In the Blood: A Novel - Softcover

Unger, Lisa

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1476708231 ISBN 13: 9781476708232

Publisher: Pocket Books, 2014

Synopsis

A Best Mystery Novel of the Year (Sun-Sentinel)

A Best Book of the Year (Suspense Magazine)

A Silver Falchion Award Winner for Best Novel

A Best Book Nominee in the Goodreads Choice Awards

A CBC Morning Show Top Book Pick

An Amazon Best Book of the Month 

An Indie Next Best Books of the Month Pick

"A brisk, crafty and fascinating psychological thriller... In The Blood is a complex mosaic as well, one that's tricky, arresting and meaningful." (The Washington Post)

Liar, liar, pants on fire . . . 

College senior Lana Granger has told so many lies about her past that the truth seems like a distant, cloudy nightmare.  But she meets her match when she begins babysitting for a volatile, manipulative eleven-year-old boy.  Soon after Lana takes the job, her close friend Beck mysteriously disappears.  Lana instantly begins fabricating stories - to friends, to police, to herself.  Why doesn't her account jibe with those of eye-witnesses?  Lana will do anything to bury the truth about that night ... and about her life.  But someone else knows her secrets.  And he's dying to tell.

As darkly startling and finely crafted as her blockbuster bestsellers Beautiful Lies and Fragile, Lisa Unger's masterful new psychological thriller has already "set the bar for thrillers to come" (BookReporter) and is "guaranteed to keep the pages turning long past the midnight hour." (BookPage)

About this title

Review

Amazon Guest Review of In the Blood

By Karin Slaughter

Reading In the Blood is like grabbing a live wire. You’re minding your own business, just looking for a good read, then suddenly you’re jolted into a shocking, unputdownable thriller. There’s no way you can let go—the thought of never finding out what happens to these manipulative and terrifying characters is not an option.

The story begins with Lana, a deeply troubled young woman who is a student at a private university in upstate New York. Lana is a psychology major with a knack for working with troubled children. She takes a job as a babysitter for a disturbed young boy named Luke, but it’s not just the experience she craves—there’s something about Luke that unsettles Lana to her core. Maybe it’s because Luke seems to know Lana a little too well. Maybe it’s because she’s a firm believer in keeping your enemies close. Luke is a master manipulator, a budding psychopath who loves playing games. And he seems dangerously close to figuring out Lana’s secrets.

Luke isn’t her only worry. The police have found out that Beck, Lana’s friend, has gone missing. They start asking her questions she can’t answer. Her quiet, academic life turns upside down. The sheltered campus is suddenly against her. Worse, throughout it all Luke wants to play a mysterious and disconcerting game that seems eerily connected to Lana’s troubled past. And the longer she plays, the more the game seems connected to the night that Beck disappeared too. Lana hasn’t told anyone what happened, so why does it feel like the only way to find her friend is to keep playing Luke’s horrific game?

Lisa Unger is a master at creating psychologically damaged characters. Lana is refreshingly original, an engaging yet completely unreliable narrator. We want to trust her, but should we? Luke is equally inscrutable. He has a dangerous side that both horrifies and draws you in. Is Lana playing Luke’s game, or are they both playing the reader? The answer delivers the kind of shock that will leave you stunned long after the last page is turned.

About the Author

Lisa Unger is an award-winning New York Times and internationally bestselling author. Her novels have sold more than two million copies and have been translated into twenty-six languages. She lives in Florida. Visit LisaUnger.com.

About this edition

• Publisher: Pocket Books
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1476708231
• ISBN 13: 9781476708232
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416