In the Blood (Lisa Unger)

As you might expect from a novel called In the Blood, it's not going to be about sunshine and roses.  I rated Lisa Unger's Fragile a rare 5/5 back in 2010, calling it "a mystery in the best sense of the word, with well-developed characters and slow-building suspense."  While I'm rating In the Blood a 4/5, I still thoroughly enjoyed it and found myself chilled to the bone more often than not.

Lana Granger is about to graduate from college and living
a life full of lies.  Desperately needing to make some money since her trust fund is almost gone, she takes a job babysitting a young troubled boy, Luke. When her best friend Beck disappears, Lana becomes a suspect; surprisingly, Luke also seems to know more than he's letting on and revels in taunting Lana along the way.  They seem to have met each other's match, both keeping a plethora of secrets and playing one giant chess game trying to outsmart one another.

This is the type of book you'll love reading under the covers with a flashlight.  In the Blood is a psychological thriller at its best, with nail-biting moments and one heck of a satisfying ending.

MY RATING - 4

Fragile (Lisa Unger)

Fragile is a mystery in the best sense of the word, with well-developed characters and slow-building suspense. It is the story of missing teenage girls, decades apart, and the connections between their disappearances.

Maggie Cooper is a well-respected psychologist living in "The Hollows", a small town outside of New York City. While juggling a busy practice, she tries desperately to keep her relationships with her detective husband, Jones, and sullen teenage son, Ricky, going strong. When Ricky's girlfriend, Charlene, goes missing, the Coopers and Charlene's mother, Melody, do everything they can to locate her. But is this a recurrence of their worst nightmare from their high school days...when Maggie, Melody, Jones, and the rest of The Hollows' parents and children had to contend with another missing girl...one who was found murdered? Only time will tell.

Unger does a fine job of connecting all of her characters and both of her plots (the disappearances of both Charlene in the present and Sarah in the past) to make one gripping novel. She is a masterful storyteller; however, as she states in the "author's note", she has had a personal experience with this. This novel is not to be missed.

MY RATING - 5

This review can also be found on http://www.bookloons.com.