Friday, June 19, 2009

Die For You - Lisa Unger


Lisa Unger tantalizes us in the opening prologue of Die For You.

An American woman lies on the ground in Prague, staring up at a man approaching her with a gun. She knows him - "He is impervious, his face expressionless, as though I've never meant anything to him. And maybe I haven't."

The novel then begins with author Isabel Raine and her husband Marcus eating breakfast. Marcus leaves for work, but he doesn't return home. When Isabel's phone rings and she sees her husband's number she is relieved - until she hears the terrible screaming. She races to his office, where a group of people clothed in FBI jackets slaughter the entire staff....

Isabel survives, but is determined to find her husband, dead or alive. The more she digs, the less she knows. The man she married is someone completely different from the man she is following. Who is he? We are offered tantalizing snippets of Marcus as Isabel searches for him. The action ranges from Manhattan to Europe. Tension is ratcheted up as we alternately read chapters from the past to the present - each revealing just a little bit more.

There's a great cast of supporting characters, each with their own secrets. And that seems to a be a large part of Die for You. How well do we really know the person closest to us? Isabel's sister is deceiving her husband. The lead cop on the case has been betrayed by his wife. Each character has their own secrets and their own reasons for hiding something. It explores the thoughts and reasoning behind the secrets. I enjoyed the subplots involving the supporting cast. Unger has a deft way with words and author Isabel showcases those talents.

Unger has created yet another fast paced, page turning thriller.

7 comments:

cindysloveofbooks said...

I am really hoping to get to this one this month. Its in my June to be read pile. Sounds really good. Great review Luanne.

Rebecca A Emrich said...

wow I'll have to get this one now.

Thanks for the suggestion.

bermudaonion said...

Holy cow! That sounds exciting!

Missy B. said...

I can't wait to read this!! I loved her other books, so I knew that this one would be good.

Have a great weekend!

Number One Novels said...

I have this book sitting on my shelf waiting to be read, so I only skimmed through your post just in case it revealed any spoilers... You're the third person that's recommended it, so I should move it up in my reading queue.

I was just commenting to my boyfriend the other day that despite the fact that I have over 60+ books that I haven't yet read sitting on my shelves, I wouldn't feel quite settled until I had the latest Jacqueline Carey. Your profile comment made me think of that. I'm glad I'm not the only one! :)

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

I started this one, and hate stopping. It's excellent--great review.

Unknown said...

Added to the tbr pile this summer. Thanks for the heads up on this book.