A BEST BOOK OF 2019 — People, Boston Globe, Kirkus, BookBub, PopSugar, CrimeReads, SheReads and more.“Crime fiction like you’ve never seen before…brilliant.” –New York TimesEven good people are drawn to do evil things … Twelve-year-old Rain Winter narrowly escaped an abduction while walking to a friend’s house. Her two best friends, Tess and Hank, were not as lucky. Tess never came home, … house. Her two best friends, Tess and Hank, were not as lucky. Tess never came home, and Hank was held in captivity before managing to escape. Their abductor was sent to prison but years later was released. Then someone delivered real justice–and killed him in cold blood.
Now Rain is living the perfect suburban life, her dark childhood buried deep. She spends her days as a stay-at-home mom, having put aside her career as a hard-hitting journalist to care for her infant daughter. But when another brutal murderer who escaped justice is found dead, Rain is unexpectedly drawn into the case. Eerie similarities to the murder of her friends’ abductor force Rain to revisit memories she’s worked hard to leave behind. Is there a vigilante at work? Who is the next target? Why can’t Rain just let it go?
Introducing one of the most compelling and original killers in crime fiction today, Lisa Unger takes readers deep inside the minds of both perpetrator and victim, blurring the lines between right and wrong, crime and justice, and showing that sometimes people deserve what comes to them.
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I love a good thriller and this one blew me away. The writing is fantastic, characters well developed, twisty – will be reading every one of this author’s books!
I’m a fan of Lisa’s work, and especially of how she builds her characters. From the most innocent to the most evil, every one of them has depth that makes them come alive on the page. THE STRANGER INSIDE is no different — a brilliant character study of victims who’ve survived a terrible event in their childhood and how they’ve found ways to cope with the aftermath. As always, this is more than a page turner, it is a complex psychological study and thrilling to boot. Her best yet.
We can’t stay kids forever. Especially if a terrifying hulk with a snarling dog kidnaps your two best friends and you survive by hiding in a hollowed-out tree trunk. At age ten, childhood ends. Life goes on though. Fast forward twenty plus years and the past resurfaces to entangle the two survivors at very different points in their lives. The reveal of their twisted connection isn’t a surprise, but it is written with surprising compassion.
I found this to be one of Unger’s best novels this decade. Missing are the paranormal explorations of earlier books, but the suspense is nail-biting.
“The Stranger Inside” by Lisa Unger is a study of two people, what they endured, how they coped, how they grew, and they maneuvered through life. They are the victims of past trauma, and how they want their lives back. They want to be the people they would have become if none of this had happened, but they are who they are now because of what happened then.
It opens with a first person present-tense account. The narrator talks directly to someone, “I know what you’re thinking” having a conversation, drawing the person into the plot from the start. “I’m sure you know all this. If I know you, you’re keeping tabs, too.” Is this a conversation with the reader or someone else? The narrator waits “because I have nothing but time.” Readers wonder about the narrator, but by the time the identity and the intent become clear, frighteningly clear, readers are hooked.
The scene changes in different chapters. Readers are introduced to Rain Winter, a former producer for National News, her husband Greg, news producer for the local television news, and their baby, Lil. A man is found murdered. The man had been acquitted in the death of his wife, and Winter had covered the trial. No one else was ever charged with Laney Markham’s murder and the murder of her unborn child. In Winter’s opinion, the bad person got away with murder, until he had not. Now he is dead. Not only is he dead, but he died the way Laney Markham died, bound, gagged and stabbed with a serrated hunting knife. For Winter, Markham’s death is not the abrupt end of the story but the beginning of another one.
Unger did not create a story about ordinary people; these characters are dark, complex, multi-faceted, and intertwined in unexpected ways. Winter has a complex history and a tragic past; one ugly event shaped her life and changed how interacts with everyone and everything around her. That tragedy spreads, contaminating everyone around her in unexpected ways. The other players have difficult journeys and complicated evolutions as well. Their paths are diverse with other secrets to discover, other ordeals to overcome. The tendrils of present events also reach back into the past, uncovering long unspoken questions that demand answers. The search for those answers is complicated and difficult.
“The Stranger Inside” is a book where past nightmares emerge into the present. The mystery is not the murder or even who committed it, the real story is how the past molds current events. I received a review copy of “The Stranger Inside” from Lisa Unger, Harlequin, and Park Row Books. It presents a fractured world that reflects a different existence. It is compelling, shocking, and difficult to put down
This was a compelling read, and the characters held depth with many, many layers. I devoured this book and was never sure what would happen next in the convoluted plot. Kudos to the author.
