Another excellent book by Mary Kubica! Kept me on my toes and I didn't want to put it down. A twist I didn't see coming!!

I enjoyed the twists and turns in the audio book as well as the narration which I felt really added to the story. The main protagonist Megan finds herself stuck in the middle of lies and deceit. The great reveal at the end was jaw dropping

Not only is this book a page turning thriller, but also one that is timely as violence against women is escalating at an alarming rate. An appalling and tragic reminder of what women face daily.
 
Meghan Michaels is a single mother working as an ICU nurse in Chicago. She and her teenage daughter Sienna live in a small apartment after her recent divorce. Working long hours, she worries for her daughter after a recent spate of seemingly random attacks on women in the area.
 
The book opens with Meghan receiving a call that could shatter her life …
 
At work she is put in charge of a young woman who was found gravely injured on a train track where it appeared she jumped down to. As new evidence comes to light, the police start to investigate the alleged suicide and believe that something more sinister may be at play. Megan becomes consumed with the case. Was she pushed? Are her and her daughter safe?
 
At Meghan’s divorce support group, she runs into Natalie, a woman she hasn’t seen since high school and who she thinks is a victim of domestic violence and wants to help her.  
 
Meghan’s character is created with compassion and as someone who wants to help others. She also has a strong sense of independence that she wants to impart to her daughter. An underlining message of strength, resilience and justice for women, in a world without violence and threats comes shining through.
 
This is a slow burn thriller, and as these violent and dangerous storylines merge, Kubica deftly weaves twists and turns, creating a wholly believable, dramatic and jaw-dropping, suspenseful read.

Highly recommend ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Huge thanks to @HarperUK audio @HQ for ALC 🎧 Brilliantly narrated by Andi Arndt 🤩

This was a fairly enjoyable listen. It started off quite slow but did pick up towards the end. There were quite a few coincidences for my liking, but overall it was a good storyline. The narrator was good, which added to overall enjoyment. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers.

II initially rated this one lower, but I realized it deserved another star. She’s Not Sorry started slow but picked up towards the end and was intriguing nonetheless.

Meghan, a single mother and ICU nurse, becomes invested in her comatose patient, Caitlin, after she attempts to take her own life.

As the story progresses, other subplots are seamlessly woven into the main one, leading to a fantastic twist at the end that ties everything together.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK Audio | HQ for the free audio copy of the book.

I haven’t read ir listened to anything by this author before, but the blurb sounds exciting. Well, it turns out to be a story that picks you up and throws you into a spin. It’s packed with drama and from the opening scenes where Meghan, an ICU nurse, receives a call from a stranger holding her distraught daughter, there’s more or less non stop action,

Meghan is a caring individual struggling with work life balance and as a single mother, it’s her daughter who seems to be losing out. She becomes interested in a new ICU patient, Caitlin, allegedly a suicide victim in a coma. Or was she the victim of a crime? Add to this a friend in an abusive relationship who needs help and you can see the conflicts for this caring nurse who has so many demands upon her time and emotional energy. I felt that on the whole, Kubica balances these threads well and as the first half of the book unfolds, they’re drawn together and connections are made.

I didn’t expect a number of the twists and one is gasp out loud, so the narrative works well as a domestic thriller. I listened to the audio version which is well narrated throughout; balanced and thoughtful delivery. I’ll be looking for more from Kubica.

ICU nurse Meghan Michaels is drawn to the latest patient on her ward. A young woman, Caitlin, has tried to commit suicide, but as the police investigate they discover that there is a possibility that she was pushed off a bridge. Why would someone want to hurt Caitlin, a much-loved daughter?

There is so much going on in She's Not Sorry by Mary Kubica that I really had to pay attention to keep up with the story. The time frame isn't linear either and this adds to the unsettled feeling you get as you listen. The opening chapter is chilling, with a mother getting a phone call from the kidnapper of her daughter. The story then introduces us to Meghan.

Meghan has a lot going on in her life. Recently divorced, she's now living in an apartment in Chicago with her teenage daughter. Meghan loves her job but the hours are long and exhausting. You can feel Meghan's frustration as she tries to balance work with her life raising a teenager and an ex-husband wanting access.

