Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

Title: Beautiful Lies

Author: Lisa Unger

Publication: 5 December 2006

Format: ebook

Amazon Description

What if your family was a lie? What if your name was a lie? What if your whole life was just a pack of Beautiful Lies?

If Ridley Jones had slept ten minutes later or had taken the subway instead of waiting for a cab, she would still be living the lie she used to call her perfect life. Instead, she's in the wrong place at the right time to unleash a chain of events that begins with a mysterious package on her doorstep. A package that informs her that her entire world is just an illusion. Forced to question everything she knows about herself, Ridley wanders into dark territory, where everyone is hiding something.

Sexy and fast-paced, Beautiful Lies is a true literary thriller. Lisa Unger takes us on a breathtaking ride in which every choice Ridley makes creates a whirlwind of consequences that are impossible to imagine.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

Lisa Unger has been popping up in my "You May Also Like...." recommendations for years and I finally decided to take the plunge thanks, in large part, to still needing a "U" author for my alphabet reading challenge for the year. 

Whatever gets me to grab the book, right?

I was immediately pulled in by the description and the prologue had the "edge-of-your-seat" feel that I tend to gravitate towards ... when I'm not gravitating towards rom-coms, historicals, cozies, satires ...

Okay, I tend to gravitate in a lot of different directions.

Unfortunately, maybe ... but maybe not ... so does Beautiful Lies. 

That glorious "edge-of-your-seat" thriller feeling shifts drastically once the Prologue ends and the main story begins. I'm not used to the protagonist/narrator of a so-called thriller being quite as chatty as Ridley is and I'm not entirely sure that I like it. Hence, the "unfortunately, maybe." Then again, it's just so different than the norm that I've felt myself somehow sucked in to the one-sided conversation with Ridley. Sometimes it has felt like an actual conversation as I nod in agreement with whatever she's saying. Hence, the "but maybe not."

It has taken me almost an entire week to do so, but I've finally reached 80%. It hasn't been the "edge-of-your-seat" thriller that I was hoping, and at times it was a bit too easy to put down and forget about. I'll see it through to the end, though, because I'm spite of it lacking what I was looking for, it's still a good story and there are still some questions I hope will be answered.

Hopefully I won't put it down again before I get those answers because I do look forward to gravitating in another direction soon. After all, I've got other letters still yet to tackle, a shipment of Jason Pargin books on the way, all of those Bernard Cornwells already sitting on my shelf, at least half a dozen Austen-inspired whatnots calling my name, over thirty NetGalleys waiting and, hopefully, some thrillers that may actually keep me on the edge. 

Of course, there is also another Ridley book already in my Kindle cloud so I may just continue the conversation we've been having sooner than later ...

 

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Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader