Language: English | Format: epub | Size: 1.11 MB |
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An instant page.
Twenty.
Merri Gleason is a woman at the end of her tether after a ten.
As a harsh white winter moves into The Hollows, Finley and Eloise are drawn into the investigation, which proves to have much more at stake than even the fate of a missing girl. As Finley digs deeper into the town and its endless layers, she is forced to examine the past, even as she tries to look into the future. Only one thing is clear: The Hollows gets what it wants, no matter what.
**
Amazon.com Review
Tess Gerritsen and Lisa Unger in Conversation
Photo Credit: Leonardo Cendamo
Photo Credit: Jeff Unger
Tess Gerritsen: How did you come up with your main character in INK AND BONE, Finley Montgomery?
Lisa Unger: When I was writing FRAGILE, I ran into a character I wasn't expecting, psychic Eloise Montgomery. I thought: Oh! A psychic! Even if she's a fraud, that's still interesting. But my characters have minds of their own and she only had a small part to play in that book - yet she stayed with me. She's had a couple of books since then, three short stories, and in my upcoming INK AND BONE we meet her granddaughter Finley, who has powers of her own. Eloise's story has told itself in a way that I wouldn't have expected, and it has led me down some roads I didn't imagine I'd go as a writer. This is, of course, the joy and the magic of writing. So I was struck while reading PLAYING WITH FIRE that you, too, had walked into some of the same territory. Was it a character, or a story, or curiosity about something else that led you there?
Tess Gerritsen: It was a nightmare! I was in Venice for my birthday, and after a night drinking a bit too much wine, I had a freaky dream. I dreamt I was playing my violin. A baby was sitting nearby, and as I played a dark and disturbing melody, the baby's eyes suddenly glowed red and she turned into a monster. I woke up wondering what it meant .
Was there anything from your own life that worked its way into INK AND BONE? Some part of yourself that slipped into the character or plot?
Lisa Unger: I have an enduring fascination with the idea of psychic phenomena in the Jungian sense, that it might be considered a natural extension of normal human ability. In my other life in publishing, I had a chance to work with psychic John Edwards. In a weird way, though this was many years ago, he was the inspiration for Eloise Montgomery. The fictional town in which INK AND BONE is set, The Hollows, first showed up in FRAGILE, which was very loosely based on a real event from my past. Though I didn't see it at the time, The Hollows shares certain similarities with the place where I grew up. So, in a lot of ways I suppose I'm dreaming on the page, the real and the imagined get twisted into fiction.
Tess Gerritsen: I'm intrigued by the fact your character in INK AND BONE was inspired by your work with psychic John Edwards. I love hearing about the research. It is the part I enjoy most about writing, because I can delve into new worlds. As a writer I've attended autopsies, watched the CT scan of a mummy, and scouted Boston for the best places to dump a body. What lengths have you gone to get the details right?
Lisa Unger: Most writers are explorers. I like to think of myself as a spelunker, shimming into the dark spaces between things I don't understand to try finding answers. So, yes, research (and life) is an important part of the process.
I've taken a concealed weapons course (and absolutely hated the feeling of firing a gun). I've interviewed a woman who claimed to be a ghost hunter. One of my closest friends is a retired Federal Agent who, if he doesn't know the answers to my million questions, can always find someone who does. I lived with a New York City security officer officer for eight years - okay, so that was a relationship, and a pretty bad one at that. But in the end I just wound up with a good knowledge of security officer work and fantastic recipe for roast pork .
What themes do you find come up again and again in your novels? Have you ever been surprised by a recurring question or idea that surfaces without your realizing it?
Tess Gerritsen: I too hated firing a gun. I was painfully aware that if I was the slightest bit careless and didn't stay in control of where it was pointed, someone could die.
When I'm writing, I'm thinking primarily about characters and plot, and it's only in retrospect that I understand what the theme might be. You asked whether I've been surprised by recurring questions that seem to surface in my books, and the answer is: yes, absolutely.
When I was a child, I adored a family friend named Uncle Mike, who served very much as a father figure for me. He was a gentle soul who counseled me about school, life, and love. Then when I turned eighteen, Uncle Mike was arrested for murdering his sister.
Lisa Unger: When I was fifteen, a girl I knew was abducted and murdered. We lived in a small, supposedly safe town, the kind of place you move to give your kids a happy, suburban upbringing. And then, on a day like any other day, a girl walking home from school fell victim to a monster. I never saw the world the same way again. The theme of the lost girl runs through almost all of my novels in one way or another, never with my intending it and always obvious to me only after the book is done. I think most of us are metabolizing fear on the page, and looking to put order to the chaos we perceive in the world. Maybe that's why people read crime fiction, as well - because there's a beginning, middle, and an end where some kind of justice is served. Not always so in the real world.
I'm writing pretty close to the bone. I follow the voices in my head, and so far they've all been pretty dark and twisted, wrestling with questions of identity, struggling with everything from addiction to body dysmorphic disorder to hauntings. I have a voracious curiosity about people and all the different things that make us who we are. If someone else turns up with something different to explore, I'll certainly honor that. For me that's the joy of writing, following character voice wherever it takes me.
Review
"Engrossing, atmospheric, and fast." -Lisa Scottoline, New York Times bestselling author of Most Wanted
"Instant page." -Lisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling author of Find Her
"Engrossing. . . the tension is palpable. Unger straddles the fine line between thriller and horror, making this a very exciting and riveting read, sure to appeal to a wide range of readers, including Kay Hooper or Stephen King fans."
