After Poppy’s husband is violently killed while out on a jog she where was supposed to have joined him, her entire life spirals into an emotional breakdown, leaving her with gaps in her memory and a paranoia that she is being followed. A year later, Poppy is still struggling to put her life back together, while piecing together dreams, memories, and even possible clues to prove her husband’s death wasn’t due to a random robbery, but rather from something much more sinister. Although I found parts of the storyline not always adding up (either the book was too smart and I was under-caffeinated, or there were some holes), I still had trouble putting it down. And even when the ending fully wrapped up, I still had a few questions. 3 ½ stars

Special Note: Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers of this book for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

What a twisted, mind bending, tragic, emotional story! Poppy is searching for her husbands killer while grief stricken and going through a breakdown complete with memory loss trying to connect the dots and search for the truth! Great thriller!

Wow does Lisa Unger weave a terrific mystery with Under My Skin! Poppy has lost her husband Jack to a violent crime. But, was it just a random street crime or something else? As Poppy tries to figure out what happened to Jack, she is pulled down into the depths of despair. She starts to question everything. What is real? Is she dreaming, having memories or is she awake in the present? Who is the hooded man? Is he friend or foe? Her grief wrenches at you through the entire book..

The book keeps you guessing until the very last page. I wanted to rush and get to the end, but on the other hand, I didn’t want it to end. This is a book that will stay with you long after you read the very last page.

This book is full of twists and turns. I was concerned at first that maybe I was falling victim to an unreliable narrator, which many thrillers have used lately. Poppy was obviously very much in love with Jack. His death crushed her. She was lost. Layla was a wonderful friend, but a part of me was a little untrusting of her. Partly because she was providing Poppy with medication to numb her. I think that she may have hurt her more than she helped her at first. I have to say this book kept me guessing. I thought I had it figured out many times, but I was clueless.

The book drew me in and kept me intrigued to the very end. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

I receive and ARC from NetGalley and HARLEQUIN-Hanover Square Press (US & Canda)

Ok, I am going to start off by saying upfront I am a Lisa Unger fan, I love her writing style, I love her characters, love her books. Under My Skin by Lisa Unger tells the story of Poppy who has just lost her husband while he was jogging to an apparent random robbery, Poppy is not handling it well, popping pills her friend is giving her, drinking, having blackouts.....all the while she needs to know what really happened to Jack, her husband. Ride along with Poppy to see if she ever gets the truth and will she be able to straighten herself out before she truly loses herself. Thank you Netgalley and the Publishers for allowing me to read this ARC book and give my honest opinion.

4.5 Stars

Reading books by Lisa Unger is always a Master Class in fiction writing. I've attended her book signings and read all of her books, and while I've enjoyed some more than others, it struck me that Under My Skin must have been an especially difficult story to write. Dreams and hallucinations, versus reality, is a tough subject.

As a recent widow myself, I felt an instant connection to the protagonist, Poppy, and feel it's important to mention that Poppy's struggle with grief struck a major chord with me. Her emotions, behavior, and reactions were both understandable and believable within the context of her loss. Grief affects people in profound ways, and the need to escape the pain can be all-consuming. Lisa Unger did a fantastic job depicting the ways grief can cause indescribable anguish. I cried at the end of this book and give the author major kudos for empathizing so well with the grieving process.

Under My Skin kept me turning the pages until the very end. I received a copy of the story from NetGalley.

This book I got as an ARC and was thrilled because I truly love reading Lisa Unger. But I must confess that I had a hard time following the story. It centers around Poppy who lost her husband through a brutal murder while he was running in the park. It then goes into how his death affected her, her grief overwhelms her to the point she does weird things, blacking out constantly and getting to the point where she doesnt know what is real anymore.

She is intent on finding out the why and who of her husband's death and the story sways back and forth between before Jack and after Jack. I might have given it 3 stars except I really could not figure out the who and why he was killed. This I did not find out until the end of the book and was both surprised annoyed that I did not see it before.

And so I have given it 4 stars because of this and will continue to read more books by Unger. This book is due to be released October 2, 2018.

This book is so full of twists it is hard to know what is real and what isn't. Poppy is a believable and confusing character. The mystery surrounding her husband's death and the blank portion of her life is told in a way that makes you feel you are in the story. The dynamics between Poppy and the people in her life are intriguing. When the answers finally come to light you will be gasping with shock. I always say the hallmark of a great suspense story is when you don't figure things out before the author makes the reveal. This is truly a great tale of suspense.

Thoroughly enjoyed this novel and the main characters plight with reality and imagination. Her spiral downward made you question your own sanity as well as her own.

4.5 stars*

Another stunning book by Lisa Unger!

A year has gone by, but Poppy is still reeling from the unsolved murder of her husband, Jack. It doesn’t help that she lost time shortly after his funeral, or that her reality is being peppered with hallucinations of places she’s certain she’s never been, and people she’s never met. What happened to Jack? And is someone stalking Poppy, or is she slowly losing her mind?

