Blog Tour & Review: The Stranger Inside by Lisa Unger @jessmapreviews #ATBR2019
The Stranger Inside
by Lisa Unger
Happy Publishing Day!
Publisher: Park Row Books
Publish Date: September 17, 2019
Hardcover
384 Pages
Standalone
Genres: Thriller, Suspense
Even 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, 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.
My Review:
I am definitely a big fan of Unger and have found that her books have always ranged from 3-5 stars for me. My favorite being The Red Hunter so far. Unfortunately The Stranger Inside didn't quite work for me as her other books have.
I loved the opening and was really intrigued for the first 70 pages or so and then I felt my interest start to wane as I continued on. I felt some things got a bit repetitive and the voice within the voice was a bit jarring at times as for some reason I just couldn't wrap my head around the inconsistent consistency of it - if that makes ANY sense.
I appreciate what the author was trying to do and I love the feel of how certain things really affected these characters as children and how they've reacted separately as they've gotten older. The relationship between the main character and her husband (husband of the year y'all), the psychology of everything. All of these things I love. Somehow though, it just didn't keep me engaged. Maybe it was my mood. Maybe it was the book? I dunno.
What I do know is that I do love her writing style. I appreciate where her stories take us as readers and I adore these crazy stories she comes up with. I absolutely look forward to her next work and would definitely recommend her to thriller lovers.
★★★
This is my third book by Lisa Unger, the others having been THE RED HUNTER and UNDER MY SKIN. I love the consistency Unger has when it comes to pulling you in from the beginning. THE STRANGER INSIDE had my attention immediately! The author really knows how to set up a story and give the readers one hell of a ride. I enjoy her writing style and how she creates the characters and weaves everything together for us.
This is one that's difficult to talk about without spoiling things. I think the synopsis gives the right amount of information you need before starting. I completely agree with other reviewers comparing some parts to Dexter - I mean, horrible killers are released from prison and they're getting murdered? Definite Dexter vibes. There were some good twists throughout, I know some avid thriller fans will probably see some coming, but it won't take away from the reading experience!
My main drawback with this one was that there was a lull for me. It felt like the book had some repetition that could have been eliminated to tighten things up in the story. That could definitely be a me thing, because I know there are tons of other reviewers out there that disagree. Don't get me wrong, I was captivated from start to finish, but it didn't have that binge read feeling for me. No matter what, I still enjoyed the book and will continue to pick up more from Unger in the future!
3 stars
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