-Booklist (starred review)
"Unger's beloved characters continue a deftly balanced story that's supernatural without a creepy aftertaste."-Kirkus Reviews
"Lisa Unger takes you to dark places then shows you the light. The universe she has created in The Hollows - the dead and the living, the haunted and the haunting, the lost and missing - resonates so deeply, it's a world I want to go back to again and again and am always a little heartbroken to leave. In INK AND BONE, we return to The Hollows once more, and Unger weaves a story that casts a captivating spell, and will leave you feeling haunted long after you turn the last page." (Jennifer McMahon, author of The Night Sister)
Praise for Crazy Love You:
"Sharply drawn characters and occasional rest breaks of humor . . . Unger is adept at evoking the eerie, but she's also capable of droll sociological commentary on the urban scene. . . . After reading Unger's sinister thriller, anyone cavalier enough to think they can easily put the past to rest (and even live companionably with the dead) will think again." -
Maureen Corrigan, Washington Post
"Exhilarating and gut." -Associated Press
"At first I thought I knew where Unger was driving me, but then she slammed on the brakes, turned and drove me right off a cliff." -Minneapolis Star-Tribune
"Nothing is what it seems in this creepy romance novel." -The Oklahoman
"Manages to keep us guessing." -Raleigh News & Observer
"An extraordinary psychological thriller . . . Manages to do an incredible amount of things, all of them well, including a truly unique romantic triangle and the blurred lines between unconditional friendship and romantic infatuation. . . . A simmering tale of romantic obsession and angst in the tradition of Body Heat or Fatal Attraction, laced with the noirish spirit of James M. Cain. Wonderfully crafted and beautifully executed." -Providence Journal
"CRAZY LOVE YOU kept me reading like a madwoman, desperate to find out what happens next. This is a haunting, compulsive tale that will have you under its spell long after you've closed the book." -
Tess Gerritsen, author of Die Again
"Unger's skillful portrayal of complex and traumatized characters make her latest psychological thriller one that will keep readers engaged from start to finish. . . . This imaginative tale . . . may be the author's best work yet." -Library Journal (starred review)
"Riveting . . . This is a complex, intricate story, yet the pages fly by as Ian, the most unreliable narrator since Nick Dunne in Gone Girl, leads us on a wild ride in this superb psychological thriller. Unger is at the top of her game here." -Booklist (Starred review)
"Darkly compelling psychological thriller." -Family Circle
"Scores another bull's eye with this one. Classic Unger and a surefire hit." -Kirkus Reviews
"Emotionally involving . . . Unger skillfully keeps the reader off kilter as she delves into the psyches of Priss and Ian." -South Florida Sun-Sentinel
"Suspenseful . . . Will keep readers hooked." -Publishers Weekly
"Crazy Love You ups the ante. Every time I thought I had a handle on what was really happening and why, [Unger] gave the plot another sly twist that left me scrambling to catch up. . . . Has enough supernatural elements to remind us of Stephen King territory." -Tampa Bay Times
"Page.com
"The psychological and paranormal dimensions of Crazy Love You are superbly drawn, endlessly fascinating and extremely frightening. The undertow of despair might not be safe for novice word."- Florida Weekly
"A deeply layered and finely textured novel about a special relationship that has taken a dark turn. It is a novel of obsession, unrequited love, loneliness and the rage that comes from not fitting in."- BookReporter
"Mesmerizing and unnerving from its first pages to its stunner of an ending, Lisa Unger's Crazy Love You is a tale you won't soon forget." -
Megan Abbott, author of The Fever
"When I tell you I could not put this book down, I mean I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN!!! It is dark and twisted and captivating and full of endless surprises. I promise you're in for a wild ride." -
John Searles, author of Help for the Haunted and Strange But True
"With CRAZY LOVE YOU, Lisa Unger has outdone herself. I've been a fan of hers for years but this is hands." -
Gregg Hurwitz, author of Don't Look Back
Praise for *In the Blood: *
"Unger pulls off a bravura feat. . . . Readers will . savor the pleasure of being guided by Unger's sure hand along a deliciously twisted narrative path. Another scary winner from an accomplished pro."
- Kirkus Reviews
"In the Blood is an absolute corker of a thriller that cements Lisa Unger's status as one of the brightest stars in the game."
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Dennis Lehane
"Reading In the Blood is like grabbing a live wire. . . . A shocking, unputdownable thriller."
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Karin Slaughter
"In the Blood is a riveting new thriller from Lisa Unger. Dark and haunting, with a deadly twist that you won't see coming 'til you're hit between the eyes, this book is a winner."
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Linda Fairstein
"In the Blood is a psychological thriller that played me."
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Andrew Pyper
Previous Praise for Lisa Unger:
"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."
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Michael Connelly
"Riveting psychological suspense of the first order. If you haven't yet experienced Lisa Unger, what are you waiting for?"
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Harlan Coben
"I read Black Out in one hungry gulp and spent the rest of the night trying to calm my jangled nerves. This is a stunning, mind-bending shocker with moments of sheer terror - one of the best thrillers I've read this year!"
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Tess Gerritsen
"Suspenseful, sensitive, sexy, subtle . The best nail."
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Lee Child