Black Out: A Novel
by Lisa Unger
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Book Summary Information
Author: Lisa UngerEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-05-27
ISBN: 0307338487
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Crown
Book Reviews of Black Out: A Novel
Book Review: "The past is about to catch up with me."
Summary: 4 Stars
Lisa Unger's "Black Out" is the story of Annie Powers, a fragile woman who is hoping that she can escape her sordid past. Annie, who is the book's narrator, lives in an upscale Florida suburb with her patient and loving husband, Gray, a former Navy SEAL turned private security consultant, and her four-year-old daughter, Victory. They employ a maid/nanny, Esperanza, who ably takes care of the family's needs. Few people know that Annie's real name is Ophelia March and that she faked her death five years earlier so that she could escape the horrors of her dysfunctional childhood and her traumatic association with a psychopath. Annie's bohemian father, Teddy, "is a tattoo artist and a pathological liar," who left her when she was a little girl. He promised her many times that he would take her away from her squalid existence living with her ineffectual and self-centered mother in a wretched trailer park, but he never did. When she was a teenager, the pathetically lonely Annie got involved with a serial killer who had her in his thrall. Although she has been told that he is dead, Annie's greatest fear is that he is still alive, and that he will come back to claim her some day. In spite of years of therapy, she still suffers from horrifying nightmares, panic attacks, and memory lapses.
Annie's terror reaches a fever pitch when several incidents occur that raise warning flags: She spots a strange man spying on her house. Her father calls to inform her that someone posing as a cop has been asking about "Ophelia." During a walk on the beach, she finds a necklace, half a heart, similar to the one she wore when she was involved with her old boyfriend. Do these omens point to potential disaster, or is Annie overreacting?
Unger is a talented writer who knows how to create and sustain suspense. Most readers will empathize with the vulnerable and good-hearted Annie. The author's vividly drawn characters include Carla, Ophelia's selfish and deluded mother; Gray, Annie's strong and protective husband; Detective Ray Harrison, a troubled man who allows his personal problems to interfere with his professional duties; Drew, Annie's forbidding and disapproving father-in-law; and Frank and Marlowe Geary, a father and son team whom no one would want to meet in a dark alley. In addition, the Florida setting adds to the mood of menace. Unger describes Florida as "light and fluffy, kitschy, a place for the family vacation," but it also has a more sinister aspect--"a feral heart, a teeming center that would rage out of control if not for the concrete and rebar that keeps it caged."
Although "Black Out" is an engrossing and powerful thriller, it is weakened by Unger's dizzying and convoluted conclusion. I give it a marginal recommendation for its exciting set-up, fast-paced action, and sympathetic heroine, but the ending is too perplexing and far-fetched to be genuinely satisfying.
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