When the Lights Go Out

by Mary Kubica

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Hardcover: 336 pages

Publisher: Park Row; Original edition (September 4, 2018)

A woman is forced to question her own identity in this riveting and emotionally charged thriller by the blockbuster bestselling author of The Good Girl, Mary Kubica

Jessie Sloane is on the path to rebuilding her life after years of caring for her ailing mother. She rents a new apartment and applies for college. But when the college informs her that her social security number has raised a red flag, Jessie discovers a shocking detail that causes her to doubt everything she’s ever known.

Finding herself suddenly at the center of a bizarre mystery, Jessie tumbles down a rabbit hole, which is only exacerbated by grief and a relentless lack of sleep. As days pass and the insomnia worsens, it plays with Jessie’s mind. Her judgment is blurred, her thoughts are hampered by fatigue. Jessie begins to see things until she can no longer tell the difference between what’s real and what she’s only imagined.

Meanwhile, twenty years earlier and two hundred and fifty miles away, another woman’s split-second decision may hold the key to Jessie’s secret past. Has Jessie’s whole life been a lie or have her delusions gotten the best of her?

“Kubica brilliantly unravels the lives of two women in this tense and haunting tale of identity and deceit. WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT will keep you questioning everything-and everyone-until the riveting conclusion. A twisty, captivating, edge-of-your-seat read.” –Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author of ALL THE MISSING GIRLS

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

I told her that we’re trying. Trying to have a child, trying to start a family. An odd choice of words for creating a baby, if you ask me. Trying is how one learns to ride a bike. To knit, to sew. To write poetry.

The frustration over my identity boils inside me until I feel myself begin to lose it. All this red tape preventing me from getting what I need, from proving who I am. I’m starting to question it myself. Am I still me?

It’s an insidious way to die, I think, from lack of sleep because there is nothing gory about it, no blood, no guts, and yet the effects are just as gruesome. I know because I’m living it. As the sun begins to rise on the eleventh day, it’s only a matter of time until I die. This is what it feels like knowing you’re about to die.

My Review:

What clever sleight of hand, and I totally fell for it. This engrossing book was a minefield of intriguing and heart squeezing storylines. Ms. Kubica’s excellent storytelling was expertly woven with flawless word choices, bringing forth vivid and sharp visuals and several instances of chicken skin. I was quickly under the influence of her powerful word voodoo and keenly felt the characters’ frustrations, discomforts, confusion, and fatigue.

Written from a dual POV, the two main characters and narrators were difficult to hold in positive regard, as they were often exasperating and repellent. Jessie was struggling with a conundrum while she was also not the brightest bulb in the pack. And as Jessie was suffered from extreme sleep deprivation and experiencing hallucinations, her observations and thoughts were untrustworthy and increasingly erratic; while her mental and physical decline and descent into madness were fascinating. I steadily grew to despise the character of Eden and found her obsessive and all-consuming drive to reproduce to be horrendously irresponsible and selfish.

Ms. Kubica’s well-crafted storylines and writing style were compelling yet taut with tension and angst. I was so caught up in their apprehensions that I am in dire need of a relaxing spa day. Until I can work one of those into my schedule, the next best plan would be a generous scoop of Ben and Jerry’s while trolling my TBR in search of an amusing comedy and lighter fare for my next read.

About Mary Kubica

Mary Kubica is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of THE GOOD GIRL and PRETTY BABY. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in History and American Literature. She lives outside of Chicago with her husband and two children and enjoys photography, gardening and caring for the animals at a local shelter.