Local Woman Missing

Eleven years after the disappearances of new mom Shelby Tebow, doula Meredith Dickey, and Meredith’s six-year-old daughter, Delilah, shook their tranquil Chicago suburb, troubling questions linger about just what happened to them in this daringly plotted, emotionally eviscerating psychological thriller from bestseller Kubica (The Other Mrs.). Out of the blue, Meredith’s husband gets the call that will upend his life again: Delilah has been found. However, the traumatized, emaciated teen subsequently brought to the house bears little resemblance to the Delilah he remembers, other than her distinctive red hair. As usual for this author, much suspense stems from her storytelling sleight of hand, particularly the way she leaps forward and backward in time as well as among half a dozen distinctive if not always reliable narrators, who include Shelby, Meredith, and Delilah’s younger brother. Though a couple of the final megatwists prove more shocking than convincing, Kubica’s plumbing of the darkness lurking beneath the shiny suburban dream should please her fans and draw in new ones. This is definitely one of her better efforts. Agent: Rachael Dillon Fried, Sanford J. Greenburger Assoc. (May)