When Caitlin, the attempted suicide, is admitted to the ICU you immediately get a sense of Meghan's compassionate side. She is drawn to the patient, at a loss for why a young woman would try to end her life. Caitlin's parents are also at a loss, they struggle to comprehend why their daughter would take such an action. Things become more complicated when a stranger tries to gain access to Caitlin and then the police decide that it wasn't a suicide attempt, Caitlin was pushed. This is compounded by the fact that someone is attacking women. You begin to wonder if Caitlin was one of the victims and her attacker is determined that she won't regain consciousness.

While all of this is happening Meghan bumps into an old school friend, Natalie. She learns that Natalie is a victim of domestic abuse and struggling to leave her husband as she has no access to their finances. Having recently divorced Meghan is sympathetic towards Natalie and offers to help her.

It was at this point that I felt that the author had put too many threads into the narrative, especially when we still had to learn more about the kidnapping from the opening chapter. What I didn't expect was the twist that was thrown in part way through which drew some of these threads together. From this point on it was one revelation after another. Even when secrets are uncovered you are still left with a feeling of uncertainty, not quite sure if we know the full truth. The ending doesn't fill you with satisfaction, intentionally, it leaves you with a vague sense of unease.

Meghan Michaels is a good mother, a good nurse, a good friend - even a good ex-wife. She strives to do the right thing and is selfless to a fault, so it's no wonder people turn to her with their problems - whether it's a high school classmate she hasn't seen in years, a co-worker or her comatose patient's desperate parents.

There are three main narrative threads in play in She's Not Sorry: Meghan's quest to help her old friend, Nat, escape her abusive husband, the mystery surrounding her ICU patient, Caitlin, who survived a fall from a bridge, and a spate of attacks and home invasions plaguing Meghan's home city of Chicago. At times, the author deftly weaves these strands together, resulting in well-planned, unexpected twists and reveals, which I didn't see coming but which do, crucially, make sense; however, the more the story develops, the harder it seems author Mary Kubica is having to work to prevent the seams of the story from coming apart, and the more contrived and unlikely the twists become, as if wrong-footing the reader is the goal in itself, rather than telling a clever, tightly-plotted story. The ending, when it comes, feels very abrupt and left me with plenty of unanswered questions; even as I write this, I keep thinking, 'But what about...?'

Like Kubica's previous works, She's Not Sorry is a readable, engaging thriller with a shocking prologue to grab the reader's attention and an 'everywoman' main character who makes the target audience wonder how they would respond if placed in a similar situation. Meghan is a very thoroughly drawn character - to the extent where you could posit any situation and I could probably tell you how she would react to it - but I just didn't find her very interesting. As a thriller protagonist, she oscillates between preposterous leaps of deductive reasoning and struggling to come to the most obvious conclusions; there are many elements of the plot which could have been resolved far sooner if not for Meghan's obliviousness and determination to take everyone she meets and everything they say at face value.

Fans of Kubica will undoubtedly enjoy this book, but I felt that it did not live up to its intriguing premise - or to the author's previous titles.

I listened to the audiobook of this title and the narration was strong.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the opportunity to listen to and review an ARC of this title.

If you’re an aficionado of the thriller/mystery genre, I expect, like me, you have a great appreciation for the art of misdirection; the ability of an author to so efficiently pull the wool over the reader’s eyes that its sudden removal is like being hit by a thunderbolt.

Alice Feeney springs to mind as one master of this craft. Mary Kubica is another.

Told from the POV of Meghan, a recently divorced ICU nurse, this is a dark, multilayered, multi-strand story with a shocking prologue that whets the appetite for what’s to come.

There’s a lot going on in Meghan’s life. One of her patients is in a coma with a traumatic brain injury, after ostensibly trying to take her own life. She’s recently reconnected with an old school friend, whom she suspects is being abused by her husband. And there’s a dangerous stalker on the loose in their neighborhood, making Meghan fear for her own safety and that of her teenage daughter.

