Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published in USA
Aug 2011
368 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
After giving up his post at the Hollows Police Department, Jones Cooper is at loose ends. He is having trouble facing a horrible event from his past and finding a second act. He's in therapy. Then, on a brisk October morning, he has a visitor. Eloise Montgomery, the psychic who plays a key role in Fragile, comes to him with predictions about his future, some of them dire.
Michael Holt, a young man who grew up in The Hollows, has returned looking for answers about his mother, who went missing many years earlier. He has hired local PI Ray Muldune and psychic Eloise Montgomery to help him solve the mystery that has haunted him. What he finds might be his undoing.
Fifteen-year-old Willow Graves is exiled to The Hollows from Manhattan when six months earlier she moved to the quiet town with her novelist mother after a bitter divorce. Willow is acting out, spending time with kids that bring out the worst in her. And when things get hard, she has a tendency to run away - a predilection that might lead her to dark places.
Set in The Hollows, the backdrop for Fragile, this is the riveting story of lives set on a collision course with devastating consequences. The result is Lisa Unger's most compelling fiction to date.
Click to the right or left of the sample to turn the page.
(If no book jacket appears in a few seconds, then we don't have an excerpt of this book or your browser is unable to display it)
"A satisfying story with an eclectic and interesting cast of characters and believable dialogue. Unger shows her usual deftness at intricate plotting and explores the mother-child relationship from multiple angles..." - Kirkus Reviews
"The edgy suspense that marked Cooper's appearance in Fragile (2010) is lacking here. Unger concentrates instead on an odd assortment of secondary characters, varied enough to capture attention despite connections that remain awkwardly tenuous." - Booklist
"As with Fragile, the secluded nature of the town easily lends itself to long-gestating secrets, which Unger handles much better in this follow-up that's as much about uncovering the past as it is about accepting the future." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. Verdict...one of Unger's best thrillers yet." - Library Journal
"Darkness, My Old Friend is deeply plotted and complex and carries an undeniable momentum. Lisa Unger's enthralling cast of characters pulled me right in and locked me down tight. This is one book that will have you racing to the last page, only to have you wishing the ride wasn't over." - Michael Connelly
"Lisa Unger is one of my favorite authors. She gets better and better with each book." - Karin Slaughter, New York Times Bestselling author of Fallen
"The beauty of this unconventional crime novel is that focus is not on whodunit but the darkness that drives us." - Family Circle
The information about Darkness, My Old Friend shown above was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's online-magazine that keeps our members abreast of notable and high-profile books publishing in the coming weeks. In most cases, the reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author of this book and feel that the reviews shown do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, please send us a message with the mainstream media reviews that you would like to see added.
Photo: Tanya Sharkey
Lisa Unger is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of fourteen novels, including Darkness, My Old Friend, Fragile, Die For You, Black Out, Sliver of Truth, Beautiful Lies, also her latest thriller Ink and Bone.
Her books are published in twenty-six languages worldwide, have sold millions of copies and have been named "Best of the Year" or top picks by the Today show, Good Morning America, Walmart Book Club, Target, Harper's Bazaar, Family Circle, Good Housekeeping, Publishers Weekly, Washington Life, New York Daily News, Entertainment Weekly, Sun Sentinel, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Suspense Magazine, Amazon and Independent Booksellers.
She has been a finalist in or winner of numerous literary awards including the Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Book, ...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Lisa Unger's Website
The Guest Book
by Sarah Blake
"An American epic in the truest sense…"
—Entertainment Weekly
Reader Reviews
A beautifully written and uplifting debut novel.
About the book
My husband asked me to lie. Not a big lie...
A thrilling debut novel for fans of Liane Moriarty and Celeste Ng.
Visitors can view some of BookBrowse for free. Full access is for members only.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
Subscribe to receive some of our best reviews, "beyond the book" articles, book club info, and giveaways by email.
