Discovering infidelity is like watching a bomb rip into a building. Selena catches her husband in the act on the nanny cam -- with the nanny. She finds herself confiding in a stranger on the train and feels a tenuous connection with this "Martha." It will come back to haunt her in ways she does not expect. Full of twists and turns, this new thriller from Lisa Unger was a thought-provoking page turner. While there are some deplorable husbands in the book, there are also men treating the women and children in their lives with honor and dignity. The contrast makes the cheaters look even more tawdry in comparison. This book also gives us an inside look into the methods of a con artist and I found that to be quite enlightening. Definitely will be recommending this title to library patrons this fall.

Thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

The reason I enjoy Lisa Unger's writing is because she weaves so many truths into her stories that she makes it seem like anyone can become a killer, given the right circumstances. That is truly terrifying! Her latest novel, Confessions on the 7:45, has characters we might know: the harried woman juggling a career, children and her marriage, the husband who can placate his wife enough so she won't divorce him, and the mysterious woman who is just a little too friendly. This was a wonderful book, that I raced through.


What I Liked:

Setting:

The book is set in busy world of a woman trying to keep it all together. Hers is a world with nannies, working long hours, and having even longer commutes. Work is everything and an escape from her marriage.

The book also follows the life of a con artist. How does she become so good at being so bad? She moves from city to city as she learns about creating different identities from her mentor, known as Pops. It's strangely fascinating to see how they target lonely women and con them into giving them money. It's a life I don't know, but now feel like I might understand.

Characters:

Selena is such an identifiable character. She seems to have it all: two children, a loving husband, and an enviable career. She is very eager to show all the good parts of her life on Instagram. But is her life really so great? She works long hours with a soul crushing commute. Her husband is "between jobs", growing more and more resentful as the months go on. And she feels immense guilt over not having time to be the mother she wants. She's too busy to have many friends. So she is a prime target for Martha, the con artist.

Martha goes by dozens of names depending which con she is working on. And actually she has many enviable organizational skills. But she is totally lacking in an morals or empathy. How did she get this way? The novel takes us on that journey. I found it scary and fascinating.

Much as I didn't like him, Graham's charismatic personality made him fascinating to me. How and why did Selena marry him in the first place? Little by little we see his true nature. How is it that a man who truly is an attentive parent also be a terrible husband?

Story:

The story revolves around the disappearance of Selena and Graham's nanny. There are so many questions. Is she dead? Kidnapped? Did she just get sick of taking care of other's children and voluntarily leave? No one knows.

But, as the investigation continues, Selena and Graham's marriage is dissected bit by bit, putting even more stress on their marriage.

Then there's the strange encounter between Selena and Martha, from the train... Who is she? As Selena confesses her marital problems to Martha (a total stranger), Martha exits the train with a thought, "Who knows, maybe your problems will just disappear". Could Martha have something to do with the nanny's disappearance? Or is she primed to blackmail Selena?

A chance encounter for Selena Murphy changes everything in her life. Heading home from work one day she is completely overwhelmed after just learning the truth about her husband's infidelity with their nanny. Deep in thought, as she sits down on the train ride home, a woman sits next to her and reveals a dark secret about her life. Selena feels comfortable sharing her own situation, and even voices what she would like to happen with the nanny.

She gets home and as far as she is concerned, that chance encounter is behind her. What is more important is figuring out how she will confront her husband. However, before long, the nanny disappears. She didn't show up at work, and her sister has contacted the police saying she doesn't know where she is. Meanwhile, Selena is getting strange messages - from the stranger on the train.

If you are like me at all, your mind might have veered to Hitchcock's movie, Strangers on a Train. Similarities to be sure, but this book offers so much more. Selena has to ask herself, who was the stranger called Martha that she shared information with? Could Martha have had anything to do with the disappearance of the nanny? Why is she even getting messages from Martha now? What does Martha want? What is her motive?

In this thrilling story by Lisa Unger be prepared for a bit of virtual whiplash with the twists and turns that come flying through the pages of this book. This is truly a book where nothing is as it seems and watching things unfold was truly exciting. Unger might have set her plot similar to the classic movie, but she went down a long road of unexpected turns.

One thing that kept this fast-moving book going were the various points of view. The perspectives differed enough so that the groundwork for secrets that have a very long reach could be established. There were some red herrings, some obvious clues, and then some not so obvious. The execution was flawless, making this book impossible to put down.

Many thanks to Park Row and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

This book is wild.

It was also the perfect book to get me out of a slump. Serena has a beautiful home, a great job and a handsome husband. That same handsome husband....who is probably cheating with their young nanny. She misses the train home one night and takes the 7:45 headed home and meets a beautiful stranger...who admits to sleeping with her boss.

