This book is really good. The suspense is different than what seems to be flooding the market right now and THANK GOODNESS! I love when a book dares to be different and turns out to be a good story. This was like taking a big deep breath of fresh air! Lisa Unger seldom fails to deliver a great book with a story and characters you get totally wrapped up in and this is no exception. I really enjoyed everything about this book from beginning to end. Everyone who is remotely a fan of this genre, of Lisa, or a lover of books and good stories should read this book!

Under My Skin by Lisa Unger is an amazing novel. As I was reading it i felt Poppy, the main character. terror and confusion build up. Her husband has been brutally murdered . She appears to have a mental breakdown as she tries to deal with his death. and learn why and who killed him.Her close friends try to support her but as her search becomes more drastic she finds herself lost and frequently taking to many pills. The book reaches a tragic but satisfying conclusion as she learns who killed her husband. She and her closest friends begin to move on with their lives.

Unger has delivered again, with another deliciously dark thriller...Poppy is reeling through life, self-medicating and trying desperately to overcome her grief. Her husband, Jack, was brutally attacked and murdered on his morning run nearly a year ago, but Poppy has yet to move on. The senselessness of the crime will not let her rest, so she begins a campaign to discover the truth, yet the truth may hold answers she does not want to know. As she struggles to navigate her world and discern dream from reality, Poppy begins to believe she may have the answers. But what will be the cost?

Very enthusiastically recommended!!!

I have read many books by Lisa Unger and have loved her psychological thrillers. This book was another psychological thriller. and was fantastic. Once I started to read it, I couldn't put it down. It is about a woman named Poppy whose husband was killed and after a year there are so still no leads into her husband's murder which happened in New York while he was running. Poppy has a nervous breakdown after his death, loses days and lands up in a mental health facility with no recollection of the days after her husband's murder but Poppy is struggling, seeing a therapist and over medicating and appears to be very unstable.. This book is a true page turner with twists and turns and without giving away any spoilers I never say the end coming which is great for me!!! This is a great psychological thriller with a great surprise ending. I highly recommend this book if you are a fan of this genre. I received this book from netgalley.com as an ARC for an honest review

That ending was so very unexpected. I got lost a few times not knowing if we were past or present but it kept me content and I wanted to finish. The last 30% got really exciting and I couldn't put it down had to take a longer lunch just to finish it!! Not my favorite of Unger's but totally worth a read.

My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It has been explained thoroughly. All options have been explored and dismissed. The outcome is inevitable. Yet when this anticipated death arrives, we are stunned and shaken.
If prior warning of deaths arrival stuns us, imagine the effect of a sudden violent murder can be to the loving wife of the victim.
Poppy Lang, the heroine of Under My Skin, waved goodby to her husband, Jack, as he sets off on an early morning jog through Riverside Park. Hours later Detective Grayson is asking her questions but all Poppy can do is try to understand: Jack is dead. Jack was savagely beaten to death on his run. Her Mother is there. Her friend Layla provides support. There is a funeral. It is all too much and not enough. Poppy disappears. Four days later she wakes up in a hospital with no memory of these days.
Now a year later, Poppy is struggling with her life. Dr. Nash, her psychiatrist, listens, asks pointed questions, and provides prescription meds. Layla is warm and loving. Her home is always open to Poppy as is her supply of pills. But Polly is sinking. Her dreams are violent and disturbing. Someone is following her or is it her delusions?
A break! As Poppy struggles her dreams become more vivid as some images appear and reappear. What does this mean? Are they real or is Poppy unstable?
Slowly pieces begin to come together. Fleeting images become grounded, clues are uncovered and secrets come to life. Finding Jacks killer and restoring Poppy's mental stability is a painful and dangerous journey.
Lisa Unger, the author of this engrossing read, skillfully weaves twists that range from subtile to gut wrenching into a story of love, friendship, death and healing
I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley. #Netgalley #UnderMySkin

Under My Skin by Lisa Unger

October 2018
Fiction, psychological suspense

I received this digital ARC book from NetGalley and Park Row in exchange for an unbiased review.

Poppy Lang is desperate to solve the murder of her husband Jack who died while out on a run one morning. Unfortunately, she is an unreliable narrator due to her insomnia and paranoia which is exacerbated by her drinking and pill popping.

I must admit that this book has my mind reeling with this plot. I almost felt a bit like Poppy while reading this novel where the murder mystery with so many moving parts and flashbacks that one can only hope is resolved in the end. The tangled dream versus reality theme seemed to end up tying itself into knots. It seems like Poppy is getting help from her therapist, Dr Nash, but then that relationship seems to disappear. It seems Poppy is left to figure out her “hypnagogia” on her own.

