12 Of The Best Books Like Local Woman Missing By Mary Kubica

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“Sometimes being scared makes you do things you didn’t know you could do.”

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If you’ve just finished Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica and are already on the hunt for your next psychological thriller, you’ve come to the right place. With its missing-person mystery, buried secrets, shifting perspectives, and plenty of twists, the novel is exactly the sort of book that leaves you wanting more. Thankfully, there are plenty of gripping books like Local Woman Missing to add to your TBR pile. Today at What We Reading, we’re rounding up the best books similar to Local Woman Missing, from domestic thrillers packed with family secrets to psychological mysteries featuring unreliable narrators, and disappearances that refuse to stay buried. Whether you loved Kubica’s suspenseful storytelling or simply want another twist-filled thriller to keep you guessing, there should be something here for you. So, if you’re wondering what to read after Local Woman Missing, read on for the psychological thrillers worth picking up next. 

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Local Woman Missing Summary

Shelby Tebow is the first to vanish. Not long after, Meredith Dickey and her six-year-old daughter, Delilah, disappear just blocks away from where Shelby was last seen, striking fear into their once-peaceful community. Are these incidents connected? After an elusive search that yields more questions than answers, the case eventually goes cold.  

Now, eleven years on, Delilah shockingly returns. Everyone wants to know what happened to her, but no one is prepared for what they’ll find… In this smart and chilling thriller, master of suspense and New York Times bestselling author Mary Kubica takes domestic secrets to a whole new level, showing that some people will stop at nothing to keep the truth buried. 

Dear Debbie – Freida McFadden

Kicking off our list of books like Local Woman Missing is Freida McFadden’s new mystery thriller, Dear Debbie. Debbie Mullen is losing it. For years, she has compiled all of the best advice in her column, Dear Debbie, where the wives of New England come for sympathy and neighbourly advice. Through her work, Debbie has heard from countless women who are ignored, belittled, or even abused by their husbands. And Debbie does her best to guide them in the right direction. At least, she did. 

These days, Debbie’s life seems to be spiralling out of control. She just lost her job. Something strange is happening with her teenage daughters. And her husband is keeping secrets, according to the tracking app she has installed on his phone. Now, Debbie’s done being the bigger person. She’s done being reasonable and practical. It’s time to take her own advice. And now it’s time for payback against all the people in her life who deserve it most.

That’s Not My Name – Megan Lally

Shivering and bruised, a teen wakes up on the side of a dirt road with no recollection of how she got there – or who she is. A passing officer takes her to the police station, and not long after, a frantic man arrives. He’s been searching for her for hours. He has her school ID, her birth certificate, and even family photos. He is her father. Her name is Mary. Or so he says. 

When Lola slammed the car door and stormed off into the night, Drew thought they just needed some time to cool down. Except Lola vanished, and the sheriff, his friends, and the whole town are convinced that Drew murdered his girlfriend. Forget proving his innocence, he needs to find her before it’s too late. The longer Lola is missing, the fewer leads there are to follow… and the more danger they both are in. 

Pretty Girls – Karin Slaughter

Twenty years ago, Claire Scott’s eldest sister, Julia, went missing. No one knew where she went – no note, no body. It was a mystery that was never solved, and it tore her family apart. 

Now another girl has vanished, with chilling echoes of the past. And it seems as though she may not be the only one. Claire is convinced Julia’s disappearance is linked. But when she begins to learn the truth about her sister, she is confronted with a shocking discovery, and nothing will ever be the same again. 

Then She Was Gone – Lisa Jewell

It has been years since Laurel’s fifteen-year-old daughter, Ellie, disappeared, yet Laurel has never given up hope of finding her. And then one day, a charming and charismatic stranger called Floyd walks into a cafe and sweeps Laurel off her feet. 

Before too long, she’s staying the night at his house and being introduced to his nine-year-old daughter. Poppy is precocious and pretty – and meeting her totally takes Laurel’s breath away because Poppy is the spitting image of Ellie when she was that age. And now, all those unanswered questions that have haunted Laurel come flooding back. 

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Check Out The Best Books Like Then She Was Gone 

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Watching Edie – Camilla Way

Beautiful, creative, and a little wild… Edie was the kind of girl who immediately caused a stir. Now, at thirty-three, Edie is working as a waitress, pregnant, and alone. And when she becomes overwhelmed by the needs of her new baby and sinks into a bleak despair, she thinks that there’s no one to turn to. 

But someone’s been watching Edie, waiting for the chance to prove once again what a perfect friend she can be. It’s no coincidence that Heather shows up on Edie’s doorstep, just when Edie needs her most. So much has passed between them – so much envy, longing, and betrayal. And Edie’s about to discover a new lesson: those who have hurt us deeply – or who we have hurt – never let us go. 

The Good Girl – Mary Kubica

Another one of Mary Kubica’s best books, The Good Girl opens with Mia Dennett entering a bar to meet her on-again, off-again boyfriend. But when he doesn’t show, she unwisely leaves with an enigmatic stranger. At first, Colin Thatcher seems like a safe one-night stand. But following Colin home will soon turn out to be the worst mistake of Mia’s life. 

When Colin decides to hide Mia in a secluded cabin in rural Minnesota instead of driving her to his employers, Mia’s mother, Eve, and detective Gabe Hoffman will stop at nothing to find them. But no one could have predicted the emotional entanglements that eventually cause this family’s world to shatter in this pulsating thriller novel, perfect if you loved Local Woman Missing. 

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Check Out The Best Books With Jaw-Dropping Plot Twists You Won’t See Coming

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A Stranger In The House – Shari Lapena

Karen and Tom Krupp are happy – they’ve got a lovely home in upstate New York, they’re practically newlyweds, and they have no kids to interrupt their comfortable life together. But one day, Tom returns home to find Karen has disappeared. There’s a knock on the door – the police are there to take Tom to the hospital, where his wife has been admitted. She had a car accident and lost control as she sped through the worst part of town. 

The accident has left Karen with a concussion and a few scrapes. She also can’t remember what she was doing or where she was when she crashed. Karen returns home with Tom, determined to heal and move on. Then she realises something has been moved. Something’s not quite right. Because, like Local Woman Missing, this is a story where everyone’s a stranger. Everyone has something they’d like to keep hidden. Something they may even kill to keep buried. 

The Last Thing He Told Me – Laura Dave

Before Owen Michaels disappears, he smuggles a note to his beloved wife of one year: Protect her. Despite her confusion, Hannah Hall knows exactly who he’s referring to – Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey. As Hannah’s increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered, she soon realises that her husband isn’t who he said he was. And that Bailey may just hold the key to figuring out Owen’s true identity – and why he really disappeared. 

Hannah and Bailey set out to unearth the truth. But as they start putting together the pieces of Owen’s past, they soon realise they’re also building a new future – one neither of them could have ever anticipated in this bestselling mystery thriller novel like Local Woman Missing. 

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The Breakdown – B.A. Paris

Cass is having a hard time since the night she saw the car in the woods, on the winding rural road, in the middle of a downpour, with the woman sitting inside- the woman who was killed. She’s been trying to put the crime out of her mind; what could she have really done? It’s a dangerous road to be on in the middle of a storm. Her husband would be furious if he knew she’d broken her promise not to take that shortcut home. And she probably would only have been hurt herself if she’d stopped. 

But since then, she’s been forgetting every little thing: where she left the car, if she took her pills, the alarm code, why she ordered a pram when she doesn’t have a baby. The only thing she can’t forget is that woman, the woman she might have saved, and the terrible nagging guilt. Or the silent calls she’s receiving, or the feeling that she’s being watched… 

The Woman In Cabin 10 – Ruth Ware

Lo Blackrock, a journalist who writes for a travel magazine, has just been given the assignment of a lifetime: a week on a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins. The sky is clear, the waters calm, and the veneered, select guests jovial as the exclusive cruise ship, the Aurora, begins her voyage in the picturesque North Sea. At first, Lo’s stay is nothing but pleasant: the cabins are plush, the dinner parties sparkling, and the guests are elegant. 

But as the week wears on, frigid winds whip the deck, grey skies fall, and Lo witnesses what she can only describe as a dark and terrifying nightmare: a woman being thrown overboard. The problem? All passengers remain accounted for, and so the ship sails on as if nothing has happened, despite Lo’s attempts to convey that something (or someone) has gone terribly, terribly wrong. 

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The Missing Sister – Elle Marr

Shayna Darby is finally coming to terms with her parents’ deaths when she’s delivered another blow. The body of her estranged twin sister, Angela – the possible victim of a serial killer – has been pulled from the Seine. Putting what’s left of her life on hold, Shayna heads to Paris. But while cleaning out Angela’s apartment, Shayna makes a startling discovery: a coded message meant for her alone. 

Taking the warning to heart, Shayna maintains the lie. She makes a positive ID on the remains and works to find out where – and why – her missing sister is hiding. Shayna retraces her sister’s footsteps, and they lead her down into Paris’ underbelly. And, like Local Woman Missing, the closer she gets to the truth, the more Shayna’s own life may now be in the balance. 

The Stranger In The Mirror – Liv Constantine

Addison’s about to get married, but she’s not looking forward to the big day. It’s not her fiancé; he’s a wonderful man. It’s because Addison doesn’t know who she really is. A few years ago, a kind driver found her bleeding next to a New Jersey highway and rescued her. While her physical wounds healed, Addison’s memory never returned. She doesn’t know her real name. Or how she wound up injured on the side of the road. 

In a posh home in the Boston suburbs, Julian tries to figure out what happened to his loving, caring wife, Cassandra, who disappeared without a trace two years ago. She would never have left him and their seven-year-old daughter Valentina of her own free will – or would she? As these two lives intersect in one of the best mystery-thriller books like Local Woman Missing, The Stranger in the Mirror promises to hook you with riveting drama told through Liv Constantine’s hallmark blend of glamour, thrills, and jaw-dropping twists.