I loved this thriller. You feel unsteady the whole time you read, the scenes beautiful and macabre, the whole novel very dream-like. Poppy was a wholly sympathetic character, and I loved how the mystery of what happened to Jack (and Poppy’s lost few days) unraveled. There’s a cameo of a beloved character from the Hollows series, and some of the characters from another Unger book have a strong role here as well.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc.

I love Lisa Unger’s style of writing. She is truly gifted and gets better and better with each book. This has to be my favorite of her books so far.

Lisa Unger's latest novel, Under My Skin, is a fantastic addition to anyone's suspense catalog. I am a huge fan of the author's style of writing. Something about it makes the reader feel like he or she is inside the story, creating just that much more suspense.

The story follows Poppy, widowed nearly a year ago when her husband is brutally murdered while on his morning run. Initially overwhelmed by her grief, she has a mental break and has lost those days from her memory. The story jumps back and forth in time as well as between dream and reality, often leaving the reader as confused as Poppy as to which was which. She has trouble deciding if the dreams are just dreams or she is finally recovering her memory, bit by bit.

The book takes us through Poppy’s journey of finding the truth about her husband’s murder and her memory loss. Poppy worries about her lack of grasp on reality at times and it becomes more and more difficult to know who can be trusted. Even her closest friends have a hard time understanding what she is doing and why. They worry she may be headed for another psychotic break. She is worried about that too. As the story concludes and the suspense builds, you will be hard pressed to put the book down.

As an aside, I loved the cameo appearances of people and places from her other stories. Silly, but somehow those appearances helped me through the more intense parts of the story.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Lou Jacobs's Reviews > Under My Skin
Under My Skin by Lisa Unger
Under My Skin
by Lisa Unger (Goodreads Author)

M 50x66
Lou Jacobs's review
Jul 19, 2018 · edit

really liked it

Poppy Lang's life is shattered ... her husband, the morning after an argument, goes out for his routine morning run and is brutally murdered. The police have absolutely no leads .. was it really a random occurrence or was there a more furtive motive. Supposedly Jack was admired and loved by all.
Two days after Jack's funeral, she finds herself in a fugue state leading to a breakdown and loss of memory of several weeks of her life. Poppy proves to be an unreliable narrator in this claustrophobic tale which builds up with unrelenting tension. In her attempt to make some sense of Jack's unsolved murder she finds herself in a downward spiral of pills, dreams, nightmares and hypnagogia . Reality becomes questionable.
Lisa Unger treats us to an unrelenting psychological suspense novel that does not let up until the unexpected denouement. Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin- Hanover Square Press for this intriguing tale.

Woah, woah, woah. This book takes you on a wild ride of not knowing is real and what isn't. The idea of losing someone you love to a senseless crime is one that would leave a large hole in anyone's life. As the reader, you really feel for Poppy and the fog that she is stuck in. You want to be with her every step of the way as she tries to figure out what happened to her husband and be prepared to be blown away by the ending!

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
From the publisher ---

This is the first book by Lisa Unger I have read. I loved the promise of the storyline. However, I felt going back and forth in between sleep/dream world, memories and actually what was going on in the present to be very confusing. The book didn't seem to pick up until about 60/70% through the novel (towards the end). I still think the storyline/premise of the book is good; just for me fell short of the anticipation I had for the book.

There were a lot of editing details; seemed in my copy that any word that started with the letter *f* had spacing issues in the word.

I got this book as an ARC from Netgalley, so I think the formatting is a little off because it's not fully completed yet, that threw me off a bit because it was hard to tell what was a flashback, and what was actually happening. Other than that, I found this book riveting. Poppy lost her husband to a seemingly random crime he was out jogging one morning and she has a psychotic break in the days after, losing all memory in the process. She has flashes, but can't quite piece them together, no thanks to a well meaning friend who keeps giving her happy pills to keep her numb from the pain. She doesn't reveal this to the doctor she's seeing so she stays in a morass of pain and confusion for a full year until a helpful stranger who seems awfully familiar starts pulling her out of the bog. The story is twisty, turning, suspenseful and full of nail biting, gripping mystery with a little bit of well deserved romance. Thoroughly enjoyed this read!

I loved the premise of Under My Skin and was hoping for a book to lose myself in. It had all the makings for a good thriller - A young husbands unsolved murder, a widow's memory of events slowly returning, and the standard therapist, best friend, and a stubborn detective all thrown in. And yet, I just found the constant trying to keep track of where in time the story was at, way too confusing. The forgotten time would appear as if it were real time and real time kept disappearing into nightmares and daydreams. I was pulled out of the story to often just to get my bearings. Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy to review.

I enjoy all of Lisa Unger's books and this one did not disappoint. Very suspenseful and I read it in one day! A++

Under my Skin in my opinion will be all over socia, media in the fall. People will not be able to stop talking about how amazing this book was. Amazing

Poor Poppy!! She just knew things were not right in regards to her husband ‘s death but her inability to discover the truth was the focus of this book. Lots of flashbacks , hallucinations , pill popping , hooded men before this mystery is solved. Book is difficult to follow at times and just does not have a good flow to it.