The Stranger Inside

Written by Lisa Unger

Narrated by Vivienne Leheny and Chris Andrew Ciulla

‘A touch of Jekyll and Hyde in this story of murder, vengeance and bonds of friendship. Fine stuff’ Ian Rankin

‘BRILLIANT!!’ Suzy K Quinn
‘Thrilling’ Riley Sager
‘A smart, taut thriller’ Chris Bohjalian

Praise for Lisa Unger:
‘The best nail-biter I have read for ages’ Lee Child
‘Gripping suspense at its best’ Karin Slaughter

* * * *
You committed the perfect crime. But someone knows the truth.

You followed the trial obsessively.

You know he’s guilty and can’t believe he got away with it.

But someone is determined to see justice done.

Rain Winter left journalism behind to focus on her baby daughter. But when a man acquitted for murder is killed, in the same way as his suspected victims, Rain sees a pattern emerging between a series of cold cases.

Meticulous and untraceable, this killer strikes in the dead of night, making sure that the guilty are suitably punished for their crimes.

As Rain’s investigation deepens, she must face up to dark secrets in her own past and the realisation that the killer may be closer than she thinks…

From bestselling author Lisa Unger comes a dark and addictive psychological suspense which will keep you breathless until the last page.

* * * *

Crime writers love Lisa Unger!

‘Suspenseful, sensitive, sexy, subtle. The best nail-biter I have read for ages. Highly recommended’ Lee Child

‘This is one book that will have you racing to the last page, only to have you wishing the ride wasn’t over’ Michael Connelly

‘Riveting psychological suspense of the first order. If you haven’t yet experienced Lisa Unger, what are you waiting for?’ Harlan Coben

‘Deliciously intense and addictive’ Karin Slaughter

‘This is a haunting, compulsive tale that will have you under its spell long after you’ve closed the book.’ Tess Gerritsen

‘A twisting labyrinth of a book where nothing is as it seems’ Lisa Gardner

‘A perfectly dark and unsettling, spellbinding thriller’ Mary Kubica

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Release date: Sep 17, 2019
• ISBN: 9780263931167

Lisa Unger

LISA UNGER, guest editor, is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of twenty novels, including her latest, Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six. She has been nominated for or won numerous awards, including the Strand Critics, Audie, Macavity, ITW Thriller, and Goodreads Choice Awards as well as the Hammett Prize. In 2019, she received two Edgar Award nominations, an honor held by only a few authors, including Agatha Christie. Lisa is currently copresident of the International Thriller Writers organization.

Reviews for The Stranger Inside

[carole888fort · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Stranger Inside by Lisa Unger is psychological fiction at its best, taking the reader on a roller-coaster of emotions and tension. When Rain Winters was twelve, her two close friends Tess and Hank were abducted while the trio was walking in the woods. Rain escaped but Hank and Tess were taken by a vicious killer. Hank was able to escape eventually but Tess never returned. Years later, Rain, a journalist on leave, is a stay-at-home wife and mother, when a murderer who escaped justice is killed. This reminds Rain of the fate of the man who ruined her childhood: he was murdered when he was released from prison. Suspecting a vigilante may have committed these two murders, she begins to investigate and, in doing so, stirs up memories that would have been better left undisturbed. What she uncovers is shocking. If you love psychological thrillers, The Stranger Inside will be very satisfying. Highly recommended. Thank you to Harlequin Park Row and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[johnfishlock · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a tough one to get through for me. It was a little too long and felt like walking through 3 feet of snow at times. Not to say it was bad, just not for me.

[kbranfield-837433 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4.5 stars.

Even good people are drawn to do evil things…

Twelve-year-old Rain Winter narrowly escaped an abduction while walking to a friend’s house. Her two best friends, Tess and Hank, were not as lucky. Tess never came home, and Hank was held in captivity before managing to escape. Their abductor was sent to prison but years later was released. Then someone delivered real justice—and killed him in cold blood.

Now Rain is living the perfect suburban life, her dark childhood buried deep. She spends her days as a stay-at-home mom, having put aside her career as a hard-hitting journalist to care for her infant daughter. But when another brutal murderer who escaped justice is found dead, Rain is unexpectedly drawn into the case. Eerie similarities to the murder of her friends’ abductor force Rain to revisit memories she’s worked hard to leave behind. Is there a vigilante at work? Who is the next target? Why can’t Rain just let it go?

Introducing one of the most compelling and original killers in crime fiction today, Lisa Unger takes readers deep inside the minds of both perpetrator and victim, blurring the lines between right and wrong, crime and justice, and showing that sometimes people deserve what comes to them.

