It was difficult to set this book aside. Lisa Unger's tale of a widow searching for the who and why behind her husband's murder is extremely well-written. The pace is quick, the angst that has befallen Poppy following the loss of Jack seemingly jumps off the page. Unger makes you feel right next to Poppy as she struggles to maintain her sanity, move forward, and answer those two looming questions regardless of how reckless it might be to do so. The characters are strong and real, the friendships and bonds palpable, the deception and betrayal stunningly realistic. It all makes sense in an ending you never saw coming. In the scheme of things, that is all Poppy wanted...to uncover the sense lurking beneath Jack's murder.

Book provided by Netgalley.

Was Jack a victim of a random street crime or targeted? Poppy examines her marriage thru the lens of grief, drugs and dreams. She struggles to determine what is happening in real life (or is it a dream)?

A little slow but gained pace and kept me interested until the end. Good book.

This story is a mess. Written in first person, I couldn’t tel when the story was hallucination, flashback, present, or even wondering if it was a preview of something happening in the future. I’ve never been so confused in a story. The sad thing is that the bones of the story are great. Was Poppy’s husband’s death a random act of violence or was it a brutal part of a conspiracy?

I would love to see a complete rewrite so that the story of a grieving widow hunting for the solution to this mystery could be read with please instead of constantly going back in the story to see just what the heck is happening.

This was definitely a creepy read, but it felt like a little too much, as though the author was trying to cram every possible mysterious quality into a story. It was still interesting, but maybe not the author's strongest book.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Under My Skin is an overly long, somewhat repetitive mystery that really can't decide what it is. Ghost story? Murder mystery? Psychological drama? Family drama? Despite the redundancies, Unger manages to keep me reading.

Poppy's husband, Jack, has been murdered and now, a year later, there is still no resolution to the crime. After his death, Poppy disappears for a few days and then reappears with no memory of those lost days. She has been unable to re-emerge into her own life since her grief is so overwhelming that she self-medicates with a variety of pills and alcohol. Occasional hookups with random men she meets via a dating site add to her confusion and despair.

Supporting Poppy in these lonely sad days are Layla, her best friend from childhood, her mother, and Layla's family. Here is where the redundancy comes in. Yes, Poppy's mother was somewhat distant and she was closer to her now deceased father. Yes, Layla came from a violent family where her father abused both her mother and her. Yes, Layla was "rescued" by Poppy and her family. Yes, Layla is now married to a very successful workaholic. I got it the first time; I didn't need to read it over and over.

Poppy's loss is so all-consuming that she questions every last conversation she had with her late husband. Her self-medication also sets her into almost a hypnotic state where she envisions her husband covered in blood warning her to back off. Other bloody visions and detailed conversations with friends and strangers (real or not) add to the uncertainty of Poppy's rational mind.

All in all, Unger's novel isn't bad; it's just too repetitive.

For me the main character was too introspective. In the same place I would probably do the same, but this is a story and I just wanted to move along more. I felt the confusion and loss of Poppy, didn't know what was real or not as she did. Good story, buy dragged a little too much

I have been a long time fan of Lisa Unger. Her books NEVER disappoint and I always become to engrossed in her stories that my brain doesn't want to let go. This one is another spectacular read. I felt like I was trapped in the story and looking for the killer myself. I couldn't stop reading. I highly recommend this one.

4.5 stars

Lisa Unger is one of my favorite authors for twisty mysteries (and if you like a little spookiness, try her novels set in The Hollows). In UNDER MY SKIN, Poppy's husband has been brutally murdered. In the aftermath of his death, Poppy suffers a psychotic break, losing her memory of the days that follow his funeral. With the help of her childhood friend, Layla, Poppy tries to put her life back together and figure out the real reason her husband was murdered. As Poppy's memory of her lost days begins to return, she starts to suspect that she has been betrayed by someone close to her. Unger gives us a wonderfully complex plot with an unexpected ending.

I'm generally a fan of Ms. Unger's writing but this particular book is too dark and weird and goes on too long in this way. It becomes tedious and difficult to enjoy for me. I look forward to her next work and reading more from her. Sorry..

Some parts were a little hard to believe but overall I enjoyed this. The mystery of what happened during those missing days was most interesting to me. I felt for Poppy and the ending left me satisfied.

It’s been a year since Poppy’s husband Jack was found beaten to death in a Manhattan park and she’s still having a hard time coping. It doesn’t help that shortly after his death she disappeared for several days and came home with little to no memory of where she had been or what she had done. With the killer never caught, Poppy can find no closure or rest. She begins seeing a hooded man everywhere she goes and believes he’s following her. And she’s having the most bizarre, vivid dreams – or are they memories. As Poppy begins to wonder if she’s losing her mind, she decides the only way she’ll be able to tell if she’s going crazy or not, is to solve her husband’s murder. Unger is a first class thriller writer that will have you questioning yourself in this heart racing read

This book has all the ingredients to earn five stars, but it falls just a little short. Puppy's husband was killed a year ago, but some missing days and more than nagging feelings about what really happened propel Poppy into a suspenseful search for the truth. Unger draws her characters well, just as she draws the reader into the story. But, in the end, the story is predictable and the reader really knows how it will all end well before getting there.. Still, it's a good read, well above average for the genre.