I listened to this on audio, popping in my buds at every opportunity, so compelling were the unfolding storylines. There were gasps aplenty as twist after twist sent the narrative spinning off in new directions, but none was louder than when all three strands suddenly came together in a magnificent WTF moment that had me frantically rewinding to listen to it again.

What a sucker punch! The last time a twist like this sent me reeling was in Feeney’s Rock Paper Scissors. I kicked myself then and did so, doubly hard, here.

She’s Not Sorry is an utterly brilliant piece of revenge fiction, made all the more so for being dressed up as something else entirely. It’s not until you reach the end that the relevance of the title becomes apparent, but the message is clear: Don’t mess with a mother’s instinct to protect her child. You do so at your peril.

She's Not Sorry by Mary Kubica
(Narrated by Andi Arndt)

Such an enjoyable twisty thriller. The storyplot was something that drawn audience in immediately. It tensed up steadily, with a great pace of moving.

The characters are somehow relatable. And I truly enjoyed the whole story setting.

The narrator presented the story well. I loved her way to express various emotions of the characters!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my copy.

Pub date: April 2, 2024

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐+⭐
She's Not Sorry by Mary Kubica, an audiobook narrated by Andi Arndt is THE NEXT LEVEL OF TWISTED!
Oh, my sweet potato fries! I believe I experience all emotions starting with a deep inhale through the mouse with a wide open eye, dropping jaw, and loud gasp! Like seriously! How is possible to hide so many twists in one book?

And I absolutely loved the writing style! Instead of jumping back and forth between past and now author managed to deliver important details, that so relevant to what was happening at that moment. Probably someone would say it's slow-burn and I usually don't like slow-burns but this was just perfect!

Single mum and intensive care nurse Meghan balancing her life as good as she can. City life is dangerous and rap!st is on the loose which makes things more intense, especially if Meghan must walk from the hospital in the dark. Meghan always was dedicated to her job but when a new patient Caitlin who survived the su!cide attempt was admitted to the hospital she became like a strong shoulder for Caitlin's parents. If this is not hard enough Meghan runs into her school friend who is dealing with domestic violence.

Will willingness to help will put her and her daughter in danger?

Andi Arndt did fantastic narration, it was engaging and intense and voice changes were creating the illusion that there was more than one narrator!

Thank you HarperCollins UK Audio and NetGalley for this audiobook! I loved it so, so much!

This book is 2 plots combined. The first part is exciting with lots of twists and turns that make it unpredictable and interesting. The second is easy to guess from early chapters, rather unbelievable and to be honest unnecessary.

Absolutely loved this story! Maybe because I listened to it on audio, I did not see those twists coming!

This was so good and I think it’ll be my new book to recommend to everyone!

This was a wonderful paced thriller. We had the steady paced story building and then bang whiplash with all the goings on. It kept me hooked from the off. The twists I did not see coming at all! The writing was very cleverly done and all the information provided weaved together perfectly! A very engaging and enjoyable read

I went in blind with this one as I’d forgotten what the blurb entailed. There is a lot going on in the way of storylines and I don’t think it worked as some felt a little mixed up, others weren’t followed through on and left hanging and some just weren’t needed. It felt like the author was trying to do too much instead of just focusing on one or two. At times the style of writing could be very descriptive and I found my mind wandering a little. Some aspects of the storylines where obvious from early on and took away the suspense factor and didn’t leave much in the way of guesswork for the listener. As for the characters I can’t say I was overly bothered with any of them. Unfortunately there was just too many aspects of this listen that didn’t work so overall I just found it meh.

2.5/5 🌟🌟/🌟

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK Audio for the opportunity to listen to and review #ShesNotSorry

Megan Micheals is an ICU nurse and mum to a teenage daughter. Recently divorced she tries to keep her work and home life separate.
However, she has recently been assigned a patient, who is being treated after a fall from a bridge. She is in a serious condition. This patient draws memories of Megan’s younger sister who died when she was a teenager. She finds herself becoming drawn to this patient and her family.
During this there are several attacks on women happening around the area she lives. These attacks are escalating and Megan worries about her daughter home alone while she is working long shifts.

Megan then meets an old friend Natalie, who she not seen since High school years. It seems the friend is in trouble and has no one she can turn to for help. Megan tries to help her the best way she can.

