Beautiful Lies by Lisa UngerMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Until ten minutes ago, this was the best of 2021 thus far. Until ten minutes ago, I was hoping that this was one in a series so that I could inhale the next. Until ten minutes ago, I was mentally drafting and revising my letter to author Lisa Unger’s publicist asking to be officially named as a recognized “super fan”. And then.....oh, and then. ::sigh:: And then I read the final pages...and I’m pretty hacked off.
Now here come the spoilers folks. The first 99% of the book is brilliant. Seriously. Well-written, well-drawn characters, well-developed plot. So things are going along swimmingly. As a reader, you get that little tingle—you know, the one that is strangely sad, knowing the end is right around the corner; but, also exhilarating, to be finally getting some answers after the investment you’ve made in the story. Suddenly, and without warning, the narrator—our beautifully smart and just as beautifully flawed protagonist—is using the “let’s wind this thing down” time to utter phrases that amount to “we may never know”, and “that remains unanswered”. Oh sure, she is using far more engaging vocabulary, and her style is still there, but she is basically telling us, us invested readers, that she has just plum run outta time, sugar! Every damn question that had urged me forward and propelled me through the pages sat quidam, orphaned and alone, of absolutely no consequence EXCEPT TO ME. You just can’t suck me in, then, as I get close to the finish line, say “oh man, I can’t believe I told you so much....and now, well just LOOK at the time! I GUESS YOU WILL JUST HAVE TO BUY MY NEXT BOOK!”
So Ms. Ungar, when you can tell me who killed Teresa; when you can tell me how Max ended up with the baby; when you can set me straight on how, exactly Jake ended up back in the system—when you can begin to address these burning questions, only then can I possibly consider “super fan” status. Really, now. This was just.....soul-sucking.
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