I don't want to get too much into the details as...well, this story takes turn after turn after turn. I spent a few nights awake, reading way past my "bedtime" to try and figure out who any of these people really were.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Selena Murphy jumps on a train to get home to her family and she ends up on a broken train next to a woman at a vulnerable time where she tells everything about her husband, her life and her fears for the future. This woman confesses her own things and tells of being the other woman in an affair and that she wants to change her ways. A nanny, an affair and twists and turns make up this story.

Told through many perspectives and without much explanation as in dates, times or places, it takes a bit to figure out the basics of the main women telling the story. Thrown in towards the end are a few chapters told from an investigator's point of view and although he gave some interesting clues, I felt as though it was oddly thrown in and not sure I would have included his point of view. I would have just allowed the ladies to tell the whole story.

Maybe I am overdone on psychological thrillers, but this book felt like just another one where you can't trust anyone and eventually they will all be connected. I have read quite a few of these recently and I could be burnt out because when this one ended I was just not surprised or inspired. I felt as though I knew the ending very early on and I figured out the connections too soon; which made me sad.

Although I didn't love this book, I am not going to count this author out and will read another by Lisa Unger.

Oo y’all Lisa Unger never disappoints! The storyline and characters were top notch in this one. Definitely a keep you on the edge of your seat suspense novel!

Confessions on the 7:45
A Novel
by Lisa Unger
HARLEQUIN – Trade Publishing (U.S. & Canada)
Park Row
General Fiction (Adult) | Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 06 Oct 2020 | Archive Date 01 Apr 2021

I found this novel lacking. I had difficulty keeping up with the characters and meetings. Thanks to Park Row and Netgalley for the ARC. It was not my favorite book this year,

3 star

Confessions on the 7:45 is a new mystery suspense thriller by author Lisa Unger.

One night on the train ride home Selena Murphy spills her worries to the passenger next to her. She feels a connection with this stranger and confesses her fears of her husband sleeping with her nanny. After confronting her husband the nanny goes missing, and she second guesses her prior choice to confide in a stranger. The happy life she's portrayed to the world is far from it. The more she learns, she realizes she doesn't know her husband as well as she thought, and she probably shouldn't have ignored her instincts when it came to him. As her life spirals out of control the nightmare she's found herself in holds more secrets than she could ever imagine.

I knew going into this that it was going to touch on cheating because in the synopsis it states Selena suspects her husband infidelity, but I was unprepared for it being constant and the main plot line. In this novel men cheating on their husbands was excepted as the normal and as women we were to fix the problem and move on. The whole thing was frustrating but aside from that, the story had some great plot twists. It was layered nicely with different character point of views and revelations at the right times.

Confessions on the 7:45 was an interesting and decent mystery suspense. However, I will be honest if this same book was written but the genders were reversed ( man suspecting of his wife's infidelity and then confiding in another male on the train and progress from there) I would have enjoyed this much better and it wouldn't have felt so predictable or cliché.

Lisa Unger writes a compelling tale. She has a way of crafting a world around broken people that encourages us to feel for them even while we want to run away from the train wreck that is their lives... This one did not go where I thought it was going to at all, which is one of the highest compliments I pay to domestic thriller writers - and one I don't get to pay nearly often enough. I found the book engaging , with a number of twists and turns that spun back on themselves in ways I didn't see coming.

Lisa Unger's Confessions on the 7:45 is one of the most intricately plotted books I've read. I advise readers to have a tablet at hand to keep track of the characters and their connections, it makes it so much easier to enjoy the cleverness of this enthralling read!

Selena Murphy is at the end of her rope. Her husband Graham has lost his job and Selena has grudgingly gone back to work after being a stay-at-home mom since the birth of their second child. It's not that she doesn't like her job, she does, but she'd rather be home with her sons, Stephen and Oliver. Not to mention that Graham insists that looking for a job is a full-time job so Selena had to hire a nanny to take care of the boys, Graham doesn't seem to be putting much effort into finding a new job, and, oh yes, Selena has caught him (via nanny-cam) twice having sex with the nanny! Set adrift by the discovery, Selena is trying to decide how to confront Graham, and what to do about her crumbling marriage.

As she rides the 7:45 train home, the train stalls on the tracks. Selena and Martha, the woman sharing her seat, begin to converse to pass the time. Developing an instant connection (assisted by the circumstances and some little bottles of vodka Martha has in her purse), the two exchange confessions about their lives; Martha that she's having an affair with her boss and she wants to end it; Selena that she "thinks" her husband is cheating on her with the nanny. Martha comments "Don't you ever just wish your problems would take care of themselves?" When the train arrives at Selena's destination, the women part ways and Selena thinks that is the end of a nice encounter with a stranger. She couldn't be more mistaken!

Within days, Selena's nanny disappears, and the investigation which follows only deepens the cracks in Selena and Graham's marriage. Then she starts getting texts ending with "It's Martha, by the way. From the train." Selena blocks the caller and immediately gets another text with the same message from another number. Her life as she has known it is over.

