Book Broadcast is a post I have created to help ease the load of the books I have for review. It is a great way to spread the word, providing recognition to an author or publisher for sending me a book to review. As my reviewing and blogging duties have stepped up a notch in the last year, I don’t often have the time to complete an in depth review. I hope you can discover some new titles to read through this regular book post.
What if the nightmares are actually memories?
It’s been a year since Poppy’s husband, Jack, was brutally murdered during his morning run through Manhattan’s Riverside Park. In the immediate aftermath, Poppy spiralled into an oblivion of grief, disappearing for several days only to turn up ragged and confused and wearing a tight red dress she didn’t recognise. What happened to Poppy during those lost days? And more importantly, what happened to Jack?
The case was never solved, and Poppy has finally begun to move on. But those lost days have never stopped haunting her. Poppy starts having nightmares and blackouts — there are periods of time she can’t remember, and she’s unable to tell the difference between what is real and what she’s imagining. When she begins to sense that someone is following her, Poppy is plunged into a game of cat and mouse, determined to unravel the mystery around her husband’s death. But can she handle the truth about what really happened?
Lisa Unger knows a thing or two about psychological suspense, she is a New York Times bestselling author. Unger makes a strong return with her most recent novel, Under My Skin. In this new tale, Unger present a convincing case about a woman dealing with the various stages of grief. We learn that Poppy was deeply in love with her husband Jack and he was murdered a year ago, while taking a run one cold morning through a Manhattan Park. With absolutely no leads and no motive, Poppy plummets into further despair. Poppy’s state of mind is impaired by a sleep disorder and her tendency to pop pills with alcohol. She is having blackouts, nightmares, delusions and scattered visions. Poppy could be considered an ‘unreliable narrator’, which often typifies psychological thriller novels, like Under My Skin. The reader follows a puzzling and twist filled journey, extended by a fully fledged secondary character set to reach the truth about Jack’s death. I’ve read a few books by Lisa Unger over the years and although I found myself turning the pages of this book pretty rapidly, this one failed to completely engage me. However, I do not feel this will harm my future reading relationship with Lisa Unger. I recommend Under My Skin and I will reach for more books written by this author in the future.
Under My Skin by Lisa Unger was published on 24th September 2018 by HQ Fiction – US. Details on how to purchase the book can be found here.
Learn more about the author of Under My Skin, Lisa Unger here.
*Book ‘U’ of the a-z author challenge 2018
