New York Times bestsellerA Family Circle Top Book PickA Washington Life Top Book PickLisa Unger returns to The Hollows in this “gripping psychological thriller” (Publishers Weekly) that uses the fears found in everyday life to keep readers up all night. “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, #1 New York … the ride wasn’t over.” (Michael Connelly, #1 New York Times bestselling author)
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.
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I love Lisa Unger. This particular novel, however, was not among my favorites.
What does a retired cop, a retired detective, and psychic have in common? The ability to use new sources of information to bring light into the darkness that cloaks this small town in The Hollows.
There’s a darkness that sets into a person’s life creating an emptiness out of a fear that harbors deep inside of them. As Lisa begins introducing characters the reader gets a Birdseye view into this deep rooted darkness. The reader gets to explore the individual lives of these characters and how they connect together. Lisa assigns a fear to each character giving the reader pieces of their backstory gaining understanding as to where the fear manifests from.
The characters live in The Hollows a small town surrounded by acres of trees. Certain areas of The Hollows have dead zones where cell service can’t be accessed due to the abandoned iron-mine tunnels beneath the ground.
We meet Kevin a father and husband who’s growing resentful of his life with his wife and kids. Paula his wife lives in fear with the way Kevin controls her every move.
We meet Jones Cooper a retired cop who was the original investigator on Marla Holt’s disappearance back in 1987. Jones has been in therapy since his forced retirement. He’s stuck in his past life as a cop unable to proceed forward until he’s asked to help consult on Marla’s cold case.
Meet Eloise Montgomery a psychic whose talent is limited to visions and dreams. She used to babysit Micheal Holt when he was a young boy.
Meet retired detective Ray Muldune. He was hired by Micheal Holt to reinvestigate his mothers disappearance.
Meet Willow a troubled fifteen year old whose having a hard time adjusting to her parents’s divorce and her new school. She’s hanging around people with bad influences getting herself in trouble. involved because she saw Michael digging in the woods.
When you combine these characters fears and darkness together to create one central event it helps construct and depict how easily people get pulled into a depressive state making poor choices that leads to trouble and problems.
Meet Michael Holt a man who waited years for his father to die so he could dig for answers regarding his mothers disappearance. He is caught digging near the mines by Willow casting him in a suspicious light of darkness.He’s never been able to move forward not knowing what happened to his mother.
Like the rest of these characters he’s unable to move forward in life with the cloak of darkness smothering him.
It’s an informative story very easy to read and follow considering the story follows the lives of multiple characters. It’s a dark tragic story.
Lisa has a way with words stringing them together to create a picture perfect story. It was easy to get transported into The Hollows. I was captivated by each telling of the characters individual story and how they were interconnected.
The constant activity amongst these characters had me turning page after page. The story flows flawlessly from one character to the next.
The layout of this story reminded me of a relay race where Ray moves forward in his investigation until he runs out of leads to follow handing over the baton to Eloise who then uses her visions to hand over the baton to Jones. Once the baton is in Jones hands he’s able to use all the gathered pieces to formulate a convincing set of circumstances regarding that night in 1987.
Great book!
Wow! Kept me hooked. Great fast read!
I have read every book written by Ms Unger,I like her style and stories very much.
A wonderful storyteller with smart character development.A novel that hooks you to turn page after page.
I enjoy ALL of her books.