Fragile: A Novel - Lisa Unger

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Fragile: A Novel - Lisa Unger

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Set in the Hollows, a secluded town about 100 miles outside New York City, Unger's contemporary thriller offers solid entertainment, but lacks the tension of her 2008 stand-alone, Black Out. Psychologist Maggie Cooper and her husband, Det. Jones Cooper, disagree on how to handle their rebellious son, 17-year-old Rick, who prefers to spend time with his band or holed up with his girlfriend, Charlene Murray. When Charlene disappears one night after a fight with her mother, Maggie and Jones wonder if she ran off to Manhattan, but are reminded of the disappearance 20 years earlier of Sarah Meyers, whose mutilated body was found after she vanished on her way home from school. Though the alleged killer confessed, there are still unanswered questions, and Maggie and Jones find themselves forced to revisit the past as suspicion falls on Rick. Since the Hollows is so small, characters continually rehash secrets–and rumors–so that Unger relies too heavily on the community's interconnectedness to bolster her plot.

Review
"[A] nail-biting nuanced whodunit."
—People

"Folks in a small town descend into darkness and revisit long forgotten memories when a young girl disappears….[A] simmering, tragic tale. Fans of authors like Jodi Picoult will want to read this one in a nice comfortable chair….Unger's fans won't be disappointed.”
—Associated Press

"This one is a stunner…Unger’s genius is in plotting the story so that the reader never knows what’s coming next…This is a read that will stay with you."
—New York Journal of Books Review

"FRAGILE delivers everything that Lisa Unger's readers have come to expect — a thrilling story that affects complicated and nuanced people. But it's also a sensitive meditation on the very nature of family and community and the ties that bind us to one another."
—Laura Lippman, New York Times bestselling author of LIFE SENTENCES

"A rich tapestry of psychological wounds…Cleverly plotted and emotionally engaging."
—Kirkus Reviews

"Compelling and true to life characters…highly recommended."
—Library Journal

"Unger’s taut and edgy tale stealthily plumbs the depths of desperation that grow more dangerous with the passage of time."
—Booklist


Praise for Lisa Unger
“Perfect pitch, characters we can recognize as versions of ourselves, a plot in which a vague sense of suspense almost instantly appears and then grows with the speed of a waterslide . . . Lip-smacking good.” -
—Chicago Tribune

“The book’s characters are fully formed, and the action is depicted with satisfying breathlessness. . . . So well executed.”
—San Francisco Chronicle

“Compulsive reading.”
—New York Daily News

“A complex and gripping story about the dark side of the best of intentions.”
—St. Petersburg Times

“Fast-paced action coupled with marvelous character development.”
—Roanoke Times

“Lisa Unger writes with sharp psychological insight and bone-deep understanding of her characters.”
—Luanne Rice, author of Last Kiss and The Geometry of Sisters