July 8, 2019
A vigilante is killing people who may have gotten away with murder, most recently a man who was tried but acquitted of killing his pregnant wife, in this cleverly plotted if credulity-challenging psychological thriller from Edgar finalist Unger (Under My Skin) set in a small New York State town. Another victim of the vigilante may have been Eugene Kreskey, who 22 years earlier had a fateful encounter with three 12-year-old friends in the woods: Tess Barker, Hank Reams, and Rain Winter. Tess was killed; Hank was kidnapped but eventually escaped; only Rain eluded Kreskey that day; Kreskey had been stalking her and later spent 10 years in a psychiatric facility. As adults, Hank and Rain have thrived: Happily married Rain is taking a break from her career as a crime reporter to stay home with baby Lily, while Hank has made a name for himself as a psychiatrist specializing in victims of trauma. Despite Rain ostensibly being a stay-at-home mom, the latest case gets her investigating again. Unger’s well-honed craft shows in her unmasking the avenger early on and using the reveal to ratchet up suspense. She also squirrels away several startling trump cards for later. Fans of serial killer novels won’t be disappointed. Agent: Amy Berkower, Writers House.

Starred review from July 15, 2019
This complex psychological thriller digs deep into the layers of trauma that linger long after a terrible crime. This is the 17th novel by Unger (Under My Skin, 2018, etc.), and it revisits one of her frequent themes: the indelible impact of violence on the survivors of crimes. The survivor at its center is Rain Winter, who at age 12 was one of three friends who became the victims of a monster. At first glance, Rain seems to have overcome that nightmare. She's happily married and reveling in motherhood, although she vacillates between the joy she finds in 1-year-old Lily and the tug of the job she left as a hard-charging radio news producer. That tug increases when she hears that a man whose murder trial she covered, a man who was acquitted of killing his pregnant wife, has been found dead--killed in just the same way his wife was. Rain was sure he was guilty, so she feels some dark satisfaction, and her investigative instincts (and maybe something else) are aroused when a dark web mole, tipster, and blogger tells her off the record that there have been other, very similar revenge murders, and they might be the work of the same person. That wakes her own worst memories: "There weren't many people who remembered Rain's ugly history. It was big news once, but it had faded in the bubbling morass of horrific crimes since then." Its aftermath included the children's attacker being released from prison--and murdered. Chapters describing Rain's pursuit of the story of a possible vengeful serial killer are intercut with chapters narrated by a mysterious person from her past, one who is closer to her in the present than she knows. Unger skillfully peels back the layers of Rain's emotional scar tissue to expose the truth of what happened in her childhood and the fear, rage, and guilt it left behind, with a series of shocking consequences. Surviving a crime is the beginning of the story, not the end, in this astute, engrossing thriller.

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September 1, 2019
Former journalist Rain thinks she'll be happy as a stay-at-home mom, but she still has that investigative itch. And, unlike most reporters, she has a dark past that comes back to haunt her: when she was 12, she was left behind, nearly dead, while her two best friends were kidnapped. Hank escaped, but Tess was brutally murdered. Years later, the madman was mysteriously killed upon his release, and now there's been a string of copycat vigilante murders . . . just ripe for investigation. Rain puts aside her fears and takes a deep dive into her past, but is she ready for what she will find? Hank is now a noted psychologist devoted to helping traumatized children, but what is he hiding about what he does in his free time? Unger's latest thriller relentlessly uncovers a multitude of secrets, leading readers down a delicious path of fear, lies, and long-awaited justice, with an ending that will leave jaws dropping.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

October 7, 2019

Having barely avoided abduction in her youth (friends Tessa and Hank weren't so fortunate), Rain Winter lives quietly as a stay-at-home mom. Her would-be abductor was murdered upon his release from prison, and now a man acquitted of killing his own wife has been dispatched as well, which draws Rain to investigate. With a 250,000-copy first printing; from the New York Times best-selling author of Under My Skin.

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