She Didn't See It Coming: A Novel by Shari LapenaPublication Date: July 29, 2025
Pages: 352
Add on: Goodreads
Rating: ★★★★
Source: From the Publisher
Genre: Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books / Penguin Random House
“Stunning. Fiendishly plotted with whiplash twists and turns — Shari Lapena is at the very top of her game here. [She Didn't See It Coming] might be my favorite yet!” —Lucy Foley, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Apartment
The new gripping novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door
When a beloved wife and mother disappears, a luxurious condo building transforms into a potential crime scene, and the investigation begins: can the detectives find her before it's too late?
Bryden and Sam have it all: thriving careers, a smart apartment in a luxury condominium, supportive friends and a cherished daughter. The perfect life for the perfect couple.
Then Sam receives a call at his office. Bryden – working from home that day – has failed to collect their daughter from daycare. Arriving home with their little girl, he finds his wife’s car in the underground garage. Upstairs in their apartment her laptop is open on the table, her cell phone nearby, her keys in their usual place in the hall.
Except Bryden is nowhere to be seen. It’s as if she just walked out.
How can she have disappeared from her own home? And did she even leave the building at all?
With every minute that passes – and as questions swirl around their community – Bryden and Sam’s past seems a little less perfect, their condominium less safe, their friends, neighbors and relatives no longer quite so reliable . . .
Story Locale: Albany, New York
REVIEW
Shari Lapena’s She Didn’t See It Coming doesn’t waste a second before turning a perfect life upside down. Bryden Frost, adored wife and mother, vanishes from her swanky condo, and what looks like a routine missing persons case quickly turns into a full-on pressure cooker. Suspicion seeps through the walls of her building, where every neighbour seems to have something to hide, and the story unspools into a tangled web of secrets and lies.
Lapena is in her element here. She zips between perspectives, Bryden’s husband Sam, her true-crime obsessed sister Lizzie, best friend Paige, and a handful of others, without ever letting the tension drop. The clipped chapters and sharp dialogue make for the kind of read you start before bed and accidentally finish at 3 a.m. There are red herrings everywhere, and when you think you’ve cracked it, another twist knocks your theory flat.
What sets this thriller apart isn’t just the mystery itself (though it’s a good one), but the uneasy feeling that creeps in: how much do you really know about the people living right next door? Lapena’s knack for “suburban paranoia” is at its best, with characters who are flawed, relatable, and all carrying secrets of their own. The themes: trust, betrayal, addiction, the masks we wear for the sake of appearances, dig under your skin, making you question everyone’s motives.
If there’s a drawback, it’s that the sheer amount of characters and constant perspective shifts can get dizzying, especially if you’re the type who likes to keep everything straight. And sure, some of the plot twists are wild enough to border on improbable, but honestly, that’s half the fun.
She Didn’t See It Coming is a tightly wound, fiendishly plotted domestic thriller that doesn’t let up until the final page. If you want a book that’ll keep your heart rate up and your mind spinning, this is it.