Although I found the writing strong and the characters well developed, I found the story line became unnecessarily convoluted which was probably intentional to build suspense. Unfortunately, it felt anticlimactic for me when the story did finally bring all the chaotic tangled pieces together.

Under My Skin is Lisa Unger’s eighth stand-alone novel. It’s a twisty, twirly thrill ride of a book which takes an in depth look at the emotional pain that accompanies violent loss and examines the bad choices we can make on the journey through grief.

A year ago, Jack Lang went for his morning run through a Manhattan park and was brutally murdered. His wife Poppy has not been the same since. Once decisive, independent and strong, she now finds herself spending morning to evening in a drug, grief and alcohol induced daze. Her friend Layla is essentially running her life and Poppy likes it that way. Or she thought she did. Lately, though, she’s not so sure that’s a good situation.

Her husband’s murder has never been solved but that is not the only mystery surrounding that period in her life. Shortly after Jack’s funeral, Poppy disappeared for several days; her phone was dead and a search of the area surrounding her home and work turned up nothing. She appeared suddenly in the lobby of Layla’s apartment complex, ragged and dazed, wearing a tight red dress and high heels; she was so ill and confused, she had to be hospitalized. She has no recollection of what happened during that time, but she does know one thing: no one will tell her the truth about it. Layla lies when questioned, and the detective in charge of Jack’s case prevaricates.

Now she’s begun dreaming about that time. Dreams of herself waking up in a bathroom stall in that red dress. Dreams of voices, laughter and a matchbook with a phone number. When she begins to sense that someone is following her, Poppy comes to a startling realization: the only way forward is backward because the secrets in her past may very well cost her her future.

Ms. Unger is a strong writer and that shows here in her skillful weaving of multiple time frames and multiple issues. Poppy is essentially an entire encyclopedia of disorders; not only is she suffering from PTSD but her endless pill-popping causes hallucinations and time losses where she begins at one place and arrives at another with no idea of how she got there or what happened in between. Her sleep deprivation causes microsleeps with hypnagogia and REM atonia, conditions which cause nightmares so potent they interfere with her reality. She is reclaiming her lost memories but her other issues make it difficult for her to know if what she is seeing in her mind is memory, hallucination or nightmare crafted by her subconscious.  If all that weren’t enough, Poppy often reenacts the day Jack died, changing simple facts about it so that she can imagine how a different outcome would have been possible if she had modified her own actions. It makes for an absolutely fascinating read but it requires the reader to pay sharp attention since it would be very easy to mistake what is dream/hallucination for actual plot within the context of the story.

Adding to the sense of unreality are the characters themselves. Because of Poppy’s myriad conditions she is not a reliable narrator nor are we confident she is an accurate judge of character. The secondary characters are, as a result, as unreliable as she is. The author handles that with a deft hand, making all the confusion more intriguing than irritating. It’s a balancing act and I have to applaud that she has, for the most part, pulled it off.

There is romance here, both a present one and the exploration of Poppy’s previous love story with Jack, which is handled absolutely brilliantly. From the flashback to when they met, to the memories of their dating and marriage, I adored these two as a couple. It isn’t saccharine coated - their marriage had issues just like everyone else’s – but the author does an excellent job of convincing readers that they truly love each other. The present-day romance suffers not just as a result of how pale it is compared to the original but also because I felt it was poorly timed (Poppy is a drug addict while it’s happening), and she is too accepting of the ‘hero’s’ explanations for some problems in his past. I don’t want to say too much and give the plot away, but suffice it to say I had problems with the new romance in the tale.

I also felt Poppy stayed too long in her problematic state for me to be able to enjoy or admire her as a heroine. I grew increasingly frustrated at how she refused to follow professional advice or help and did her own thing, often to less than stellar results, which caused the book to drag a bit in the middle. It simply takes too long for Poppy to get it together sufficiently to start making progress on the mystery of what happened to Jack.

That said, Under My Skin is a fascinating mystery/thriller which deserves much acclaim for how it handles the issues of stress, grief and PTSD surrounding the violent death of a loved one. Fans of the thriller market will find a lot to enjoy in this unique, challenging tale.

Buy it at: Amazon/Barnes & Noble/iBooks/Kobo

I could not put this book down, and I think it was one of Lisa Unger's best. The action and twists just do not stop. Everything is so topsy-turvy and mixed-up but it really worked. She covers tough topics such as miscarriages and domestic abuse and crafts storylines well. You'll want to solve the mystery of Jack's death right along with Poppy, but on the other side of the coin also want to hang out and have fun with her and her BFF Layla. (Everybody needs a friend like that!) This book was great.

