Just the Nicest Couple by Mary Kubica

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😇 Just the Nicest Couple by Mary Kubica

When your “perfect” husband goes missing, and your “nice” friend might be a rock-wielding liar…

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 out of 5 stars)

Okay, first things first:
This book had me flailing like a suspicious spouse watching their partner delete texts.
Edge-of-your-seat suspense? Check.
Jaw-drop twist at the end? CHECK.
People doing dumb things for love? Double check.

So, what’s it about?

Let’s get into it. And yes, I will be bolding everything I’d scream out loud if this was a true crime documentary.

👫 Meet the Couples: This Is Not a Game Night Group You Want to Join

There are two main couples in this twisty domestic thriller:

🧠 Jake and Nina

  • Jake: a hotshot neurosurgeon with a rapidly disintegrating personality.

  • Nina: a school teacher with a very suspicious mother and the patience of a saint.

From the outside? Perfect couple.
Inside the house? Not so much.
Jake is annoyed that Nina’s always taking care of her “blind” mother. Nina is annoyed that Jake’s being the absolute worst. They argue a lot. You know, typical marital bliss.

👶 Christian and Lily

  • Christian: husband of the year (or so we thought).

  • Lily: teacher, also married, and currently having an affair with Jake. Yep. 😬

They’re trying to have a baby, and let’s just say… fertility isn’t their only issue.

🕵️‍♀️ The Disappearance: Things Get Complicated REAL Quick

After a blowout argument with Nina, Jake just vanishes.

At first, Nina thinks, “Eh, maybe he needed space.”
But when he misses work (as in, surgery-level important work), she realizes something is seriously wrong. She goes to the police.

Meanwhile, Lily is panicking, because guess what?

She’s the last person who saw Jake alive.
They met secretly at Langley Woods that afternoon, and she tells Christian that Jake tried to attack her… so she hit him with a rock. Possibly multiple times. Then she ran.
Christian—bless his trusting, ride-or-die heart—believes her.
And helps her cover it up. 🫣

And this is where the suspense really kicks in.

🪤 Cover-Up Chaos: Christian’s Spiral

Christian is like a thriller character you want to shake and also root for.

He:

  • Lies to the police ✅

  • Deletes evidence ✅

  • Breaks into Jake’s house ✅

  • Nearly gets caught a million times ✅

It’s like a high-stakes version of “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie,” but instead, it’s “If Your Wife Hits Her Lover With a Rock.”

But just when you think the truth is finally about to come out...

💀 Plot Twist: Jake’s Body Is Found… but Not How You’d Expect

Jake’s body shows up. On the news. He’s dead.

But plot twist within a plot twist:
He didn’t die from blunt force trauma like we thought.
He was shot.

Whaaaat?!
Cue Christian wondering if he married a secret assassin.

Lily swears she didn’t shoot Jake. She did hit him a few more times than she admitted, though. (Oops.)

So who did it?

👁️‍🦯 Enter: Nina’s Mom (a.k.a. World’s Worst Blind Lady)

Turns out, Nina’s mom has been faking blindness like she’s trying to win an Oscar.

She was:

  • Jealous of the attention Jake stole from her daughter 👀

  • Fully aware of his affair

  • And decided to go full vigilante justice and shoot him after Lily left

Let’s pause for dramatic effect.

NINA’S MOM KILLED JAKE.
And she faked blindness for months to keep her daughter close. Honestly, this lady makes Machiavelli look like a rookie.

Anyway, she gets arrested, obviously. 👋

👶 Baby Drama & Divorce Decisions

Christian and Lily do successfully have a baby (yay?), but when Christian learns the whole truth about Lily’s affair, he files for divorce (fair). They end the book co-parenting and possibly maybe reuniting one day, but honestly… Christian deserves a nap first.

🤯 Final Thoughts

This book gave:

  • 🔥 Fast pacing

  • 🧩 Twists that made me whisper “no way” in public

  • 🧠 Characters making ethically questionable choices but somehow I still cared

  • 🔫 A fake-blind murderer mom, which I did not have on my bingo card

I didn’t see the ending coming, and that’s saying something because I’m basically a professional armchair detective at this point.

4 out of 5 stars. Would 100% recommend for your next domestic thriller binge.

🛒 Buy the Book:

📘 Buy Just the Nicest Couple on Amazon
📗 Buy it on Audible

📚 If You Loved This, Read These Next:

  • The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena – The OG messy neighbor thriller.

  • Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica – Equally twisty, equally bingeable.

  • The Push by Ashley Audrain – For more “wait, who do I trust?” vibes.

✍️ Final Verdict:

If you're into:

  • Cheating spouses 😬

  • Murderous moms 😱

  • Husbands who cover up crimes 🚨

  • Domestic thrillers that unravel fast

Then this book will be your next obsession.

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