When the Lights Go Out by Mary Kubica

When the Lights Go Out by Mary Kubica
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

When the Lights Go Out by Mary Kubica

September 2018
Fiction, mystery, suspense

I received this digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review from NetGalley and Harlequin/Hanover Square Press.

This story started strong but then took a wrong turn somewhere and was unable to find its way back. Jessie Sloane has spent the past 2 years caring for her mother, Eden, dying from cancer. All Jessie has ever known is life with her mother who refused to disclose any information about her father. With her mother dying Jess fears life alone with no other family. She stops taking care of herself and becomes so sleep deprived that she begins to hallucinate. Soon, she doesn’t know what fact and what’s fiction.

The story alternates between Jessie in the present dealing with the aftermath of her mother’s death and Eden about 20 years prior happily married but distraught over her infertility. Both mother and daughter are unreliable narrators who both seem to suffer from the same mental instabilities.

In the end, I was confused and disappointed. I thought maybe I was missing the rest of the book. I enjoy books with unexpected twists and turns but this was just one wrong turn that led nowhere. Since I like this author I was really hoping to enjoy this book which is why I gave 2 stars instead of 1. Unfortunately, I found this not to be one of her best works.




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