Darkness, My Old Friend: A Novel [Kindle Edition]

Lisa Unger (Author)

Book Description

The New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Lies and Fragile returns to The Hollows, delivering a thriller that explores matters of faith, memory, and sacrifice.
 
After giving up his post at the Hollows Police Department, Jones Cooper is at loose ends. He is having trouble facing a horrible event from his past and finding a second act. He's in therapy. Then, on a brisk October morning, he has a visitor. Eloise Montgomery, the psychic who plays a key role in Fragile, comes to him with predictions about his future, some of them dire.

Michael Holt, a young man who grew up in The Hollows, has returned looking for answers about his mother, who went missing many years earlier. He has hired local PI Ray Muldune and psychic Eloise Montgomery to help him solve the mystery that has haunted him. What he finds might be his undoing. 

Fifteen-year-old Willow Graves is exiled to The Hollows from Manhattan when six months earlier she moved to the quiet town with her novelist mother after a bitter divorce.  Willow is acting out, spending time with kids that bring out the worst in her. And when things get hard, she has a tendency to run away--a predilection that might lead her to dark places.

Set in The Hollows, the backdrop for Fragile, this is the riveting story of lives set on a collision course with devastating consequences. The result is Lisa Unger's most compelling fiction to date.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Darkness, My Old Friend is deeply plotted and complex and carries an undeniable momentum. Lisa Unger's enthralling cast of characters pulled me right in and locked me down tight. 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

"Lisa Unger is one of my favorite authors.  She gets better and better with each book." —Karin Slaughter, New York Times Bestselling author of Fallen

"A satisfying story with an eclectic and interesting cast of characters and believable dialogue. Unger shows her usual deftness at intricate plotting and explores the mother-child relationship from multiple angles...Sure to be another hit with Unger fans." —Kirkus Reviews

"The beauty of this unconventional crime novel is that focus is not on whodunit but the darkness that drives us." —Family Circle

"Verdict...one of Unger's best thrillers yet." —Library Journal, starred review

Review

“Darkness, My Old Friend is deeply plotted and complex and carries an undeniable momentum. Lisa Unger's enthralling cast of characters pulled me right in and locked me down tight. 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

"Lisa Unger is one of my favorite authors.  She gets better and better with each book."—Karin Slaughter, New York Times Bestselling author of Fallen

“A satisfying story with an eclectic and interesting cast of characters and believable dialogue. Unger shows her usual deftness at intricate plotting and explores the mother-child relationship from multiple angles…Sure to be another hit with Unger fans.”—Kirkus Reviews

"The beauty of this unconventional crime novel is that focus is not on whodunit but the darkness that drives us."—Family Circle

"Verdict...one of Unger's best thrillers yet."—Library Journal, starred review

“Good reading, canny characterizations.”—Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Unger skillfully pulls together various stories in an exciting and logical way. Darkness, My Old Friend" moves at a brisk pace as Unger makes us desperately want to know what drives these various characters."—South Florida Sun Sentinel

From the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 1356 KB
• Print Length: 384 pages
• Publisher: Broadway (August 9, 2011)
• Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004J4WLI2
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #80,809 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Haunting Story August 5, 2011

By Susan Johnson VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

This is a wonderful book about people changing their lives. It talks about how hard it is to make difficult changes in our lives-either good or bad. The story revolves about several people in flux:
*Jones Cooper- a retired cop who has to figure out what to do next with his life
*Willow Graves-a young teen-ager forced to move from New York City to the small town of Hollows after her parents divorce and quite unhappy about it
*Paula Carr-a mistreated housewife who must decide if living with her controlling husband is a good situation for her two young children and stepson
*Eloise- the town psychic who must decide if she should continue using her powers to help others or make a life for herself
*Michael Holt-wants to find out if his mother ran off and left him and his sister or if something evil has happened to her

