By: Lisa Unger
ISBN: 9780778311041
Publisher: Park Row
Publication Date: 10/05/21
Format: Hardcover
My Rating: 5 Stars + (ARC)
“Chilling… You won’t be able to stop turning the pages!” —Shari Lapena, New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door
Secrets, obsession, and vengeance converge in this utterly original thriller about an online dating match turned deadly cat-and-mouse game
She met him through a dating app. An intriguing picture on a screen, a date at a downtown bar. What she thought might be just a quick hookup quickly became much more. She fell for him—hard. It happens sometimes, a powerful connection with a perfect stranger takes you by surprise. Could it be love?
But then, just as things were getting real, he stood her up. Then he disappeared—profiles deleted, phone disconnected. She was ghosted.
Maybe it was her fault. She shared too much, too fast. But isn't that always what women think—that they're the ones to blame? Soon she learns there were others. Girls who thought they were in love. Girls who later went missing. She had been looking for a connection, but now she's looking for answers. Chasing a digital trail into his dark past—and hers—she finds herself on a dangerous hunt. And she's not sure whether she's the predator—or the prey.
Praise
"A five-alarm fire of a situation…the surprises keep coming." —The New York Times
"Hell hath no fury like a woman led on and ghosted in Unger's fast and furious thriller."
—E! News online
"[Unger] just keeps getting better at writing irresistible thrillers; this one thrums with tension from its first pages and never lets up."
—Tampa Bay Times
"Unger always ratchets up the tension...But in this book, she spins like Simone Biles—and sticks the landing." —Kirkus, starred review
"Last Girl Ghosted is yet another spine-tingling, whirlwind of a journey for the characters and the reader. No one does psychological thrillers better than Lisa Unger."
—NY Journal of Books
“An immersive tale of passion and vengeance with a startling ending."
—Booklist
"Chilling, twisty, and hard to put down."
—Library Reads
"Equal parts clever and creepy, it’s also imbued with keen psychological insight and hard-won wisdom."
—Criminal Element
“[An] enthralling psychological thriller. Unger is on a roll.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Chilling…you won’t be able to stop turning the pages!”
—Shari Lapena, New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door
"With Last Girl Ghosted Lisa Unger proves herself the premiere thriller writer in mining the anxieties and risks of our digital culture. This is a captivating, deeply identifiable and deeply humane story that goes far deeper than apps and into the harrowing, complicated experience of being a woman in our online age.”
—Megan Abbott, bestselling author of The Turnout
“Last Girl Ghosted is brilliant and compelling, full of fascinating characters that take us to the darkest places imaginable. Lisa Unger writes with compassion and deep psychological insights, giving us a story that is both shocking and wrenchingly emotional. I read straight through the night, couldn't put the novel down till I turned the last page, and am haunted by it still.”
—Luanne Rice, New York Times bestselling author of The Shadow Box
"Unger keeps readers guessing, with revelations that will make them stop and question what they thought they knew. She might also make them think twice about online dating." —Library Journal, starred review
"Staggering. Unsettling. Vivid and intense. Lisa Unger is our most inventive suspense author, and she's created another fascinating, timely, and insanely good story with LAST GIRL GHOSTED. Wren Greenwood is one of Unger's most nuanced characters, and her story, her life, her secrets, explode off the page. Clear your calendar and lock the doors. You will not be able to stop reading."
—J.T. Ellison, New York Times bestselling author of Her Dark Lies
“Fast-paced and twisty, with sumptuous writing that keeps you glued to your seat and characters whose decisions make your heart leap into your throat, this is one heck of a story I won’t be forgetting any time soon.”
—Hannah Mary McKinnon, bestselling author of Sister Dear and You Will Remember Me
My Review
The queen of psychological suspense, (favorite author), Lisa Unger, returns following Confessions on the 7:45 (interview here) with a dark, dangerous, and haunting twisted game of cat-and-mouse.
LAST GIRL GHOSTED is one heck of a spine-tingler!
PREDATOR OR PREY? Hunter or the hunted?
Lisa cleverly transports readers back to THE HOLLOWS, where it all began. If you are a massive fan of the author and series (as I), you will love returning to this dark and eerie setting off the grid where secrets hide.
Wren Greenwood secretly has a DEAR BIRDIE column. Her former name was Robin (get all the bird names)? Only the beginning.
Her best friend Jax knows of her past, and she also has a podcast and works with her. But no one else knows. She plans on keeping her past a secret for many reasons and does not want anyone to know she is Dear Birdie. She reads of others' tragedies and tries to help them make the best decisions.
Her BFF Jax thinks she needs to get out there and have some fun and recommends, Torch, the dating app for hooking up.
