Christian is blindly in love with his wife, Lily. His inner dialogue was painful to read--he is immature, and his thoughts are pretty basic. He can't string together a complex sentence and spends most of his time obsessing over Lily and watching her sleep. Lily is whiny and annoying. She could have had some of the most interesting chapters, but Kubica does not share her perspective. Both Lily and Christian speak and act like the high school students that Nina and Lily teach. Just the Nicest Couple is a bland thriller about two couples, a missing husband, and the plot to cover up his disappearance.

The characters are not especially well fleshed out and some dialogue between them isn’t good either which considering what’s occurring this feels very understated and underwhelming. Overall, I’m so disappointed as excitement levels rise when you see a new Mary Kubica novel and it grieves me to rate her book this low. I still very much want to read what she comes up with next but in all honesty I don’t think this is up to her usual high standard. I know that lots of people have really liked this one, but if you like logic and characters that behave rationally, then this is not the book for you.

Finally, the end seemed rushed and confusing to me, almost like they forgot to record the last chapter of the audiobook. If anyone has read this, and you know the answer to the following questions, please message me (so as not to add spoilers in the comments)!! The character development is top notch, per usual, and all four characters and even supporting characters were fully flushed out. There is not one character in this story about which I do not understand their motives or actions. By the time we reach the conclusion, everything becomes crystal clear. As someone who hates messy conclusions to thrillers, I really appreciate this about Kubica’s writing. And to me, that’s what makes these kind of stories entertaining! I thought the reveals were surprising but not too over the top (let’s face it, most thrillers do go in a bizarre direction with the reveals). Just make sure you have your insurance card in your purse and enough money in your bank account to cover the co-pay when you have to go get your stomach pumped.

Per Wikipedia, five baseball players have hit grand slams in their first Major League times at bat: Whereas I felt Nina was a sympathetic character. Not only is she dealing with the disappearance of her husband but her mother is very ill. It’s been a struggle trying to balance carrying for her mother while also dealing with her extremely needy husband. Some readers have enjoyed this one, but as you can tell, it was not for me. This will be my last by Kubica. Do you want to know the reasons? If you don’t, stop reading. Oh come on, didn’t I make you a little intrigued?Some of Mary Kubica's books have been better than others and, unfortunately, "Just the Nicest Couple" is not one of Mary Kubica's better books.