Friday, August 20, 2010

107 - Fragile; Lisa Unger















Fragile is Lisa Unger's 5th novel, and it is not part of a series. Her latest book takes place in a quaint town known as The Hollows, about 100 miles outside of New York City. It's the type of town where everyone knows everybody and dirty little secrets don't stay secrets for long in this town.  Maggie Cooper and her husband Jones grew up in this town, and even though they found it somewhat suffocating growing up, as adults they chose to raise their only son Ricky here.

Maggie is a psychologist and Jones is a detective on the local police force. Their son Ricky is a rebellious 17 year old, complete with nose ring, black attire and a Goth girlfriend named Charlene Murray. Charlene is a bit of a lost soul with Goth style, complete with vampire makeup. Maggie and Jones are not thrilled about Ricky and Charlene's relationship, and it seems Ricky is becoming more and more distant.

When Charlene goes missing, the community is reminded of a similar incident that occurred when Maggie and Jones were growing up in this very town. In that incident some twenty year's earlier the abduction of a female classmate ended in her death.  Even though an individual was arrested for that crime and confessed year's earlier, it seems that the dirty hands of others who might have been involved are still residing in The Hollows.  Now Jones is the lead detective on Charlene's case and he is acting very strange.  There are no shortage of suspects in this case, and even not everything is as it appears.

My THOUGHTS - Fragile is certainly more mystery than thriller, which is a change from the author's previous books: Beautiful Lies, Sliver of Truth, Black Out and Die for You, all of which I read and enjoyed (especially the first two). This novel certainly kept me interested and guessing as there were numerous characters/suspects to keep the story interesting. I thought the alternating points of view kept the story fresh, as little by little more and more secrets were revealed. Not my favorite Unger novel, but still a worthwhile read. RECOMMENDED - 4/5 Stars (A finished copy was sent to me by the publisher for review).

26 comments:

  1. I have heard so many good things about this that I'm mad at myself that I haven't read this yet!! I have to go pick this up!

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  2. I am still waiting for this one! I love the cover.

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  3. I saw this one at Borders in the Fiction/Literature section vs. the Mysteries. I missed this one. I read her first two and loved them. I signed up for a few contests to win this one.

    Thanks for commenting on my last review for Sea Escape. It was not my favorite book of the year but it hit home for me. I enjoyed it. I have not read her first one.

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  4. Sounds like something I'd like. I'm going to amazon.com it up!

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  5. This book was my first experience with Lisa Unger's work and I really liked it.

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  6. I just downloaded the ebook copy of this book today. It will be my next book to read.

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  7. The reviews of this one seem to be unanimously positive. It is definitely going on my list to read.

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  8. Diane, sounds like a great book! I'm putting this on my wish list-thanks for the review!

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  9. I have got to get myself a copy of this book! Am hearing really good things about it throughout the blogosphere. Thanks for sharing : )

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  10. I haven't read anything by this author. Fragile is getting quite a bit of love from bloggers. It's on my wish list. I'll also have to add her previous novels to my TBR List.

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  11. I've had this one on my wish list for awhile, and now I'm going to be getting it (next week) from Amazon Vine. Can't wait to read it!

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  12. Being a standalone really intrigues me because I think I only read the first in the series.

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  13. I'd like to read this one. I have Beautiful Lies by her but haven't read it yet although I've heard good things about it.

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  14. Great review, Diane. I like the fact that it is NOT part of a series. Like you, I really enjoyed Sliver of Truth. Have a great weekend.

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  15. I keep seeing this book on people's blogs. Is it that it is really good or that the publisher is sending it out to my favorite bloggers? :) The cover alone makes me want to read it for some reason, but it looks like you liked it -- so that's a big plus too!

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  16. I'm not into thrillers, so I would probably like this one more than her others. :)

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  17. I've been reading reviews of this book and they're good. I'm going to give this a try and will look for it at the bookstore in my next visit. Thanks for the review!

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  18. Sounds like a very interesting book by a new to me author-thanks as always for sharing your thoughts

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  19. This sounds like a smart and interesting thriller/mystery and my reading diet is sadly lacking in these types of reads. I will have to check it out!

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  20. Definitely sounds like it's got enough there to make it a worthwhile read.

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  21. Lisa Unger sounds like a writer I need to check out! Novels building on a mystery usually draw me in, and this one sounds great.

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  22. I read her first two and really liked them. I know I have to read this one!

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  23. Sounds good - I enjoyed Beautiful Lies. Thanks for the review.

    Sue

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  24. I know I need to give this author a try! Her books are highly recommended!

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  25. I've enjoyed Unger's books in the past and this one has gotten good reviews! I'll have to add it to my list.

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