This is an engrossing read filled with secrets, lies, deceptions, and plenty of twists, some quite shocking. Due to the intricate plot, it's not a book to begin if you are operating in a pick it up, put it down, pick it up, put it down mode, but this book is so well done that you'll want to to keep turning the pages until the end. I highly recommend it!

My thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Park Row for allowing me to read an ARC of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions stated are my own.

Thank you to Park Row and Netgalley for an early copy of this title.

I’ve often thought that if my first name was Lisa, I’d write thrillers. So many of the good thriller authors are named Lisa, and Lisa Unger is one of my favorites. I love her work.

Selena commutes to and from her job in the city. On this particular night she misses her regular train so she returns to her office thinking she’ll work, but instead replays the video footage of her husband and their nanny having sex, twice.

On the 7:45 train she meets Martha and possibly due to the little bottles of vodka they drink, they both talk about what’s on their mind with no filters. Martha is sleeping with her married boss and Selena confesses her husband’s infidelities.

Not too long after that Geneva, Salina’s nanny, disappears. Did Selena’s husband take matters into his own hands? Was he being blackmailed?

Then the police become involved and they uncover the lies and insist everyone tell the truth. But what is the truth – who did it? Is Geneva dead? Who is Pearl?

Selena’s life becomes a series of questions she can’t answer and she's terrorized.

Unger has excellent plotting skills. She knows when to reveal a little to the reader and when to cast the spotlight of doubt on one of the characters.

Told from different perspectives, as you read more and more, the story line becomes clear. Or does it?

Cancel your plans for the day when you pick up this thriller. Because you won’t want to stop reading it. I highly recommend it to my Goodreads followers.

One night on a late train, two commuters - Selena and Martha - sip vodka from mini bottles and trade true confessions because... why not. They will probably never see each other again. And that is where Selena gets it completely wrong.

Selena and Martha's confessions are completely compelling. Both link to betrayal, failed marriages, lies, and secrets. Selena's confession relates to something that she finds out that day, and she is devastated, in shock, and angry. Her life will never be the same, and the events that happen afterwards get crazier and crazier.

There were many characters in this story with different timelines. At first it was hard to keep them straight, but it becomes easier as the story progresses and you get to know the characters.

The story also highlights the art of grifting. There are many characters trying to swindle money out of others by capitalizing on their weaknesses. Extortion plays a big part of the plot, and it was fascinating. Multiple identities are woven in, and it was fun trying to guess who turned into who.

There is a lot of infidelity in the book and how it affected all of the women in this story as daughters, wives, mistresses, sisters, mothers. Everyone had trust issues, and rightfully so. The plot did not portray men in a positive light.

This book is about betrayal, lies, extortion, marriage, parenting, trust, and murder. It's twisty and gripping, and kept me engaged from the start to the very end. It has so many great themes and quotes that I had a hard time choosing my favorite ones. The ending was satisfying and brought closure to a lot of open storylines in the book.

This book really had me hooked from the beginning because there’s a lot going on that kept me guessing and waiting to see how it all came together. And Lisa Unger is a very skilled writer, artfully weaving together the storylines and characters in a way that really kept things interesting. There’s a bit of a Stranger on a Train vibe, but not enough to give away any of the plot, you know? The homage is there, but with enough deviation to really keep things interesting and thrilling.

There’s plenty of subplot mysteries that were really good too, some of which didn’t really get clear resolution, but we were led to assume what happened. Just enough to make thing creepy and spooky. There’s really never a dull moment in this book.

Also, Selena is the kind of character to root for. She really could be “anywoman” in that she was wronged and convinced to forgive, but then her eyes, over the course of the book are just forced wide open (I don’t want to give anything away, but infidelity and relationships are a big theme in the book and it’s really interesting to see from a modern/social media perspective). Selena makes some mistakes, but eventually takes back her life and rises above.

I will definitely be reading more Lisa Unger after this book. Her writing is spectacular and I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a great thriller to help them get through the workday commute!

What a fantastic thriller! When 2 strangers meet on a train, secrets are spilled. Selena confesses her husband is cheating on her with the nanny and Martha confesses she is sleeping with her boss. When they leave the train Selena feels she overshared but figures she will never see Martha again. Selena's nanny goes missing and the police question Selena as she was the last to see her. Also around this time Martha starts texting Selena. How did she get the number? Selena didn't give it to her. This is when the fun begins! This is a twisty crazy thriller!!! This book is told in multiple pov's and I thought it added to the story. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

My thoughts
Rating : 4
Would I recommend it? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes
First off I want to thank the publisher Park Row-HARLEQUIN – Trade Publishing (U.S. & Canada) for inviting me to read as well as letting me review and joining their blog tour for it as well as a big thanks to NetGalley. Because as soon as I saw it I knew I was going to be picking it up and reading it there was no waiting for October to read it, and man was I glad that I did because it remind me of the old move Strangers on a Train ( 1951), where to strangers meet and then a murder happens, but in this case 2 strangers meet on a train and the nanny of one them goes missing, and throw in some other stuff like dark secrets,characters that are twisted ( some to the point that I wound't want to meet them in real life), and when you think you have it figured out you find out that there's more to the story then what you think there is, so set back for a read that well have you setting at the edge of your set.