Things then start to take a turn for the worse. Megan receives a phone call from someone claiming to have her daughter. Is this revenge for helping Natalie or is this something connected to the patient she is working with?

I enjoyed listening to this book, found it a little frustrating and confusing at times as the story unfolds I couldn’t quite work out the timings. I also couldn’t believe Megan would behave the way she was with everything going on.

3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins audio for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book. Its set up was engaging and I found myself flying through the first quarter. Unfortunately, the next 50% of the book was very slow and I struggled to get through it. It’s strange as there were so many different threads and storylines, there was so much going on but not enough at the same time. In classic Mary Kubica style, the ending ramped up and revealed twist after twist.

I did guess most of the twists, including the two big ones, but I enjoyed them nevertheless.

The audiobook - Andi Arndt did a wonderful job bringing this story and the characters to life.

A slow first half but absolutely gripping for the remainder. Brilliant narrator and smooth listen.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK Audio for this free Advance Review Copy of She's Not Sorry by Mary Kubrica and narrated by Andi Arndt.

The premise hooked me and then the audiobook cover had me held captive. I was so thrilled when NetGalley and Harper Collins UK accepted me as an ARC reviewer.

The initial opening is interesting and draws you in. While the first half feels slow much of the time, it also brings in new information and offers bits and bobs which heighten the tension gradually. Then, roughly halfway through the listen, one big twist comes, and then lots follow in quick succession and the pace picks up immensely. From this point I just had to finish the listen.

The many and varied threads are tied up by the end, and the narrator is easy to listen to and great with the different voices. Though the ending is a little open, it's not a cliffhanger and it left me satisfied enough.

I can't give too much away because I don't want to put in any accidental spoilers. Suffice it to say, this audiobook is well worth a listen, and is both soothing (with the narrator's voice) and gripping. This listen gets a high four stars from me.

***

NOTE ON RATINGS: I consider a 3-star rating a positive review. Picky about which books I give 5 stars to, I reserve this highest rating for the stories I find stunning and which moved me.

5 STARS: IT WAS AMAZING! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! — Highly Recommended.
4 STARS: I WOULD PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER — Go listen to this book.
3 STARS: IT WAS GOOD! — An okay listen. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it.
2 STARS: I MAY HAVE LIKED A FEW THINGS —Lacking in some areas: writing, characterisation, and/or problematic plot lines.
1 STAR: NOT MY CUP OF TEA —Lots of issues with this audiobook.

📚 BOOK REVIEW 📚

She's Not Sorry @marykubica

Thank you to @netgalley for allowing me an early advanced copy of this book ahead of release.

I can't quite believe this is my first Mary Kubica book as I've often seen her books about but for some reason this is the first one I've read.

The book is told through Meghan's eyes as we follow her through her day to day life. She has a lot going on being an ICU nurse but she's also newly divorced and sharing custody of her 16 year old daughter Sienna. She is assigned the care of a suicide patient, Caitlin who jumped of a bridge. She's in a critical condition and it's not known wether she will survive yet. She's drawn to this patient as she gets to know the family and they start to reveal what kind of person Caitlin was. But Meghan is sure she so a strange man hanging about Caitlin's room and starts to wonder if maybe she was pushed instead.

There's also a man out hunting women in the streets and Meghan is increasingly concerned about a friend who she's just got back in touch with who is going through a difficult time. Are all these mysteries tied together?

I enjoyed the pace of the book and though this was well executed. With each chapter more and more things were revealed which kept me engaged and wanting to know where the story was going. I also love that the cover is quite haunting and I feel it's a good fit for the tone of the book. It was a great and thrilling ride and one I enjoyed. I look forward to reading more from this author.

#thrilling #netgalleyread #shesnotsorry #lovetoread #fabthriller #engagingread #jamiesbookstagram #jamiesbooks #alwaysreading

I listened to the audiobook and Andi Arndt is one of my favorite narrators anyway so I knew she would be fabulous with this one! There were tons of twists and surprises around every corner, some I saw coming and was happy to see play out and some that came out of nowhere! Excellent book, highly recommend this one and this author in general!