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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.
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"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
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Photo: Tanya Sharkey
Lisa Unger is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of seventeen novels, including The Stranger Inside. With millions of readers worldwide and books published in twenty-six languages, Lisa Unger is widely regarded as a master of suspense. In 2019, she received two Edgar Award nominations, an honor held by only a few writers including Ruth Rendell and Agatha Christie. The Edgar-nominated Under My Skin is also a finalist for the prestigious Hammett Prize, and the Macavity Award for Best Novel. And the original short story "The Sleep Tight Motel" is a #1 bestselling single.
Unger's critically acclaimed books have been voted "Best of the Year" or top picks by the Today show, Good Morning America, Entertainment Weekly, Amazon, IndieBound and many others. Her writing has ...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Lisa Unger's Website
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