"Beautiful Lies" by Lisa Unger

What a remarkable and gripping story Lisa Unger presents in Beautiful Lies.  She spins a tale that is both heartbreaking and fascinating as she wrote in such a way that made me feel as though Ridley, the main character, was speaking right to me, explaining what she was feeling and thinking during her incredible experience of sorting through the family secrets.  Ridley is a free lance writer who had a happy childhood and grew up in a nice home.  One day she gets a photo which turns her whole life upside down and takes her on a dangerous journey to find the truth.  She gets to the point of not knowing who she can trust but makes some good decisions that help her discover truth and happiness. 

One example of an insight Lisa Unger shares through a section where Ridley is speaking directly to the reader that really stood out to me is this from p. 98-99:

And we stood like that.  The joining of hands is highly underrated in the acts of intimacy.  You kiss acquaintances or colleagues, casually to say hello or good-bye.  You might even kiss a close friend chastely on the lips.  You might quickly hug anyone you knew.  You might even meet someone at a party, take him home and sleep with him, never to see him or hear from him again.  But to join hands and stand holding each other that way, with the electricity of possibilities flowing between you?  The tenderness of it, the promise of it, is only something you share with a few people in your life.  

This is real thriller filled with lots of insights into how people arrive at the choices they make and is definitely a page-turner.  It takes a close look at how we develop and evaluate relationships with others.  Beautiful Lies deals with identity issues, mob activity, abduction in the name of protection, selling babies, judging others, family dynamics, romance and betrayal.  I highly recommend you read this book--it’s fantastic!  Well written and packed with suspense and mystery right from the start. 

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?  Related posts:  Tea Time with Marce Review

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