Darkness, My Old Friend; Lisa Unger

Title: Darkness, My Old Friend 
Author:  Lisa Unger

Publication Year: 2011

Publisher: Random House Audio

Edition: audio book 

Reader: Nancy Linari ( very good)

Source: Library 

Date Completed: 10/10/2011

Setting: New York

Rating: 4/5

Recommend: yes

Having enjoyed all of Lisa Unger's earlier books, I was anxious to return to The Hollows, after reading her last book Fragile.  It would be good to read Fragile first, but not absolutely required.

The Hollows is a sleep rural town full of secrets.  Willow Graves, age fifteen, and her mystery writer mother, Bethany have relocated from Manhattan to The Hollows after her parent's divorce.  Willow has a hard time adjusting to life here; she just doesn't seem to fit in.  She likes to fabricate stories to make herself seem more interesting, and she gets in with the wrong crowd as well.  Despite her behavior, I felt sorry for Willow, as high school is difficult enough without beating to a different drummer, as was the case with Willow.  Early on, one day Willow decides to leave school early, and while cutting through some woods, she sees a man digging a massive hole, with what looks to be a huge bag near by.  He spots Willow when her cell phone begins to ring. Startled she drops the phone and runs all the way home. He however, has he phone ----

Jones Cooper is recently retired from the Hollows Police Department. He moonlights doing odd jobs for neighbors and watching their homes while they are away.  He's encouraged to do some PI work, and eventually agrees to help look into the disappearance of a woman year's earlier at the request of her adult son.

Eloise Montgomery, lost her husband and son in a car crash and nearly died herself. She survives, but  when she recovers she finds she has psychic abilities, which are both a blessing and a curse.  She teams with Jones to try and solve the disappearance.

There are a few lesser characters as well, but the commonality for everyone in this novel seems to be the fact that each person has a dark secret from their past or "darkness" in the present which they need to confront.  There was a lot going on in this mystery / psychological thriller.  The setting created by Unger seemed ideal for this particular story, and although the story wasn't perfect, I remained anxious throughout to see how the story would end.  I liked this novel, it held my interest, but I thought the ending was a bit predictable.  The reader Nancy Linari, did a terrific job. 

Have you read this one or other novels by Lisa Unger?  What did you think?