Local Woman Missing

Local Woman Missing is a 2021 domestic thriller by Mary Kubica. The novel details the fallout when several people go missing in quick succession, exploring themes such as suburban malaise, trauma, and individualism. Citations in this guide correspond with the Park Row Books edition of the text.

Kubica is a New York Times bestselling author. Her other suspense thrillers include The Good Girl (2014), Pretty Baby (2015), Don’t You Cry (2016), Every Last Lie (2017), Nothing As It Seems (2018), When the Lights Go Out (2018), The Other Mrs. (2020), and Just the Nicest Couple (2023).

Content Warning: This guide mentions neglect and abuse of children, as well as violent death and apparent death by suicide.

Plot Summary

Set in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, the story is told nonchronologically from multiple points of view. Meredith Dickey, a young mother who works as a doula, supporting women through labor, receives a series of anonymous, threatening text messages. They’re from her neighbor Cassandra Hanaka, who recently discovered that her husband, Marty, knew Meredith in college. Though Meredith and Marty dated at the time, Cassandra incorrectly suspects they are now having an affair.