A twisted story of the aftermath from an abduction. How it affected the lives of the children who were saved – into adulthood. Ties that bind, how far a person can go to make amends. Choices. Problems. Relationships. A good read…
Lisa Unger has once again created an amazing thriller with The Stranger Inside. The story grabbed me from the start and the title caused me to immediately start questioning what it meant. Was the stranger lying in wait or did the stranger reside in the characters head? This is a story of three friends who encounter a stranger and the aftermath of that meeting.
Lara, Hank and Tess are thirteen years old the summer they encounter the monster in the woods. This meeting leaves behind two very traumatized children and their best friend dead. How will this effect the rest of their lives?
The story is told alternating between the two survivors Rain aka Lara, and Hank. The reader is given insight into the impact that one day had on Rain and Hank with flashbacks to the past. Just as I believed I knew what was going on, another piece dropped. There were many unexpected twists and turns.
Things and people were not as they seem.
I was on the edge of my seat as I read this book. I actually felt scared and nervous as I continued to read. There were many unexpected story reveals, and I was always on unsure footing.
I highly recommend this book. Lisa Unger is a master at mystery thrillers. This book once again confirms that. It is a well written story with very interesting characters.
Thank you #Netgalley and #ParkRow for approving my request for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.
This book has it all, childhood trauma, fractured psyches, murder, and vigilante justice. This story is told by Rain and Hank, the two survivors of a horrible crime when they were twelve. This book is so incredibly well written and there are so many twists in the story, that it kept me up at night. Lisa Unger has captured the essence of childhood trauma and how it affects you as an adult. What would you do if the man who altered your life was set free? This book encapsulates this and so much more. It will keep you on the edge of your seat! The characters are flawed and true to life. You will know them. You will feel the fear, the pain, the rage. I highly recommend this book!
LOVE Lisa Unger–how can she be such a wonderful person, and still have such a twisty diabolical mind? Once again, I am riveted, intrigued, and ripping through the pages as fast as I can. This is dark and thrilling–and one of the most shocking and surprising books ever. “Even good people are drawn to do evil things…” Whoa.
Lara and her two best friends, Tess and Hank, were taken by an evil stranger when they were 12. Lara got away and hid in a tree stump, Tess and Hank were not as lucky. Hank was held prisoner before he escaped and Tess never made it home. Now Lara goes by Rain and she is married with a daughter. She is an investigative reporter. Murders have been happening to killers that escape justice. Rain is drawn back in to tell her story. Hank is now a psychiatrist helping children of trauma. As the detectives try and figure out who is murdering the criminals, they revisit Rain and Hank’s case. This is a great story of revenge and evil vs. good. It had so many twists and turns it kept me reading way past my bedtime! I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.
This book is the haunting story of a girl who escaped being abducted, but her friends, Tess and Hank, were not so fortunate. Rain Winter ran from her abductor and hid, terrified that he will find her. Flash forward to the present and Rain is a stay-at-home mom of an infant daughter, having given up her journalism career. The abductor was captured and put in prison, but once released, he is brutally murdered. Then another criminal is murdered and Rain is drawn to what she knows, investigating. This book is thought-provoking, making the reader think about what real justice looks like. It is a tense read with a lot of suspense. I did think that it should have been shorter because there was a lot of repetition; for example, the abduction was described over and over again, as was Rain’s torment about being left behind while her best friend Tess was killed. The time goes back and forth from the past when the abduction occurred to the present day with Rain and her family. There are a lot of characters, so at times it was difficult to keep track of them. All in all, the book was a good mystery-thriller and I would recommend it to those who enjoy that genre. The ending was an absolute surprise and was the best part of the book!
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
Tense, atmospheric and addictive, The Stranger Inside is an utterly unforgettable tale of justice, revenge and good vs. evil. And with one of the most compelling antagonists I’ve read in a very long time, this book hits my top five books this summer. The Stranger Inside was, quite simply, phenomenal.
The story is about Rain Winter, journalist, who suffered a terrible near abduction when she was younger. Along with her friends Hank and Tess, and finds herself and Hank the only ones to survive. So the books follows Hank and Rain, in their adult life, the affect their dark childhood has on them.
Not only can they not let it go, but it also binds them and overflows into their everyday life, Rain’s marriage is effected and Hank, though he becomes a psychologist, cant seem to go past the event. I found the book interesting, but not a fan of the back and forth narrating between Hank and Rain, often flashing back to when they were twelve and the incident that happened.
It was a good story though, making you think of what goes on in the minds of children as they become adults and how they handle a traumatic incident. How it goes on to mix with their everyday life and also how it will never go away. #audiobook #threestars
I really wanted to like this book more than what I did. The story line was intriguing but I found the writing to be quite repetitive. How many times can you repeat what happened to Tess, Lara and Hank when they were kids. I really didn’t find much to be surprised about and that’s disappointing in a good mystery novel. The characters were just average and I felt the story really kept repeating itself.
