In the Blood

✍ Scribed by Lisa Unger

• Publisher: Touchstone;Simon & Schuster
• Year: 2014
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 223 KB
• Edition: First Touchstone hardcover edition
• Category: Fiction
• ISBN: 1476751714

✦ 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)

**

Amazon.com 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.

Review

"[A] brisk, crafty and fascinating psychological thriller...Offers plenty of good, scary fun -- scenes that will make readers jump...[and] a reveal that will surely elicit a satisfied gasp from the reader...In the Blood is a complex mosaic as well, one that's tricky, arresting and meaningful."

** -The Washington Post**

"In The Blood may be [Unger's] best one yet...Keeps the shocks and twists coming at a breakneck pace."

** -Tampa Bay Tribune**

"Always scary...Unger neatly distorts our perceptions, so there's no telling what is what. Well done."

** -New York Daily News**

"A riveting chess match of twists will keep you guessing -- and keep you up at night."

** -Family Circle**

"Prepare to be scared. Creepy characters, gripping plot, chilling description -- this novel is a perfect weekend read...This is simply a great, scary psychological thriller."

** -Minneapolis Star Tribune**

"Unger pulls off a bravura feat...Readers will...savor the pleasure of being guided by Unger's sure hand along a deliciously twisted narrative path. Another scary winner from an accomplished pro."

** -Kirkus Reviews**

"[A] gripping novel of psychological suspense. . . [with a] tense, surprise-laden plot."

-Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Nothing is what it seems as Unger pulls off some beautiful surprises in this intriguing thriller...Masterfully told."

** -Associated Press**

"A fantastic novel full of suspense and intrigue. Massively recommended."

** -The Sun (UK)**

"A page-pounding psychological maze that will have you scratching your head until the very end."

** -Florida Times-Union**

"This fast-moving book is a rollercoaster thrill ride, withholding crucial facts and then pounding you with them as the chapters wind down. It's a quick, adrenaline-filled read with a slam-bang climax. Unger's skill with words, combined with a pace that never lets up, is guaranteed to keep the pages turning long past the midnight hour."

** -BookPage**

"Unger is a compelling storyteller whose tales rest on human frailty...She makes it impossible to stop reading."

** -News & Observer**

"The brisk plot churns."

** -Sun Sentinel**

"Unger's latest offering is full of engaging twists and turns...Skillfully keeps the reader guessing. . . Fans of mystery and psychological suspense...will be delighted with this imaginative story."

** -Library Journal**

"Lisa Unger is the high priestess of the psychological thriller."

** -Florida Weekly**

"There are so many twists and turns in this book, readers' heads will spin. Just when you think you know everything - you don't. I was second-guessing every character in the book by the end and enjoyed every bit of it."

** -Parkersburg News and Sentinel**

"In the Blood is an absolute corker of a thriller that cements Lisa Unger's status as one of the brightest stars in the game."

-Dennis Lehane

"Reading In the Blood is like grabbing a live wire. . . . A shocking, unputdownable thriller."

-Karin Slaughter

"In the Blood is a riveting new thriller from Lisa Unger. Dark and haunting, with a deadly twist that you won't see coming 'til you're hit between the eyes, this book is a winner."

-Linda Fairstein

"In the Blood is a psychological thriller that played me--in the best sense--from beginning to surprising end. I guarantee Lisa Unger will pull the rug out from under you more than once, so hold tight."

-Andrew Pyper

"Most authors who write series concentrate on one or two recurring characters to drive the story... has taken a different route with three of her last novels. Instead of focusing on a person, Unger uses the fictional town The Hollows as the driving force while concentrating on different residents each time out."

** -Mystery Scene Magazine**

"In the Blood will unveil Lana's secrets --- as well as those of the many characters in her life --- with the precision that only an expert psychological novelist like Lisa Unger can display. This is a welcome start to 2014 and one that has already set the bar for thrillers to come."

** -Bookreporter.com**