I am an enormous fan of psychological thrillers and this author, which is why it was difficult to give this only 3 stars. I feel like there was a failure of editing on the one hand--there's a lot of repetitive passages about photography as an art and meditations on "can you ever REALLY know anyone"--and then on the other hand, a failure to flush out the characters that wind up implicated in the crime.

I would have enjoyed seeing more backstory on those characters and less redundancy in the parts where she's trying to figure out if she's hallucinating or if it's reality. While still a compelling read, I feel like this would have been more successful as a leaner story with more focus on the actual villains in the story.

I have severe insomnia and hypnagogic hallucinations myself, and I was impressed by the author's descriptions of that experience, as well as how she describes profound grief. This is an incredibly talented and articulate author whose novel could have been improved with aggressive editing, tighter plot structure, and a different focus.

"Under My Skin" is a psychological thriller that follows the newly widowed Poppy as she begins to investigate the circumstances around her husband's death. Not only is Poppy at odds with the actual dangerous actors around her that played a role in her husband's death, but she's at odds with her own mind. Poppy struggles with self-medication and alcoholism as she attempts to manage her depression following her husband's death. This means not only does Poppy not know who to trust, she doesn't know if she can trust her own thoughts, experiences, and memories. This book is unique as it follows Poppy as she grows stronger and begins to understand the circumstances that led to her husband's death.

What;s real and what's a memory or imagined? While I think Unger is a very talented writer and the story was enthralling, I do get tired of the unreliable narrator and the reader trying to decipher what's real and what isn't. It's a tactic that has been done way too many times in the last 5+ years.

I like Lisa Unger's books. A lot. This one was hard, though. Without going into spoiler-dom, the shifts between dreads, nightmares, flashbacks, and present day was jarring because the reader wasn't given a head's up which was which until the end of a scene.
The writing, as always, was flawless and haunting, the characters fully drawn and complete. The plot was just okay for me, I figured "it" out way before the end, but that's okay, too. All in all, not one of my favorites of hers, but a solid book, none the less.

What is real? what are memories? What are dreams, how does grief affect us.. is healing about us or the person we lost. An engrossing story that tackles all these questions and more in the new novel by Lisa Unger. Poppy is trying to deal the with death of her husband Jack. Supporting her are her friends Layla and Mac.There were so many layers to this story and try as I might I was never able to guess where we were going…. I highly recommend this book

No one tells a dark tale quite like Lisa Unger. Under My Skin was excellent. Takes hold of you on page one and doesn't let you go til the very end. Started it yesterday and finished it today. Just had to find out who did it ! And it is never who you think it is. One of the main reasons I love her books so much. So if murder mysteries / psychological thrillers are your thing, get this book !!!! Complicated plot, secrets, lies, murder............. so good !

Beautifully written, dark and unsettling, the author chooses words as a painter will use strokes to make a masterpiece.
Love how you can get immersed in the narrative, with a mix of emotions that takes you trough the stages of grieving: the lose of the person you love. Despair, anger, frustration, losing touch with reality. ...
A haunting psychological thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley and HARLEQUIN for an advanced read in exchange for this review.

Poppy's husband was murdered and his death remains unsolved.  Following his death, Poppy's memories have been unclear.  Something about a red dress?  A nightclub?  She's trying to put the puzzles together to figure out what happened while struggling with sleeping pills and disassociation.  

This book isn't bad, but there were parts of the story that felt too disjointed and messy.  I found myself saying "Huh?" and "Yeah, right!" a couple of times.  I think the author wants you to not think of Poppy as reliable, which is fairly easy to do.  I felt neutral about her overall.  Again, the book is all over the place, which I think is intentional so that you feel just like Poppy.  Not bad overall.

An excellent mystery/psychological thriller book that I read in a day and a half because I didn't want to stop reading it. Poppy is feeling lost after the brutal "random" murder of her husband a year ago. Right after the funeral she had some "lost days' that she has trouble remembering as she struggles to make it through daily life and work still grieving for what could have been. Her assistant at work, friend Layla and her mother and mother-in-law are all trying to help her process her feelings. Detective Greyson is still trying to solve the seemingly random murder of her husband Jack. The pace of this book is excellent and the back and forth between past and present works well as does the parts where Poppy is trying to figure out if she is suddenly remembering things or hallucinating-is someone with a hooded jacket on following and stalking her? What happened to her in those few days after the funeral that she doesn't remember and her friends couldn't find her? Was Jack's murder really a random thing or was he involved in something right before his death? You will find yourself riveted to this book to uncover the mysteries of Jack and Poppy .

I'm a fan of this authors books. I look forward to reading them as soon as they are published. The story line in this was confusing when you couldn't tell if it was something happening in the present, a hallucination, or a dream. I'm glad I stuck with it to find out how it all came together in the end.

I received a free copy from NetGalley.

Poppy Lang’s life is a blur of dreams and real life after her husband Jack was brutally murdered. Who killed Jack? Why would anyone want to? This book grabbed me from the beginning and I would have finished it sooner if I’d had more time! You’ll enjoy this ride!

Excellent book although a bit disjointed at times and difficult to follow, which is the reason I didnt give it five stars. Gripping ending and well written

Poppy's husband, Jake, was killed while on an early morning run. They seemed to have a good marriage and a successful business, but the police are still not sure if this was a random mugging or if Jake was targeted. Poppy had a breakdown shortly after his death and does not remember anything that happened for several days.

This started out great, but by about half-way I started to lose some interest. Part of this was because there were flashbacks between present day and the time of Poppy's missing memories and I wasn't always sure what was current and what was past. Poppy also had lots of issues where she thought things were happening, but they were dreams. I am sure this sounded like a good plot. but somehow the way all of this was combined made it more confusing than enjoyable.

The ending had a few points, mainly dealing with a police detective's appearance and actions that didn't ring true.

With all of that criticism, I did actually like the book. It just seemed to try to include too many things without smoothly blending them.

This book kept me guessing until the very end, and then it left me underwhelmed. Some parts had me so confused and I’d have to re-read several paragraphs. I wasn’t very happy with the ending and the big reveal. It seemed like it was pointing one way and went the other, but maybe I just interpreted that wrong. I also hated Layla and thought she was an annoying best friend and person.

Lisa Unger has done it again! I love the way she draws you in with the details, the characters, and keeps you guessing. This was a great read and when your finished you’re left thinking about the characters and reexamining the clues you missed along the way. She also weaved in The Hollows and Jones Cooper for her past readers! Ahhh.....now I’m anxiously awaiting the next book.

At first I was going to give this book maybe 2 stars. The first half of the book was a big mess where you didn't know what was a hallucination, a dream or real life that I almost stopped reading..I am glad I finished this book because it did all come together in the end... Not one of this author's best books but not the worst I have ever read.

This suspense thriller grabbed me right from the start. I read it in one day. The author did a great job of jumping us from current time, to the past and through reality and dream. The flow made it so I felt like I could understand the confusion and trauma Poppy was going through. I highly recommend this one!

I did not finish this book. It was just not for me personally. I won’t do a full review as I didn’t finish the whole book.

Lisa Unger at the top of her game! Wow! Once again, a Unger book i read in one sitting. Poppy is a brilliantly written protagonist that I pulled for on every page. An ending that I did NOT see coming.

I was given an advanced copy of this title in exchange for an honest review. This book was so very well written. It captivated me the entire time!