I have read other books by Lisa Unger that were far more enjoyable. Again, I really wanted to like this one but it fell short for me. It definitely didn’t have me wanting to turn pages since I felt I’d already read the same thing multiple times.
This book was a suspense filled novel from the very beginning! Several surprises were revealed along the way. When they were children, Lara, Tess, and Hank were attacked by an older man. Only Lara escaped from him. Sadly, Tess was killed, and Hank was badly hurt.
Now, years later, someone is talking revenge on criminals who were let go by the system. Lara, now known as Rain, is a journalist, and she wants to cover the story. Hank is a psychologist, working with abused children, but has a dark past as a result of his abduction.
This is a twisty, dark thriller, examining the horrors of abuse, and its impact in our psyche.
#TheStrangerInside #LisaUnger
Lisa Unger at her best.
Lisa Unger is great! Would recommend most of her books,amazing author.
This is a story of 3 childhood friends whose lives are changed forever when they decided to go through the forest one day instead of going around as they were told and the consequences of their actions on their lives 20 years later.
We live in an era of child abductions, serial killers, and human trafficking but I was still enthralled by the storytelling prowess of Lisa Unger in a story that I could not put down. She brings to life her characters in ways that are both compelling and emotionally shattering, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who wonders what survival looks like on the other side of unspeakable tragedy.
Bestselling author Lisa Unger never fails to deliver a first-rate psychological thriller and with The Stranger Inside she further elevates the genre.
Someone is murdering murderers or, in the case of Steve Markham, an accused murderer who was acquitted by a jury. A year later, Markham has lost his job, friends, and lover, and is on the verge of losing his house after insisting that he did not kill his wife and unborn child, whose bodies were found in a shallow grave a few miles from his home. And then he loses his life. It is a cold-blooded, calculated, well-planned execution detailed through a first-person narrative from the killer who reveals that “he died the way Laney Markham died. Bound, gagged, and stabbed more than twenty times with a serrated hunting knife.”
The killing rattles Rain, who has given up her own career as an investigative journalist while her husband, Greg, continues his work as local television news producer. He wants her to wean their thirteen-month-old daughter, Lily. “How much longer are you going to nurse her?” he asks. “I want you back.” When Rain tells him, “I want me back, too,” her response is about much more than breast-feeding. Unger deftly and compassionately portrays Rain’s ongoing struggle to balance marriage, motherhood, her changed body and psyche, missing her career, and the need to find and embrace a new normal. Rain is damaged as a result of the trauma she suffered in the woods on that fateful day, making her effort to manage her life and relationships even more challenging than for most first-time mothers. Unger conveys Rain’s story through a third-person narrative.
“She couldn’t let it go.” So Markham’s murder sends Rain back into action with the assistance of her colleague, Gillian, and the encouragement of her producer, who offers no apology for wanting Rain back at work. When she realizes that Markham’s killing was “obviously planned and clearly executed,” Rain cannot escape the pull into the investigation.
Unger gradually reveals what each of the three children endured. Tess was killed. Her mother, Sandy, still mourns her, but managed to forgive her killer, who was himself a victim of abuse and psychic trauma inflicted when he was a child. Forgiveness is a concept Rain cannot grasp, in part because Rain’s memories and feelings are, at the outset, deeply submerged. It’s the only way she can deal with her guilt about having disregarded her mother’s warning and survived the ordeal. Rain is also haunted by her own role in how the abduction came about. Hank went on to became a successful psychiatrist with a thriving practice.
It becomes clear that Rain and Hank continue to be connected by their past and their shared status as survivors. To observers, both appear to be highly functioning, but appearances are, of course, deceiving. Unger takes readers on a frightening and absorbing journey into their innermost thoughts and feelings, demonstrating that even though they both survived, neither of them is healed. Both are deeply and, perhaps, irreparably, scarred by their experiences. And over the ensuring years, the damage inflicted upon them as children has manifested in disturbing ways.
The Stranger Inside is a tense and gripping study of the long-lasting impact of trauma, coupled with a compelling mystery. Unger has fashioned two layered, complex characters — Rain and Hank — at the center of the story and surrounded them with an equally plausible cast of supporting players, including Kreskey. The book’s pace never lags and Unger’s revelations of clues to the truth are expertly timed for maximum effectiveness. The result is a fascinating, haunting tale of lost innocence and the desire for justice to be served in the quest to find relief from suffering. Unger delivers a jaw-dropping conclusion to her dark, atmospheric, and emotionally rich character study.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader’s Copy of the book.