Poppy's husband was murdered one year prior to the opening of this novel. She is not coping well. She is seeing a shrink, popping pills, either prescribed or gifted from her well meaning BFF, and taking them with alcohol, often times not knowing what she was taking. I found it hard to like her at times even though she had some redeemable qualities. I found this work very depressing and confusing, much as Poppy's mind was. She lost a few days of herself where she doesn't remember where she was or what exactly she did after her husband's funeral. She has flashbacks but doesn't know if they are real or imagined or part of her nightmares. Frankly, the tug of war between her dreams, her hallucinations and reality wore me down, especially in the first half. It is very repetitious and often I did not feel like getting back to it. The second half got better and more suspenseful, even though Poppy would often "pop" visions of "visits" with her deceased hubby Jack into the story, willy nilly it often seemed, including dialogue, before disappearing into the ghostly mists.

I was anxious to get done with it and also committed to finishing it for the purpose of this review. It did culminate in a satisfactory ending. Never having read this author I am unbiased in my impression of her work. She seems to have quite a following and one can only assume she has better work out there than this is. I rate this at 2.5 stars, rounding up to 3.

With appreciative thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley for providing me an e-ARC for my honest and unbiased review.

This book wasn't for me. When I first read the synopsis I bought it would be a story I would like. However, I just could not get immersed in the story. This book is a pass for me.

Poppy has lost herself after the murder of her husband Jack. She is drinking too much and taking too many sedatives. There are days after her husband's death that she cannot remember. Determined to discover who killed her husband she keeps putting herself into dangerous situations. Who is the dark, hooded man that only she and no one else sees disappearing into doorways and around corners. Her best friend Layla and Layla's husband Mac try to help, but Poppy is determined to reclaim those lost memories and discover what happened to Jack even if her own sanity is at risk.

Very suspenseful read that perhaps drags slightly in the first half, but the urgency to discover what happens next keeps the reader going.

Thank you NetGalley, Lisa Unger and Harlequin publishing for the free ebok in exchange for an honest review.

A year later, Poppy is still grieving her husband who was murdered while out on a morning run. The case remains unsolved and no one is quite sure why anyone would murder Jack. After her husband’s funeral, Poppy goes missing for a few days and can’t remember where she was or what she did. Now she is trying to figure out where she was and who she was with and hoping that this will help her solve her husband’s murder.

I really enjoyed Poppy’s character in this novel; she was flawed and easy to relate to after a loss like this. I liked that Poppy had such a great best friend, Layla to keep her on track and try to save her from herself. I found this novel fast paced and it kept me on my toes because you were never quite such what Poppy would get into next. There were so many different ways I could have seen each chapter go and I loved that I never figured out the ending before it happened! I found each chapter to be a little longer than I generally like, but otherwise this is one of my favorite Unger novels.

I was shocked to find out where Poppy was after her husband’s funeral and who she was with, but it made sense and really made you wonder about different characters. I often changed my mind about who I thought could have killed her husband and could be stalking her. I loved the ending, I had an idea who could have done it, but when it all came together and you find out why it’s amazing!

Pick it up October 2nd!

Lisa Unger writes another masterpiece. Under My Skin is a psychological thriller that I could not put down. It is captivating from page one to the very end.

I have enjoyed a few of Lisa Unger's novels and I was really looking forward to this one. This one is about Poppy, who is searching for her husband's killer.

It has been a year since her husband was murdered while on his morning jog, and Poppy is struggling to make sense of it. She is determined to get answers. As she dreams/has nightmares she can't seem to reconcile if they are actually "memories" of events that could be helpful in solving his murder. She is also downing sleeping pills that blur her sense of what is real.

I thought Poppy was quite an unreliable narrator and her life was a jigsaw puzzle that she couldn't seem to put together. There is some suspense and a few mysterious characters that kept me guessing and wondering what was real. I enjoyed the writing, but the story line became a bit tiresome for me.

This was a quick read for me with enough suspense to keep me turning pages to find out what exactly was "real".

I was really intrigued in the beginning. I wanted to know what happened to Poppy and her husband. It kind of turned into a rambling mess though. I absolutely LOVE Lisa Unger usually, this one was not my favorite though.

This is a book that keeps you guessing. After Poppy's husband is murdered on a jog, she disappears for a few days and then spends the next year depressed and angry. She is in therapy and mixing prescriptions and alcohol. She has vivid illusions but she doesn't know if they are memories or dreams. As she tries to remember the missing days, she begins putting the missing pieces together that will lead her to finding her husband's murderer. The author writes convincingly putting you in Poppy's place as she cannot separate her illusions and real life.

