find herself. I received an advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Harlequin Hanover Square Press. All opinions are my own.
When the Lights Go Out by author Mary Kubica is so well written until I felt so much distress as I was reading the book I had to go take an anxiety pill. That is the truth! I am a bit disappointed in the fact that I had invested so much of myself, my emotions, and my time in reading and worrying about Jessie until at the ending I felt slapped in the face. That is why I am giving the book 4 stars, it grabbed my emotions and stomped on them.
The story will bring you into the sad distress of Jessica as she sits with her dying mother, is unable to sleep, has restless legs, falls asleep just long enough for her mom to die while she sleeps, is unable to concentrate on things around her, sees and hears things which may be actually happening or maybe her tired mind is playing tricks on her, and I keep worrying that she is going to jump off the building.
In the middle of Jessie’s psychological meltdown, we have some history of her mother, Eden. I lost my compassion for Eden when she actively planned to steal a child. Her obsession for a baby got so out of control until she turned away from the person who truly loved her and had asked her to get help in coming to terms with her infertility. Also, she ran away from him when he wanted to come back home. Eden did not even talk to him about her condition??!
I allowed this book to make me feel sad, worried, fearful, alone, and desperate. The author was very successful in her writing! Although, the ending…seemed rushed and a bit confusing.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
I cried at the end.
This was not on any level a good book. I love this authors other books but this one, I can’t believe she wrote it, it was so awful
I have enjoyed other books by this author, but the twisted ending of this novel left me feeling manipulated and disappointed.
I have been wanting to read this book for so long, and now I have.
We find Jess who intends to rebuild herself after spending years taking care of her sick mother. She rents an apartment and goes to college. Except that at the university she is told that her social security number already exists, it belongs to someone else.
All this seems to be a mystery to her, the grief, the insomnia will prevent her from living a normal life.
Twenty years earlier, almost two hundred and fifty kilometers away, another woman makes a decision that seems to be the key to Jessie’s dark past. Is Jessie’s entire life based on a lie or is it an illusion?
A book I read in one sitting, I was so hooked on the story, it was so moving, gripping, addictive, full of suspense and twists and turns with very engaging characters. I love the author’s writing.
This book is told from two different view points, one in the past and one in the present. You begin to wonder how much more the heroine can take as she unravels her mother’s past. As she delves deeper into what happened, her life begins to spiral as she wonders if she’s dying or losing her mind. Mary Kubica weaves a tragic tale of secrets and family.
Enjoyed this book looking for another.