In the Blood; Lisa Unger

In the Blood; Lisa Unger

Simon & Schuster Audio -2014

In the Blood is a psychological thriller that really held my interest. The audio book was easy to listen to and quite enjoyable.

The story for the most part is told from the POV of Lana Granger, a psychology student at a small college.  The reader learns early on that Lana had a rough childhood at the hands of an abusive father and that her mother is dead.  Left with a trust fund that is all but depleted, she takes a job as a nanny for Luke, a young, trouble boy, who is more than his mother can handle.  Luke's mother seems to have some secrets of her own and, it is easy to surmise that Lana is an unreliable narrator which makes this thriller all the more interesting and suspenseful. To add even another piece to this thriller, Lana's close friend Beck, goes missing at the beginning of the novel and Lana was the last person with her, so the police are anxious to question Lana about Beck's disappearance.

The way the story rolls out is not entirely smooth, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment. First we learn bits and pieces about Lana's terrible childhood, but never enough to know her whole story.  Then we learn that she was the last person to see her best friend, and then there was her nanny job with a sometimes violent Luke.  There were times when I wondered who had the most baggage and who was the most disturbed character in this thriller.  I patiently waited to find out more about Lana's secret past.  

Although I figured out some of this thriller, there were a few surprises.  Lana was a terrific character, unlikable yet interesting all the same.  Everything is revealed by the end and, although I enjoyed this story, I can see some readers being upset with certain elements and how the story played out.  Lisa Unger is a talented writer of psychological thrillers, I always look forward to her books.

4/5 stars

(audio book sent by the publisher)