Showing results by author "Lisa Unger" in All Categories

Rosie and Chad Lowan are barely making ends meet in New York City when they receive life-changing news: Chad’s late uncle has left them his luxury apartment at the historic Windermere in glamorous Murray Hill. With its prewar elegance and impeccably uniformed doorman, the building is the epitome of old New York charm. One would almost never suspect the dark history lurking behind its perfectly maintained facade.

When former journalist Rain Winter was 12 years old, she narrowly escaped an abduction while walking to a friend’s house. The abductor was eventually found and 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, spending her days as a stay-at-home mom. But when another criminal who escaped justice is found dead, Rain is unexpectedly drawn into the case.

Charismatic daredevil and extreme adventurer Maverick Dillan invites you to the ultimate game of hide-and-seek. But as the players gather on Falcao Island, the event quickly spirals into a chilling test of survival. A storm rages as a deadly threat stalks the contestants, turning the challenge into something far more sinister than the social media stunt it was intended to be.

When true crime podcaster Harley Granger drifts into The Next Chapter Bookshop days before Christmas, he seems intent on digging up events that store owner Madeline Martin would much rather forget. Granger has a gift for seeing things that others miss, and his work on true crime has earned him fame and wealth — and some serious criticism for his various unethical practices. Looking into Madeline’s case, a case that many people think is closed but some want reopened, he has a lot of questions about the night Madeline was left for dead on the riverbank, nearly a decade ago.

When Jules first meets the handsome artist Kirin, she’s still mourning her husband’s death, but a fairytale romance soon sweeps her off her feet. Now she and her daughter Scout are moving out of the city and into Kirin’s once-lonely mansion. He’s thoughtfully updated and adapted the home to match their personalities. But Scout is determined to keep her father’s memory alive by rejecting the new life her mother and Kirin have spun for her.

Pericles "Perry" Christo is a P.I. with a past. A one-time NYPD homicide cop, Perry has been struggling since he lost his badge, and his marriage, in a notorious corruption scandal. So when wealthy Upper East Side matron Julia Drusilla calls him one cold February night, he jumps at the chance to work what seems to be a straightforward (and lucrative) case. Julia needs Perry to track down the whereabouts of her beautiful yet aimless daughter, Angelina, who is about to become a very wealthy young heiress.

Claudia Bishop's perfect life fell apart when the aftermath of a brutal assault left her with a crumbling marriage, a newborn daughter, and a constant sense of anxiety about the world around her. Now, looking for a fresh start with a home restoration project and growing blog, Claudia takes on a crumbling old house - one that, unbeknownst to her, has an ugly history and may hide long-buried secrets.

She met him through a dating app. An intriguing picture on a screen, a meeting at a downtown bar. What she thought might be just a quick hookup quickly became much more. She fell for him — hard. 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 soon she learns there were others. Girls who thought they were in love, who later went missing.

What could be more restful, more restorative, than a weekend getaway with family and friends? Hannah’s loving and generous tech-mogul brother found the listing for the secluded dream house online. It’s his birthday gift to Hannah and includes their spouses and another couple. The six friends need this trip with good food, good company and lots of R & R, far from the chatter and pressures of modern life.

Selena Murphy is commuting home from her job in the city when the train stalls out on the tracks. She strikes up a conversation with a beautiful stranger in the next seat, and their connection is fast and easy. The woman introduces herself as Martha and confesses that she’s been stuck in an affair with her boss. Selena, in turn, confesses that she suspects her husband is sleeping with the nanny. When the train arrives at Selena’s station, the two women part ways, presumably never to meet again. But days later, Selena’s nanny disappears.

If Ridley Jones had slept 10 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.

Despite their mostly happy marriage, when their son Ricky’s girlfriend vanishes, Maggie and Jones find themselves at odds – Maggie is positive Ricky had nothing to do with Charlene’s disappearance, while Jones isn’t as sure. With Charlene gone, the memory of another young girl who went missing some 20 years ago is haunting the town. That story didn’t have a happy ending, and almost everyone has an unrevealed reason to keep the horror of it firmly in the past.

Eve has a fake ID, a .38, and a violent lover receding in the rearview mirror. He’ll never find her at the isolated motel, and its kindly manager is happy to ease her fears. But if Eve is the only guest, whom does she keep hearing on the other side of the wall? Eve won’t get a good night’s rest until she finds out.

A seemingly mundane act - picking up a few envelopes of prints at a photo lab - puts Ridley Jones at the nexus of a global network of crime. A shadowy figure of a man appears in almost every picture she's taken in the last year, lurking just far enough away to make identification impossible. Everyone from the federal government to the criminal underworld wants to know who the man is - and where he is - and some people are willing to kill to find out.

A nightmare journey from bustling glamorous New York City to the murky streets of Prague.... Isabel and Marcus Raines are the perfect couple. She is a well-known novelist: he is a brilliant high-tech game inventor. They've been married for five years and still enjoy a marriage filled with romance. But one morning, Marcus disappears. Isabel dials his mobile phone for hours, but when she finally receives a call in return, it's more disturbing than she could have imagined - only the sound of a man screaming pitifully.

Matthew, Claire, Ian, and Mason haven’t set foot on the Merle family property since the summer they were sixteen. They tried for years to put their history behind them, to forget the mystery of the girl who vanished so long ago. But a powerful force from their past is still at play. This time, there’s no hiding from it.

Driven by an uncanny mystery from his youth, Ian Randall became a “spiritual cleanser”, ridding disturbances from homes. But his belief in the beyond was challenged by his wife’s death. Merle House, the root of Ian’s obsession, could change that. The woods are restless again. Maybe here, Ian will find what he needs - if he’s willing to make a deal with the dark.

It’s a day like any other for Eloise Montgomery - until tragedy strikes. While she is recovering from a horrible accident that takes the lives of her husband and oldest daughter, and as she works to help her younger daughter move forward, Eloise experiences her first psychic vision. Though she struggles to understand her newfound gifts, Eloise finds a way use them to save lost women and girls - for whom her help may be the only way out...

What really happened to the girl who walked into the woods and vanished forever? It’s a never-forgotten mystery that clings like a shadow in a short story about dark memories and inescapable fears.

Is it a hoax, or is it something unspeakably real? In this short story about evil games and spiraling secrets, whatever bargain you strike, there’s a price to be paid. Mason Brandt dropped out of seminary and found a job at a spiritual center offering guidance to troubled teens. Mason was one himself years ago - a suspect in a young girl’s disappearance. When a female student is found murdered, Mason is dogged by suspicion and flees. He hopes Merle House will offer him sanctuary once again.