30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Improbable, unsympathetic...a waste of time, December 29, 2009
"Beautiful Lies" was a very good book. I also enjoyed "Black Out." But "Die For You" is a mess. Stay away. This book will irritate, frustrate and ultimately annoy you. It is not well written. The reader has trouble figuring out who is narrating each section as Unger breezily moves from character to character. Who is speaking here, you wonder. Is it Isabel Raines or is it her sister or is Marcus or is it Detective Grady? Who's on first? And of course, Unger's characterizations aren't credible either.
Besides the superficial subplots, which needlessly add padding to the book, and Unger's improbable plotting, those aren't the only flaws to wear a reader down. No, that's not the worse part. In Isabel Raines (a.k.a. Isabel Connelly), Unger has created one of the most unsympathetic, unlikable, immature and downright stupid heroines to ever grace the pages of a suspense novel.
Isabel is worse than a bad horror film heroine. You know the type. She's the one who makes you want to yell at the movie screen as she, against all logic and common sense, stupidly steps over bleeding, dying bodies to walk into the same dark room the victims came out of and where everyone but the heroine knows the killer lurks. But then along with all the other cliches in this book, Isabel just wants to know "why" her con-man husband did what the did to her. O.K., I guess you'll just have to dodge a few knife thrusts and bullets along the way.
Here are examples. In one gory scene, Isabel finds her husband, Marcus, a.k.a. Kristof, just after he's nearly decapitated a former lover, Camilla. There's blood everywhere, including all over his wet hands. Hey, most anyone with half-a-brain, would run the other way. After all, Marcus is tying up loose ends and it's a bloody business, too. Inexplicably, Isabel isn't frightened enough to turn and run. And even more incredibly, Marcus doesn't kill Isabel there. (Too bad, as it might have spared the reader another 170 pages or so). So despite the gore and Marcus' warning to stay away, Isabel's not one so easily dissuaded by such trifles like a horrific murder. She ignores Marcus and incredulously decides to follow, "I'll find you or die trying," she says.
In another example much later, Marcus is shooting at Isabel who has magically slipped out of her restraints to escape from him. At least she's finally smart enough to run from Marcus when he's shooting at her. Isabel hides. Marcus calls to her, "Isabel, let's talk. I'll put the gun down." From her hiding place, she sees him put the gun down. True to form as the dullest knife in the drawer, Isabel comes out of hiding, even though her "every instinct...screams to stay still, to stay hidden...." Yes, by now, even the most hapless reader knows that Isabel's not going to listen to her inner smart self. No, Unger, has instead plotted and drawn Isabel to be controlled by her inner stupid self. To most any dimwit, it's obvious Marcus is not to be trusted. After all, he's left a trail of mayhem, dead bodies, wrecked lives, theft and betrayal behind. But no, it's not enough for Isabel. She still wants to know "Why" Marcus did what he did, especially to her. So she predictably comes out of hiding. And of course, Marcus pulls out another gun and shoots her. (Hey but unfortunately, Isabel survives giving credence to the old adage that 'God protects fools and drunks').
The 'why' of things thematically runs throughout this book, not just with Isabel but with every characterization drawn by Unger. Why did Marcus do what he did to her? Why, why, why? And why am I still reading this book?
And so, it's the 'why' of things that eludes Isabel. In the story, Isabel's a novelist. She wants to know "how the pieces fit together." Too bad Unger the novelist, didn't figure that one out, too.
So, since Unger failed to give Isabel her answer. I have an answer for Isabel. Marcus did what he did to you because you're so stupid that he could.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
What If...?, June 2, 2009
Here's a great premise: What if you were a happily married woman whose seemingly perfect husband went off to work one morning...and vanished? Well, you'd go nuts--even after you began to learn a few odd things about Mr. Right. You'd hound the authorities, maybe crash a crime scene--which, of course, would make you look as suspicious as your missing spouse. Then you'd decide to solve the mystery yourself--even if that decision could get you killed....
Lisa Unger is a new favorite of mine. I discovered her last year with BLACKOUT, and I could hardly wait for this one. The emphasis here is more on plot and action than character development, but it's a good choice if you're in the mood for fast-paced, well-written suspense. Try it.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"The screaming just went on... until the line went suddenly dead.", June 2, 2009
New Yorker Isabel Raine has made peace with the single life when she meets her charming, somewhat enigmatic Prague-born husband, Marcus. After five years, the romance is still fresh, Isabel a much published author, Marcus a successful software designer. Why then does Marcus walk away from their home one morning never to return? After a night of anxiety, fear and rage, Isabel begins a desperate search for her husband that leaves her reeling and distraught. After a run-in with the FBI at Marcus' office, a brutal attack and a concussion, the trashing of her home and assorted dead bodies, Isabel balks at revealing all her secrets to the police, crashing blindly through crime scenes in search of clues. Isabel's intransigence draws everyone in her family into a vortex of violence, all put at risk as Isabel compulsively races from one conclusion to another. While her stubbornness may ultimately reveal the answers she needs, Isabel's hubris does not make for a likable protagonist.
Luckily, Isabel's impetuous and provocative actions are tempered by her sister, Linda, an artist/photographer with a healthy marriage and two children. But even Linda has feet of clay in this tale, both girls traumatized by a childhood incident that haunts them still. In contrast to Isabel's abrasiveness, Linda is all the more sympathetic, bravely supporting her younger sister in spite of an unraveling personal life, one character's flaws balanced against another's. In an attempt to tether the plot to the possible, the voice of a young detective injects another perspective, Grady Crowe battling his own demons and marital disharmony while chasing Isabel from one crime scene to another. Perhaps it is the author's choice of protagonist-as-writer that burdens the story with too much detail and not enough nuance, the sometimes tedious rationalization of aberrant behavior in service of plot.
Without doubt, Unger is a talented storyteller. Although this bizarre cast- successful New York women, a rogue husband, a deranged stalker and a female adversary with blood in her eye- requires some suspension of belief, the novel exhibits the energy of Unger's other work: I find it necessary to make a conscious decision to follow Unger's lead. With unusual plot twists and the random threats of suspicious characters, count on Unger to deliver a compelling version of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Would I like more depth in her characters? Sure. But I'll settle for a few hours of a fast-paced mystery from a very consistent writer. Luan Gaines/2009.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192250339_.gif){kind=small}
