Under My Skin

 

It has happened to me again. Although we’ve now reviewed 1,779 books, mostly mysteries and thrillers, thanks to an old friend (yes, that means we’re old and have known each other at least 50 years), I’ve learned about Lisa Unger. She writes in our genre and has written about 30 novels – what a substantial body of work not to have been discovered by Men Reading Books before now. I listened to Under My Skin, which was written in 2018, in audiobook format via the library app Libby.

 

The protagonist, Poppy, had her very ideal life disrupted when her husband Jack was murdered while running in the park in the early morning hours. Although they often ran together, they had just had a big disagreement and Poppy was still angry and chose not to join him that morning. She was then haunted by the notion that he might not have been shot if she had been along. The crime had gone unsolved for a year during which she had a complete emotional breakdown, was hospitalized, and was treated with significant doses of tranquilizing medication. Poppy and Jack had been working together in a business that Jack had dreamed up and she was willing to join him. They both had been free-lance photographers and had very interesting lives traveling the world in pursuit of their art. Their business was one of representing other photographers, and that meant staying at home in New York City to manage the careers of lots of other artists. It was a loss to give up doing art themselves, but the business was very successful and provided them with a rich lifestyle. After her partial recovery from her grief, which was sometimes literally psychotic, Poppy became determined to keep the business going. Fortunately, she had a staff that loved her and Jack and who were eager to work for Poppy despite her continuing symptoms of severe depression.

 

Poppy continued to have desperate moments, nightmares, flashbacks, some trouble distinguishing her fantasies from reality. It was true was that someone was following her. As her recovery continued, she wondered if her nightmares were also real memories. As a physician who practiced psychiatry for 50 years and who treated many patients who had been through severe physical and emotional traumas, I can attest that Ms. Unger wrote a very realistic portrait of people who have suffered such traumas.

 

The author provided interesting twists in the plot and I did not see the end coming until I got there. This novel gets my very strong recommendation. I’ve already chosen my next Unger novel.