“I, in contrast, am shattered, carrying around the broken pieces of myself, my reality.” That was a line about midway through the book that pretty much sums up the story.

Someone killed Jack. Was he targeted? Was it a random killing? Someone is stalking Poppy. Or is he? What is real, and what is dreamlike? … hallucinations? … imaginings? There are way too many pages of it that dragged on and on. There are also way too many pages of Poppy grieving her husband, grieving her two miscarriages, and Poppy trying to determine what is real and what is not. Polly lost her grip.

I admit that I struggled to finish this book. I actually procrastinated picking it up to read each time and almost quit several times because it was no longer enjoyable. I only finished because I could not imagine how the author could wrap this up and also because I had committed to an honest review to NetGalley. Note: The ending wasn’t worth trudging through the long, tiresome book to get there.

If there was supposed to be developing drama/suspense leading to the ending, it wasn’t there. There was only more of the same, nothing happening. The repetitious flashbacks, lost memories, tug of war between dreams/hallucinations and reality wore on.

So sorry. I wish my review were more complimentary. I appreciate the opportunity NetGalley gave me to read and review Under My Skin.

So, I've heard nothing but fantastic things about Lisa Unger. I was ecstatic to get my hands on an early arc of Lisa's newest book.

I found myself a tad bit confused in the beginning and had to check couple of times that the characters matched up etc. This became a tad annoying for me and tad tedious. It's a high probability that I may just be a little over psychological thrillers?? haha

Poppy's husband was murdered to a random event as the police have told her. Poppy can't let go of her husband. Unfortunately, Poppy blacked out right after the death of her husband and can't remember anything.

Poppy soon starts having very vivid dreams... where she can't figure out if they're real or dreams. Of course.. Poppy starts being followed by a hooded man.... who is this mysterious man?

Can Poppy pull herself together and figure out what happened to her husband?

This definitely was a twisty thriller that leaves you on the edge of your seat. Overall, I enjoyed but just didn't have that slam of a spark I was looking for in my thrillers. Poppy got on my nerves a tad bit as well.. with her doing some crazy ass stuff!

Huge thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin/Park Row for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest thoughts.

3 stars rounded up!

Published to GR: 9/9/18
Publication date: 10/2/18

For sure this hits a good many psychological buttons, but - at least until the last quarter of the book, I'm not quite willing to call it a thriller. Most of the book follows the sometimes reality, sometimes memory, sometimes dreams of Poppy Lang, whose beloved husband Jack was brutally murdered while out jogging a year or so earlier. For a couple of days after the funeral, Poppy went missing; when she finally turned up, she had no recollection of where she'd been or what she'd done.

But that doesn't stop scenes from appearing. Right from the start, she gets flashback snippets, most of which are so vivid that she believes they're happening in the moment. Here and there, they are; but others seem to be unreal (especially since she's unable to put them in any kind of context). Is her memory starting to return? Or is her mind just piecing together fantasies that may or not be rooted in reality? Or is it both?

Needless to say, not only is Poppy confused, but her behavior tries the patience of those around her, including her mother, her best friend Layla and her husband Mac (one of Jack's best friends as well), and the concerned folks she works with at the successful photography-related firm she and Jack owned.

Augmented (or hampered) by drugs and alcohol, Poppy is determined to find out who killed her husband and why. The case remains open, and she recontacts the detective who led the investigation back then and, like her, would love to put it in the "solved" pile. But he, too, has trouble believing the scenes Poppy's mind keeps conjuring up - most of which just doesn't make much sense. Poppy does manage to hooksup with a sweet, caring man named Noah; but here, too, her visions hint that he may have been connected somehow to Jack's murder. Or not.

This scenario continues until about three-quarters of the way through the book, when Poppy finally begins to get her head together (with Noah's help, although neither she nor readers can be totally sure that he's really helping). The nonstop action begins here as well, with everything coming to a head (pun intended) amid an all-too-real possibility that Poppy may meet the same fate as her late husband.

After all is said and done, I really enjoyed this book. Yes, the lead-up to the grand finale probably could/should have been chopped by a few chapters (although, unlike some other readers, I did not find it particularly confusing). And, Noah is more than a little bit too over the top on the too-good-to-be-true scale for me to not be skeptical of his intentions. Still, it's definitely worth reading, and I was happy that a rainy day made even running errands so off-putting that I just curled up on my end of the sofa and read to my heart's content. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for providing me with an advance copy to read and review.