When these characters meet and interact, all hell breaks loose. Willow sees Michael digging a grave, Eloise warns Jones about an alarming situation, Paula calls Jones for help and all of them discover moving forward, no matter how difficult, is a worthwhile goal.
The story is well written and told from the various characters viewpoints. This must be the new "in" thing as the last two books I've read, "Dreams of Joy" by Lisa See and "Innocent" by Scott Turow, have been written in this manner. It can be quite effective but it is starting to be overdone.
This is a quite a page turner and an entertaining read.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast paced and edgy! Lisa Unger has done it again. August 4, 2011

By Lisa Baker VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

This rich and wonderfully written story begins with three very disfunctional families in a town called "The Hollows".
It opens with Kevin and Paula Carr. Kevin is a controlling, lying, psychopath and Paula his apathetic wife are each living a lie.
Jones a retired police detective at 47, who is obsessed with his own death, and his wife Maggie Cooper a psychologist.
A recently divorced Bethany Graves and her troubled teenager Willow. Lastly, Eloise (a psychic?) who strangely brings all the story lines together.

This book isn't a mystery or thriller, per say, but an edgy juxtaposition on relationships. It is tense in some places and "whew" good in others. There are a few surprises, but one ending that is glaringly obvious. (Which was fine with me) It's the kind of book that when you're done, you have to read all the acknowledgements and re-read the first chapter or two.

This author has a great talent for telling a story that you are sure is going to go one way and it doesn't, and in a very short time having the reader completely relate to the characters, so much, that you are cringing thinking of what may happen to "XXX". It's fast paced and original, and if you like Lisa Unger you will love this book. If you haven't read any of her work this is a stand alone and a great place to start. Its not just a scary mystery/thriller novel, its somehow almost cathartic when finished.

I would love to see any of these characters especially Jones Cooper pop up again in another book, they were great.

I hope this review was helpful to you as it was difficult to give too much information without spoilers.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book! August 9, 2011

By M. D. Mulhern VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I liked this book very much. I was surprised to learn that it is a sequel of sorts to her previous book, "Fragile." If you can't remember what exactly happens in that book it might be helpful to reread it before starting this one. While this is a stand alone novel, there are some references to plotlines from "Fragile" and it just bugged me that I didn't remember things very clearly.

The main mystery, what happened to a young mother 20+ years ago is very interesting. I was definitely hooked on finding out what had happened, and also found the secondary plotlines compelling as well. Characters are well developed and sympathetic.

Everything is wrapped up pretty neatly at the end...maybe a couple of loose threads. Overall a great book!

More About the Author

Lisa Unger is an award-winning New York Times and internationally bestselling author. Her novels have sold more than 1.5 million copies and have been translated into twenty-six different languages.

Her writing is hailed as "stellar" (USA Today), "sensational" (Publishers Weekly) and "sophisticated" (New York Daily News) with "gripping narrative and evocative, muscular prose" (Associated Press).

Novels:

HEARTBROKEN (2012)
New York Daily News Pick: "Summer's Top New Thriller Novels." Publishers Weekly Editors Pick: "The Best New Books for Week of June 25″, Suspense Magazine "Best of 2012 Books".

DARKNESS, MY OLD FRIEND (2011)
Family Circle Magazine "Cool Reads for Hot Days". Washington Life Magazine "Lit Pick".

FRAGILE (2010)
Good Morning America "Top Book Pick", Harper's Bazaar "Hot Books", Named "Emerging Author" by Target.

DIE FOR YOU (2009)
Good Housekeeping "Book Pick", Good Morning America & Parade "Great Summer Read", Today show "Top Summer Pick".

BLACK OUT (2008)
Florida Book Awards Medal, finalist for Prix Polar International Award, Today show "Top 10" Summer Read, BookSense Notable.

SLIVER OF TRUTH (2007)
Sequel to Beautiful Lies, BookSense Pick and Doubleday Bookclub Main Selection.

BEAUTIFUL LIES (2006)
International Book of the Month, BookSense Pick, Amazon.com's Top 10 Thriller and finalist for "Best Novel" by the International Thriller Writers.

Writing as Lisa Miscione:

SMOKE (2005, 2012 Re-release)
TWICE (2004, 2012 Re-release)
THE DARKNESS GATHERS (2003, 2011 Re-release)
ANGEL FIRE (2002, 2011 Re-release)