Starred review from October 23, 2006
Bestseller Unger's sensational second thriller (after Beautiful Lies
) puts her in the same league as such genre masters as Peter Straub and Peter Abrahams. From the cryptic opening section, which ends with a New York Times
reporter finding her husband bleeding to death, Unger grabs the reader by the throat and doesn't let go. Meanwhile, the FBI informs Ridley Jones, a magazine writer, that her late uncle, Max Smiley (who's really her biological father), is still alive and being sought by assorted international players on all sides of the law. Rapidly finding that little in her life is what it seems, Jones is horrified to be confronted with evidence indicating that Smiley is a misogynistic monster of the first order, who may have played a role in the murder of the reporter's husband. Unger's gifts for dialogue and pacing set this far above the standard novel of suspense and will leave many anxiously awaiting her third book. 10-city author tour.
December 1, 2006
Freelance journalist Ridley Jones stops by the photo lab to pick up her pictures and is taken in for questioning by FBI agents on her way home. It seems that a mysterious figure is hovering in the background in several of her photos, and Special Agent Dylan Grace believes that the figure is Ridley's Uncle Max, whom she thought was dead. In Unger's follow-up to "Beautiful Lies", Ridley must face the fact that her beloved uncle may not only be alive but that he wasn't the man she believed him to be. The FBI wants her to lead its agents to him, but she doesn't completely trust anyone now, including her boyfriend, Jake, who informs her that Max was part of a vicious crime ring. Determined to discover the truth in the web of lies surrounding her, Ridley decides to do some investigating on her own and encounters danger and deception at every turn. A fast-paced story that readers will find difficult to put down; recommended. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 9/15/06.]Linda Oliver, MLIS, Colorado Springs
Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Starred review from November 15, 2006
Unger's popular debut, " Beautiful Lies" " ("2006), introduced readers to Ridley Jones, a New York freelance writer who rescues a toddler who wanders onto a busy Manhattan street. The press attention Ridley's heroic act attracts brings to the surface a series of startling truths, which Ridley's adoptive parents have kept from her all her life. (They gained custody of Ridley through Project Rescue, an organization with links to organized crime.) Ridley's late, beloved uncle Max, it seems, was really her father, a complicated man with a dark, twisted side. In this sizzling sequel, a shadowy figure in a trio of photos prompts Ridley to wonder whether Max is indeed dead. Unger's plot bursts from the starting gate and never lets up, as Ridley pieces together the puzzle that is her past. Just a footstep or two behind her is rogue FBI agent Dylan Grace, who has his own distressing motivations for wanting to know Max's whereabouts. The deeper Ridley digs, the more she doubts herself and the "uncle" she thought she knew. But Ridley (who suggests a more serious version of Janet Evanovich's self-deprecating Stephanie Plum) is never deterred: "Sometimes there is only one choice in the pursuit of the truth; sometimes turning away just isn't an option."(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)
Starred review from February 26, 2007
Ridley Jones thought her faux uncle Max (who was actually her father) was long dead. But apparently, no one else did; not the FBI, the Armenian mob, the woman who identified Max's corpse, or Jones's boyfriend, Jake. Each want Max for different reasons, and Jones becomes the tool with which they hope to bring him out into the open. In an effort to figure everything out, Jones recruits contacts, but it seems every time she does, they end up dead. Unger's second novel featuring Jones packs a lot of action, humor and drama. Jenna Lamia improves these elements in this first-person novel with a light, smooth voice that fits with Jones personality. Within the first hour, Lamia's soft tone reverberates with attitude or sincerity depending on the context, while her ability to inject personality into the narrative aspects of the story makes it all the more enjoyable. She tackles accents, gender differentials and sarcasm with great ease, leaving listeners to lose themselves in Unger's tale of intrigue. Simultaneous release with the Crown hardcover (Reviews, Oct. 23).