The Stranger Inside by Lisa Unger

☆☆☆☆☆
Kindle Edition, 384 pages
Published September 17th 2019 by HARLEQUIN – Trade Publishing and Park Row
About the Book:
Even good people are drawn to do evil things…Twelve-year-old Rain Winter narrowly escaped an abduction while walking to a friend’s house. Her two best friends, Tess and Hank, were not as lucky. Tess never came home, and Hank was held in captivity before managing to escape. Their abductor was sent to prison but years later was released. Then someone delivered real justice—and killed him in cold blood. Now Rain is living the perfect suburban life, her dark childhood buried deep. She spends her days as a stay-at-home mom, having put aside her career as a hard-hitting journalist to care for her infant daughter. But when another brutal murderer who escaped justice is found dead, Rain is unexpectedly drawn into the case. Eerie similarities to the murder of her friends’ abductor force Rain to revisit memories she’s worked hard to leave behind. Is there a vigilante at work? Who is the next target? Why can’t Rain just let it go?

My first Lisa Unger book and simply put...good old fashioned writing with a great story and too many twists and turns to count. Readers will be sucked into Rain's story alongside her as she battles her demons. The emotion, characters and world feel real while the plot is a delightful whirlwind of red herrings entwined with an amazing story arc. I liked how the book showed Rains strength, determination and stamina...finally a strong woman in a thriller! The story unwound in a way that kept me reading and I managed this 365 page book in one sitting.

Ms. Unger is a master of weaving suspense and keeping the reader guessing as to who is to blame. I was surprised at the ending, but I should not have been...Rain was imperfect and paranoid for a reason. This was definitely a "keep your but in chair" from start to finish and holds your attention from the first page until the last. I highly recommend this novel and look forward to her next book.

Thank you NetGalley, Lisa Unger, HARLEQUIN – Trade Publishing and Park Row for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.

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