"Crazy Love You'

Who cannot love Lisa Unger?

She writes weird and wonderful thrillers, stories that somehow scare the crap out of me.

Although thrillers are usually shelved right along with mysteries, there is a fine line.  While mysteries are like puzzles that keep our brains busy, thrillers give our minds no blanket under which to hide.  Some have subtle supernatural undertones, and those are the ones I truly enjoy. 

Lisa's new book, 'Crazy Love You' (due out in February 2015), was just as good, if not better than her previous novel, 'In the Blood'.  This new one is creepy.  It's full of tension, full of the ol' 'good vs. evil'.  It's so delicious that I almost gobbled it down in one sitting.

Ian is a famous graphic novelist; his long-running series, 'Fatboy & Priss', has made his career and filled his bank account.  Most of his fans do not realize that the series has a tragic truth:  In his youth, Ian suffered terrible losses, and as a result of the pain, he ate and ate, until he became seriously obese. He was tormented by bullies, and art was his escape.  His childhood friend, Priss, was his champion and the only person he trusted. As he grew older and success changed his life, he fell into drugs and booze, and wild, sexy Priss, is along for the ride.  But when Ian meets Megan, the love of his life, and tries to break ties with Priss, he finds that her anger knows no bounds, and when Priss is angry, terrible things begin to happen.

Such a dark premise, isn't it?  Priss is a character that you love to hate; she's so crazy and sexy, yet I feared every mention of her.  And the fear turned to heartbreak when I learned about Ian's losses.  I cared about him; I felt hopeful when he met Megan and decided to straighten out his life.   But then along came Priss...and everything came crashing down.  

Author Lisa Unger

The whole downward spiral left me feeling dizzy and anxious.  I was desperate to get to the end of the story and find out just what in the hell was taking place.  I thought I had it figured out, but, no.  And then another thought came to mind.  Another 'no'.

And that's why I read Lisa Unger's work.  She's a wonderfully warped writer who leads her readers off the garden path and right down to the mental hospital.  She has a knack for creating dark, tormented characters that earn our compassion...and fear.

I crazy love her.



'Crazy Love You', by Lisa Unger, will be published in February 2015 by Touchstone Press, a division of Simon & Schuster.