After a few dates, she meets Adam online through the app. He is not the best-looking, but something about him draws her in. He intrigues her.
They are getting along great, and then she spills some of her past. Soon thereafter, he "ghosts" her. Why? Too much? She becomes obsessed with why he left and he may be equally obsessed with her.
Then PI, Bailey Kirk shows up, and she soon learns he has done this to other girls and women, and they go missing and are never to be found again, plus their money goes away. She is the fourth girl, but right now, she has her money. All the women have something in common, and they come from a traumatic dark past, are vulnerable, and well off financially.
How can Adam be gone, and no one can find him? (Better get "Dog the Bounty Hunter" on the trail).
The father of one of the missing girls hired Kirk and he thinks Wren is the key to finding the other girls. He will follow her and she may lead him to Adam (or the many other names he uses). Kirk knows more about Wren and her past than she could imagine.
Adam texts with cryptic messages. She is determined to find him and the other girls. However, what if he is leading her into a trap?
Multi-layered and action-packed, the past is slowly revealed. Wren had an imaginary friend growing up, named Robin (her name). Their dad had to go off to war and came back a different man.
The dad hates the world. (he is one scary man) He is abusive, filled with rage, PTSD, violence, drinking, and wanting to live off the grid. He talks his wife into moving to THE HOLLOWS in their old family home and living off the land.
Robin/Wren and older brother Jay are forced to give up their friends and live life out in the wilderness. Their mother goes along with it, but the dad is abusive and violent, and he believes the world is an evil place. He can be nice but he has an evil side.
The dad has a hidden bunker filled with ammunition and weapons and enough food to survive. But Wren and Jay both know he will kill someone, (or them) if they cannot escape his clutches). She tips off the cops, but unfortunately, it does end the way she planned.
She never wanted to return to this horrible place and the nightmares. One of the girls is also from The Hollows. Similar to her father, Adam has left no digital footprint. Can she find him, and if she does, can she outsmart him?
Who is the cat, and who is the mouse? Visitors come to THE HOLLOWS to escape the city and its stresses, but bad things happen in The Hollows, and the locals hide their secrets all too well.
From past to present, both storylines are equally as compelling. A woman must now confront her past and untangle the truth of tragedy and the outcome. The mom and Wren may have more in common than they may know with the men in their lives turning to the dark side.
Contemporary psychological suspense thriller meets chilling Gothic horror!
The mysteries of childhood and chasing or being chased by monsters. A smart, wickedly plotted psychological thriller brimming with dark surprises at each page turn.
INTENSE! Unger's deeply wrought broken characters experience harrowing situations, and through it all, they seem to be able to survive the storm and heal. Wren's courage to confront, both psychologically and physically, an evil that once again may entrap her.
I loved Bailey and Jax!
Propulsive, timely, and innovative, Lisa Unger is at the Top of her Game! Lyrical, emotional, and expressive, her superb storytelling will keep readers turning the pages into the wee hours of the morning, making it a must-read fall 2021 thriller.
Looking for a Halloween read 🦇- YOU GOT IT!
A special thank you to #NetGalley and #Parkrow for an advanced reading copy. Also, pre-0rderd the hardcover.
Blog Review:
@JudithDCollins
My Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃
Top Books 2021
Pub Date: Oct 5, 2021
Paperback: Sep 6, 2022
Check out House of Crows below!
About the Author
photo credit: Jay Nolan
Lisa Unger is a New York Times and internationally bestselling author. With books published in twenty-eight languages and millions of copies sold worldwide, she is widely regarded as a master of suspense. Her latest release is CONFESSIONS ON THE 7:45.
Unger’s critically acclaimed books have been named on “Best Book” lists from the Today show, Good Morning America, Entertainment Weekly, People, Amazon, Goodreads, and many others. She has been nominated for, or won, numerous awards including the Hammett Prize, Macavity, Thriller Award, and Goodreads Choice. In 2019, she received two Edgar Award nominations, an honor held by only a few authors, including Agatha Christie. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, and Travel+Leisure. She lives on the west coast of Florida with her family. Website
Check out my
Elevator Ride
Q&A with Lisa
Confessions on the 7:45
Check out Lisa's Amazon Original Stories
House of Crows
A Four-Park Serial
Where secrets spread their wings
That long-ago summer, four friends came face-to-face with strange, dark events they couldn’t explain away. As they grew up and left town, they all tried to forget. Instead, their secrets shaped their lives, haunting each of them in their own way. Now, in this chilling four-part serial by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger, it’s time to come home.
4 short Kindle books with audio narration. Read More
All My Darkest Impulses
Fog Descending
Circling the Drain
Love the Way You Lie
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