While finishing this thriller in carpool line, waiting for my son to get out of school, I realized Lisa Unger is truly talented. Now, I knew this already from previous books but, just Wowzers!

The story of a wife who’s married to a man who consistently cheats on her, now with the Nanny and many others in the past. She meets a woman on the train home and that’s when her world implodes!

Dark, twisty and so full of crazy surprises, this story will draw you in and dare you to stop. I fell completely In to it and did not want to put it down.

I highly recommend this one, pub date is October 6 by Park Row, you won’t regret it! Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me access to the advanced readers copy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is an excellent read that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time! I thoroughly enjoyed all of the twists and turns, some that I could predict and a few that I could not. One twist even had me gasping out loud!

Reading this book got me out of a reading slump that I was in and I'm happy that I picked it up. Well worth the time investment! After having read this I will be reading more by this author.

Wow, that is all I have to say, WOW!! Lisa Unger has knocked this one out of the ballpark. I was hooked in the first few paragraphs and she never lets you go. Granted, it was a little tricky keeping track of all of the twists and turns and boy, is there twists and turns. I loved it all. This one is going in my top ten most favorite books of 2020.
The descriptions are correct, this is a taut, beautifully-written novel and is truly a riveting thriller. So many expletives can be used, stellar writing, masterclass in storytelling, all of them are so true. I can’t really decide who was my favorite character, it may have to be Martha (Anne or maybe Elizabeth) or whoever she is at this moment. And I loved the ending, it was almost as good as “wish you were here” written in the sand by Gene Hackman in Enemy of the State. (a good movie).
Pick it up, read it, don’t miss this one, and Lisa, awesome job!!!!
I want to thank Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book for my honest unbiased opinion. This is the highest 5-star review. Great Book!!

I don't do summaries but what I will say is this was really good. Like really, really good. From the start there were more than a few story lines going on. Ordinarily, I might find this distracting or annoying but each story was so good and enveloping that I happily went from one to the next with each turning chapter. Then as the stories developed - and I really can't divulge much- the entire experience became more and more satisfying. Not only the characters, but the relationships, were enthralling to read about. I appreciate Park Row/Netgalley for granting me an ARC of this book. It's not my first read from Lisa Unger and obviously won't be my last - hopefully.

One thing Lisa Unger does really well is twists on twists on twists. While reading her novels, I am always following along and trying to guess the twists and knowing how she likes to turn things back on themselves, I am hyper aware of even peripheral connections and trying to outthink her and YET… and yet there is always 1 turn that I overthink and miss.

This story is told primarily from the point of view of the two main characters with a few chapters done in another characters voice.

Selena has a picture perfect, Instagram-able life, a long marriage, a nice home, 2 wonderful little boys, a career and a nanny to help wrangle all the loose ends. But we all know that those Instagram lives are just the photo-op highlights and the reality is never quite so golden.

Martha, young, beautiful, unattached, good job seems to have the life that all single career women would want but impressions can be deceiving.

When the two women find themselves stuck on the delayed 7:45, the strike up an easy conversation that quickly turns into each confessing the unhappiness that haunts their seemingly perfect lives.

Selena’s confession isn’t entirely true; Selena’s marriage is less than picture perfect. Although she has forgiven his indiscretions before, her gut tells her that there may be cause for concern that something is going on between her husband, Graham, and the nanny, Geneva. After quietly moving the nanny-cam to another room, her suspicions are validated but she is not about to share all the dark details of her life with a stranger.

Martha confesses that she is sleeping with her boss. Selena confesses that she thinks her husband may be sleeping with the nanny.

When Martha says that maybe the nanny would disappear… bad things happen all the time, Selena felt a little sick but it’s just idle talk on the train, until the nanny DOES go missing shortly thereafter.

And the reader finds themselves on a runaway train. An investigation into the nanny’s disappearance leads Selena to question her husband, the life she has built for herself and Martha, from the train. As the days progress, Selena learns that her perfect nanny had secrets of her own.

As I said twists on twists on turns keep the reader off balance and guessing. Layer upon layer of history and deceit are pulled back, slowly revealing connections between the characters and how the past influenced the events surround Selena’s current turmoil.

This is a difficult book to review without spoilers. Lisa Unger does a great job showing families and secrets and the half-truths that make it all almost bearable.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Harlequin for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.