Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
She Didn't See It Coming by Shari Lapena Narrator: January LaVoy
Published by Penguin Audio on July 29, 2025
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Length: 9 hours, 49 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble, Apple
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.
I accidentally listened to the last chapter before starting the audiobook. I was checking to see the length and must have touched the screen. So I was a little spoiled but it was still a great listen from the start.
I am a fan of both Shari Lapena and January LaVoy so it was an easy decision to read She Didn’t See It Coming. I don’t always enjoy psychological thrillers if the ending is too ambiguous or the characters are too unreliable. I was very satisfied here.
What seems to be a perfect couple is upended when the wife goes missing. The husband is always a suspect and his alibi is not solid. Her best friend thinks she might have been having an affair. The sister has always been jealous and enjoys chatting on Facebook using an alias with her true crime group. She doesn’t believe the husband did it but others do. Finally, her body is found.
The parents come and along with their grief they have to deal with the fact their son-in-law, Sam, might have done it and their daughter is always shut up in her room with the door closed. They are worried about the 3 year old grandchild if Sam did do it. They have the funeral to plan, but are also in shock at revelations of an affair. There are also hints that Sam abused her.
There’s a neighbor who was accused of rape in the past who faces scrutiny but then has a solid alibi. The guy who was possibly her lover has a batshit crazy wife, Alice. We spend some time with Alice and she is way creepy, even if she and her husband are both good-looking. They are not quite following the law.
The twists and possibilities are analyzed for us by the competent police detective, Jane, and the Facebook group through the sister. I really enjoyed those perspectives along with those of the characters. People are full of secrets, not things that put them in a positive light, which is dangerous.
Narration:
I chose this audio partly because the narrator is January LaVoy.  She captured the emotions and gave distinct voices to the characters. Her performance was excellent and the character voices were appropriate. I listened at a newer 1.6x speed.
Listen to a clip:Â HERE
About January LaVoy
photo: Scott Sherratt
January (she/her) is an Atlanta-based actress, best known for her role as Noelle Ortiz-Stubbs on the long-running ABC daytime drama ONE LIFE TO LIVE. She has appeared on and Off-Broadway, in regional theaters across the country, and guest starred on several prime time network series, including Elementary, Blue Bloods, and N0S4A2. She is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA, and was a faculty member in the Department of Theater and Dance at Emory University from 2019-2021.
An Audiofile Magazine “Golden Voice” since May 2019, January has an extensive body of work in both narration and commercial voiceover. With hundreds of audiobook titles to her credit, she has received more than thirty Earphones Awards, eighteen Audie Award nominations (including seven wins), and was named Publishers Weekly’s “Audiobook Narrator of the Year” for 2013. Her voice has been heard in national campaigns for dozens of products, and she shares a 2020 Grammy nomination with Meryl Streep and the cast of the Charlotte’s Web audiobook, in which she plays the title role of Charlotte.
About Shari Lapena
Shari Lapena is the internationally bestselling author of The Couple Next Door, A Stranger in the House, An Unwanted Guest, Someone We Know and The End of Her.
She was a lawyer and an English teacher before turning to fiction. She lives in Toronto.
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 25-Audio
- 25-COYER
I need to try this author now, this sounds fantastic!
I enjoy the twisty ones. But some of these people are just sad, sadly delusional or self-centered.
Great review Anne! This book was on my radar and it sounds like I need to read it!
Thanks Jodie. I like this author and this one was good.
I’m looking forward to this one. January LaVoy does it again! Great review, Anne💜
Thank you Jonetta. I’m a LaVoy fan too. This author also brings the twists.
I’m glad the spoiler didn’t ruin the book for you! I have this author on my TBR and this one looks really good. And of course, I love January LaVoy as a narrator. I’m looking forward to reading it and so pleased to see how much you enjoyed it! Now I’m anticipating it even more.
Thank you Katherine. I did really enjoy it. There are some twists and some unlikeable characters.
My book club just selected this as our next read, so I’m eager to dive in!
Enjoy! It’s twisty, unlikable characters, and January LaVoy is amazing.
I love a good psychological thriller if done right. It is a hard genre
yes it can be. I prefer a clear conclusion and we don’t always get it.
Sounds like a good read, and I get choosing a book because of the narrator sometimes. I will try anything narrated by Wil Wheaton I think, lol.
It was good and a different kind of psychological thriller. They can take some different routes to get there.
Loved this book, but sorry to say that I was unhappy about the last page and about Jayne and Michael. Unfortunately Alice came up to Michael and wanted to have a coffee with him. Jayne and Michael don’t deserve this awful woman! Loved the rest of the book, though. 🙂
Glad you loved it anyway.