Darkness, My Old Friend-Lisa Unger

Darkness, My Old Friend
Lisa Unger
Crown, Aug 9 2011, $24.00
ISBN: 9780307464996

Following her divorce from her egomaniacal spouse bestselling author Bethany Graves and her fifteen year old daughter Willow move from Manhattan to The Hollows in Upstate New York. Bethany hopes the small-town will end Willow’s tendency to prevaricate. Used to the bright lights of Broadway, Willow finds rusticating boring. Bethany begins her next novel while also dating nice high school Principal Henry Ivy.

Willow observes Michael Holt dig what the teen believes is a grave. Michael tells Bethany that his mom vanished over a quarter of a century ago when he was younger than Willow is; now with his dad’s death, he wants his mother’s cold case revisited. Retired police officer Jones Cooper supplements his pension helping his neighbors while they work; for instance letting repairmen into homes so people do not have miss work. The cops ask their former colleague to investigate while psychic Eloise Montgomery warns him that making inquires into the missing Cooper case would end tragically for him.

Darkness, My Old Friend, the sequel to Fragile, is a fabulous investigative psychological thriller. The myriad of characters bring to life small-town living where refreshingly everyone knows everyone has secrets, but not what they are. Clues are all over the exciting story line so the climax is anticipated, which adds to the fun as fans can solve the case. Though better to have read Fragile as there are references to the previous novel, readers will enjoy joining mother and daughter as they acclimate to their new dangerous home.

Harriet Klausner