Review:

The Stranger Inside by Lisa Unger is a mesmerizing, suspenseful mystery.

Rain Winter has seemingly moved on from the seminal event of her childhood: surviving a kidnapping attempt that left her best friend Tess dead. But an apparent vigilante murder brings her survivor's guilt bubbling to the surface and Rain is compelled to revisit the traumatic event.  Although she is now a stay at home mom to baby Lily, Rain was at one time an extremely successful radio news producer.  Calling upon her former sources for insider information, she and her best friend and on air personality, Gillian Murray, begin tossing around an idea for a podcast in which they explore Rain's past.  Rain's husband, Greg, is worried about what how this investigation will affect his wife but he is soon on board with her decision.  What surprises await Rain as her quest for answers takes her back to the still unsolved murder of Eugene Kreskey, the man who tried to abduct her and murdered her best friend?

Rain is torn between staying home with Lily and her desire to return to work.  But she cannot resist the urge to dig into her own past and take a hard look at all of the memories she has forced herself to neatly box up and put to the side.  Despite therapy, Rain has still not come to terms with the events of that horrible day but she has learned to live with what happened to her, Tess and their friend, Hank.  She is unable to resist her compulsion to investigate what happened to Kreskey but is Rain prepared for the answers she will find?

Interspersed with Rain's investigation are chapters narrated in first person from the murderer's point of view. These passages offer a fascinating peek into the mind of a killer whose need for justice is nearly overwhelming. The chapters are insightful and provide intriguing information about the chilling effects that trauma can wreak on a person's psyche.  The murderer is a surprisingly sympathetic character who survived a horrific ordeal only to be unalterably transformed by violence.

The Stranger Inside is a clever mystery with a unique premise and an engaging cast of characters. Rain is a likable but sometimes very frustrating protagonist. The mysterious narrator's chapters are compelling and utterly absorbing.  The storyline is riveting with shocking twists and turns.  Lisa Unger  expertly ratchets the tension to a fever pitch as the novel hurtles a jaw-dropping, stunning conclusion. I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend this multi-layered mystery to fans of the genre.

[purple_pisces22 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a hard book to review without giving away too much. But it’s Lisa Unger. Enough said. I love her books, and this one certainly did not disappoint. It gives all new meaning to childhood trauma.

[rmarcin-630843 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was a suspense filled novel from the very beginning! Several surprises were revealed along the way. When they were children, Lara, Tess, and Hank were attacked by an older man. Only Lara escaped from him. Sadly, Tess was killed, and Hank was badly hurt.Now, years later, someone is talking revenge on criminals who were let go by the system. Lara, now known as Rain, is a journalist, and she wants to cover the story. Hank is a psychologist, working with abused children, but has a dark past as a result of his abduction. This is a twisty, dark thriller, examining the horrors of abuse, and its impact in our psyche. #TheStrangerInside #LisaUnger

[susan.macura · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Rain is haunted by an event in her childhood where she was with two of her friends who were abducted, one killed, the other escaped. Her guilt is compounded by the fact that she was the intended target - not her friends. Flash forward to being an adult where Rain has built a life as a mother, wife and journalist who becomes involved in a homicide case that also brings up the past. Karma does exist in this tale, so I enjoyed it!

[jfe16 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Review of uncorrected proofThe murder of Steve Markham, acquitted of killing his pregnant wife, sets in motion a chain of events that cause former investigative journalist Rain Winter to re-visit a horrific day when she was twelve, the day she somehow managed to escape an abductor, the day her two friends could not escape. Rain has stepped away from radio journalism in favor of stay-at-home motherhood, but she cannot ignore the unnerving similarities between the Markham murder and the murder of Eugene Kreskey, the loathsome man who took her friends that long-ago day. And so she finds herself pulled deeper and deeper into the investigation. Trauma, grief, and guilt play into the larger questions of right and wrong, of justice and revenge, of good and evil. The story is haunting and atmospheric, thought-provoking and mesmerizing. Unexpected reveals take the narrative in surprising directions, leading to a stunning epiphany. It’s a can’t-put-it-down story that will stay with readers long after they’ve turned the final page. Don’t miss this one.Highly recommended.

[ewhatley_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Who killed the man who abducted two young girls? And years later, who killed another brutal murderer? Unger's strong character development brings her characters to life. She gives the reader the perspectives of both the perpetrator and the victims. Great twists and turns. Obsessively readable.

[carolinejyoung · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great psychological thriller! I like the fact that I know who the perpetrator is right from the beginning as the focus is then on the ‘why?’ as opposed to the ‘who?’