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| Lisa Unger, American Author |
A couple months ago I 'discovered' Lisa Unger, an author new to me, and was so pleased by the first book I read that I have subsequently now read my way through almost all her books. Lisa writes fast-paced psychological mysteries with strong characters and I've found her books nearly impossible to put down.
Bio of Lisa Unger
Born Lisa Miscione in 1970, the author published her first four books under her maiden name. She had spent a decade in the publishing business before meeting and marrying Jeff Unger, after which she began her writing career.
Since then, she has written twelve more books under the name Lisa Unger, has won numerous writing awards, and has become an international best-selling author. She lives in Florida with her husband and daughter. You can visit her at www.lisaunger.com.
Lisa's books might best be called 'psychological thrillers' as she combines her knowledge of the human psyche with an understanding of trauma and fear. The suspense builds throughout each story and the reader finds themselves wrapped up in the psychology of the characters so much that the lines are often blurred between the protagonist and the villain.
Brief Synosis of Books by Lisa Unger
Lisa Unger writes both 'continuing character' stories and 'stand-alone' books (each having different characters).
Lydia Strong
Lisa's first 4 books (written as Lisa Miscione between 2002 and 2005) feature the same continuing character, Lydia Strong, who is a true-crime writer in New York City. They include:
- Angel Fire
- The Darkness Gathers
- Twice
- Smoke
Ridley Jones
Her next character, Ridley Jones, is featured in two books (2006 and 2007) and shows us that the choices we make day-to-day and even year-to-year, can cause continuing ripples throughout our life. Ridley is a freelance writer in New York City who begins to discover deep secrets about her family after her rescue of a child makes headlines. Beautiful Lies begins the story and Sliver of Truth continues and completes it.
The Hollows
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| Kindle Introduction to The Hollows |
By far, my favorite group of books by Lisa Unger are about a cast of characters set in The Hollows, a fictional secluded town located 100 miles outside New York City. There is my favorite character, Jones Cooper, a former detective with the Hollows Police Department who is now a private investigator. Plus, Jones' wife, who is a psychologist and interacts with different characters throughout several books. And Eloise Montgomery, who has had the ability to 'find' lost women ever since an automobile accident badly injured her and left her with a special ability. She appears later in another book which features her now grown granddaughter, Finley, whose psychic abilities far surpass hers.
Various books in this series have different Hollows characters appearing as the central character in a story, with the others as minor characters. It's such a treat to see them appear. They feel like family has stopped by. Each character has a supporting role around the central character.
I've already read the first four books Unger has written about The Hollows and hopefully they are just the beginning of a long series, because I find them fascinating and cannot wait to revisit the characters who populate this rather haunted old mining town in the Adirondack Mountains.
The Kindle eBook (The Whispering Hollows) shown above is an introduction to The Hollows and includes 3 short stories featuring reluctant psychic Eloise Montgomery. To date, Ungers 4 Hollows novels written between 2010 and 2016 include:
- Fragile
- Darkness My Old Friend
- Crazy Love You
- Ink and Bone
Non-Series Books by Lisa Unger
Ungers' non-series books (five to date) include a variety of characters, each featured by themselves in a stand-alone novel. Although, if you have read and followed her earlier books, you will see characters from The Hollows popping up here and there as minor characters.
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| The Red Hunter Debuted on April 25, 2017 |
The Red Hunter, which debuted April 25, 2017, is an example of one of Lisa Unger's non-series books.
Prologue and Epilogue
Many novels, particularly mystery and suspense stories, begin with a prologue. They then end with reaching a conclusion where the crime is solved and the villain is captured or the problem is unraveled and the story reaches a satisfactory ending. But, have you ever reached the end of a book and thought "I wonder what happens to her in the future, or does he find what he's looking for".
What I find most fascinating and interesting about Lisa Unger's books is she brings her stories to it's exciting ending, THEN she has another chapter that really wraps up all those things the reader might wonder about even after learning the ending of the story. And even THAT is not the ending. She still has an Epilogue! By the time the reader finishes each book, one has no more questions, except 'where's the next book - I can't stop reading'.
Caveat/Caution
Lisa Unger's books might not appeal to everyone. If you don't care for stories about murders and traumas and fears both real and imagined, then these psychological thrillers are not for you. But if you like mystery and suspense, involvement with police and FBI and a main character you like very much, then you will become a fan of Lisa Unger's thrillers. I certainly have!
For more book and author reviews, check out ReviewThisBooks.com
*Review of author Lisa Unger written by Wednesday Elf
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
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