Lori A. (mom2fivesweeties) reviewed Die for You (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard) on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
As usual, Lisa Unger, does an amazing job keeping the reader interested throughout every page of this book. Definitely one of her best!
Helpful Score: 3
The story unfolds layer by layer, revealing gasp-worthy details and clues from characters that form a thrilling chase. A roller coaster ride from New York to Prague, a well rounded thriller.
Helpful Score: 1
This is my first Lisa Unger book, and definitely my last. I found it extremely annoying in every way, from the prologue, to the end where she jumped around and you had no idea what was going on, to the "news report" that was so ridiculously unprofessional it would never make the air to the multitude of dumb characters that littered this book. I'm not fond of first person writing, and the fact that the protagonist is also an author and at every turn had to remind us of how she sees things that others don't is annoying. Almost every character is extremely unlikable/selfish/dumb, especially the protagonist. The only likeable characters were the kids and her step-father, Fred. And speaking of kids, how they turned out OK is a miracle, with their mother being a vacuous moron who claims to love her husband and life, but is having an affair. Oh, and she doesn't just "have sex" with the guy, but she "makes love" with him. Everyone in the book "makes love". Sure. Linda & Ben get down & dirty in a coffee shop bathroom, but it's "making love". He threatens her family and kills himself in front of her, and she still has "feelings" for him. What?? Like her equally selfish/dumb sister who gets taken for a ride by her homicidal hubby, then beaten up by his girlfriend, and almost killed several times, she still can't stop talking about how much she loves him and then runs after him. To get her money back? No, "to find out why" he did everything he did. What? Ugh, dummy, he did it because he's a homicidal lunatic and you're his mark. Enough said. I almost didn't finish this book, and really I shouldn't have because it was really annoying. I just wanted to see how it ended and if she would die. No loss, there, but I should have read a spoiler rather than endure this drivel.
Isabel Raine would probably be the first to admit that her five-year marriage to Marcus has been anything but idyllic. Marcus is driven, ambitious, sometimes secretive; he's a passionate lover but can be emotionally distant, even --- if Isabel's sister is to be believed --- cold. But Isabel, a novelist, loves Marcus deeply. She believes that, in him, she has found the perfect antidote to her own over-emotional, over-analytical nature.
When Marcus fails to come home after a long day at work, Isabel initially fumes more than she panics; Marcus's tendency to get caught up in work and forget his domestic responsibilities has been a pattern throughout their relationship. But when Isabel gets a truncated, panicky phone call consisting of little more than a man's scream, she fears the worst. When Isabel arrives at Marcus's office, the FBI is hot on her heels and soon beats her into oblivion.
When Isabel wakes up, she learns that Marcus is still missing, the FBI agents are really just thugs, Marcus's entire office staff has been murdered, and the office and Isabel and Marcus's own apartment have been ransacked. Soon, though, with the cooperation of two gung-ho police officers, Isabel learns even more troubling details. Marcus Raine was apparently not her husband's real name, but the name of another Czech national who disappeared a decade earlier. She also discovers that all her personal and joint bank accounts have vanished into thin air. Who was this man Isabel slept next to for years? Did she really know him at all?
Isabel's quest --- guided initially by only a few key names and a cryptic, frantic text message --- will take her to the most remote regions of Marcus's past and into stranger mysteries than even her novelist's creativity could have imagined. It will also take her straight into the path of a dangerous conspiracy that could end her quest once and for all.
The basic plot of DIE FOR YOU --- a woman learns that her husband is not who she trusted him to be --- probably sounds like nothing new. In Lisa Unger's capable hands, however, this plot line goes far beyond mere thriller territory and into somewhere excitingly different. Unger facilely handles the novel's suspense, keeping readers on the edge of their seats as new and surprising twists are constantly uncovered. At the same time, she relates the primary theme to the lives of all her characters, from Isabel's own life to that of her sister and her brother-in-law, to her mother, even to the detectives investigating the case.
People are not always who they seem, Unger's novel resolutely declares, and with rich characterization and suspenseful plotting, readers will be swept up in her world --- and in this unsettling idea --- from start to finish.
When Marcus fails to come home after a long day at work, Isabel initially fumes more than she panics; Marcus's tendency to get caught up in work and forget his domestic responsibilities has been a pattern throughout their relationship. But when Isabel gets a truncated, panicky phone call consisting of little more than a man's scream, she fears the worst. When Isabel arrives at Marcus's office, the FBI is hot on her heels and soon beats her into oblivion.
When Isabel wakes up, she learns that Marcus is still missing, the FBI agents are really just thugs, Marcus's entire office staff has been murdered, and the office and Isabel and Marcus's own apartment have been ransacked. Soon, though, with the cooperation of two gung-ho police officers, Isabel learns even more troubling details. Marcus Raine was apparently not her husband's real name, but the name of another Czech national who disappeared a decade earlier. She also discovers that all her personal and joint bank accounts have vanished into thin air. Who was this man Isabel slept next to for years? Did she really know him at all?
Isabel's quest --- guided initially by only a few key names and a cryptic, frantic text message --- will take her to the most remote regions of Marcus's past and into stranger mysteries than even her novelist's creativity could have imagined. It will also take her straight into the path of a dangerous conspiracy that could end her quest once and for all.
The basic plot of DIE FOR YOU --- a woman learns that her husband is not who she trusted him to be --- probably sounds like nothing new. In Lisa Unger's capable hands, however, this plot line goes far beyond mere thriller territory and into somewhere excitingly different. Unger facilely handles the novel's suspense, keeping readers on the edge of their seats as new and surprising twists are constantly uncovered. At the same time, she relates the primary theme to the lives of all her characters, from Isabel's own life to that of her sister and her brother-in-law, to her mother, even to the detectives investigating the case.
People are not always who they seem, Unger's novel resolutely declares, and with rich characterization and suspenseful plotting, readers will be swept up in her world --- and in this unsettling idea --- from start to finish.
Loved it!! So many twists and turns! The characters were so strong. Lisa Unger is a fantastic author. Keep 'em coming!!!
Another great Lisa Unger book. With excellent character development, not a lot of gore or romance, yet plenty of action and twists and turns to keep the reader interested. In addition to the main storyline of Isabel Raine and her husband, Marcus, and their marriage/lives, the author brings in a side story of Isabel's sister and husband, their parents, and of Marcus and his history as well. Where you'd think that would have a tendency to confuse or distract the reader from the main plot, it really doesn't and it actually helps to give you a basis/background for why Isabel is the way she is and how/why Marcus chose her. Not every author can pull this off, but Lisa Unger does it wonderfully. I just ordered my next Unger book to take with me on a cruise vacation in May. She doesn't disappoint!
BTW, I'm not sure why this is listed as a "(Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)" book, as it's a typical murder mystery novel...well, as "typical" as Unger gets, that is.
BTW, I'm not sure why this is listed as a "(Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)" book, as it's a typical murder mystery novel...well, as "typical" as Unger gets, that is.
