Lisa Unger

The Stranger Inside by Lisa Unger is a 2019 Park Row Books publication.

Lisa Unger is one of my favorite Suspense/Thriller novelists. As such, I have a bad habit of hoarding her books, saving them up so that I always have one on hand when I get a craving for one of her books. The downside of that, though, is that I tend to lose track of them over time and they pile up, going unread for years. I’ve decided to work on that little quirk and so I’ve been trying to catch up on all my blacklisted LU titles.

This one was published in 2019, but the subject matter couldn’t have been more relevant or timely.

Rain and two of her friends were targeted by a killer who was also victim of extreme abuse by his parents. One of the victims would not survive, leaving the remaining two to live out their lives riddled with guilt and anger- at themselves and each other, while still sharing a nearly unbreakable bond, both knowing they had a ‘stranger inside’ - something no one else could possibly understand no matter how well they knew them.

All those feelings rise to the surface again for Rain when an acquitted murderer is found dead one year after the trial. As a journalist, Rain is itching to cover the story, but she’s given up her career in favor of being a SAHM. But when her suspicions about the possible vigilante slayings of other criminals who were either released from prison or escaped justice altogether, she knows she must pursue it- conflicted feelings or no…


Unger once again creates a dark, suspenseful, yet thought provoking story that explores duality in people in one form or another- including motherhood vs career- innocence vs trauma – and the ever-present good vs evil and justice or the lack thereof.

In the ‘Barbie” movie, America Ferrera makes a memorable speech- but she doesn’t have anything on Lisa Unger who writes a similar passage here, years before that movie was even thought of. Rain’s conflictions were multi-faceted, and she was an interesting character study. But her friend, Hank- now that’s an altogether different sort of conundrum. What role does trauma play in one’s thoughts and actions? Another very thought-provoking characterization.

The story is dark, twisted, absorbing and pretty much a quintessential Lisa Unger novel-but with a deeper level of inner human turmoil. I really liked the book- it made me think, it was creepy and suspenseful- all you would want from a thriller.

Overall, a very solid effort by one of my favorite crime fiction writers!

4+ stars… (mere)

In the Blood by Lisa Unger is a psychological thriller that had enough suspense to keep me reading and trying to fill in the pieces. The novel is set in The Hollows in upstate New York, a location that this author has used previously. There are some familiar characters but the story is centered around college student Lana Granger.

Lana, is full of secrets. Secrets that very few know all of, she even keeps many secrets from the reader and slowly drops clues as the book progresses. Lana is haunted by her mother’s murder and her father is sitting on death row, found guilty of that murder. Lana was a difficult child growing up in the violent dysfunction of her parent’s marriage yet she takes on a job of babysitting a disturbed young boy. Lana and this boy play cat and mouse games with each other and bond in a strange way. Meanwhile Lana’s best friend Beck goes missing. This is the second friend of Lana’s who had disappeared in a suspicious way from the college and it isn’t very long before the police are looking at Lana much more closely. Is someone using Lana as a front to cover their own misdeeds?

In The Blood hits all the right notes for a thriller as this author delivers a tightly plotted, riveting story that unsettles rather than frightens. There were a few things that I had to accept over my disbelief but overall this twisty story was a good read.… (mere)