Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger

Title:  Beautiful Lies
Author:  Lisa Unger
Format:  HC
Pages:  371
Genre:  Thriller
Publisher:  Shaye Areheart, 2006
ISBN-13:  978-0307336682
Series:  Stand Alone

Favorite Quote:  If the last few months have taught me anything, it's this:  We don't have control, we have choices.  The little ones, the big ones, these are the points on which our lives pitch and pivot.  All we can do is make the best choices we can with what we know, and hope that things turn out the way we want.

Synopsis (Amazon):  If Ridley Jones had slept ten minutes later or had taken the subway instead of waiting for a cab, she would still be living the beautiful lie she used to call her life. She would still be the privileged daughter of a doting father and a loving mother. Her life would still be perfect—with only the tiny cracks of an angry junkie for a brother and a charming drunk with shady underworld connections for an uncle to mar the otherwise flawless whole.

But that’s not what happened. Instead, those inconsequential decisions lead her to perform a good deed that puts her in the right place at the right time to unleash a chain of events that brings a mysterious package to her door—a package which informs her that her entire world is a lie.

Suddenly forced to question everything she knows about herself and her family, Ridley wanders into dark territory she never knew existed, where everyone in her life seems like a stranger. She has no idea who’s on her side and who has something to hide—even, and maybe especially, her new lover, Jake, who appears to have secrets of his own.

Review:  This was a really terrific book.  I'm so glad I found Ms. Unger because I already am looking forward to getting the sequel to this novel so I can read it.

There is plenty of action and the story certainly has its thrilling moments.  However, the story is many things:  a family tragedy; a close look at what it means to love another person; a mob-laced thriller; and, most of all, a look at what we believe about destiny and whether we can really change our own lives.  More than any of these though, this novel felt like it was about hope, which may seem strange for a thriller but it wasn't strange at all.  It was just really good.

The two main characters are completely believable.  I really wanted Ridley and Jake to overcome the obstacles and come out okay in the end.  I was amazed at the depth of feeling in the writing and the obvious intelligence with which this story is told.  There is really nothing negative to say about this novel.  I loved every last minute of it.

Rating:  9.5 / 10