Family’s turbulent past haunts killer thriller

Family secrets, buried trauma and the alchemy of sisterhood serve up five-star thrills in prolific, bestselling author Lisa Unger’s latest novel Served Him Right.

Ana Blacksmith is the youngest of two sisters, raised by an aunt after domestic violence ripped their childhood apart, leaving their mother in jail and their father six feet under. Ana had to grow up fast, and quickly developed a penchant for the wrong kind of lover, along with an insatiable “dark appetite.”

But when her latest paramour is found dead, she becomes the primary suspect in his murder.

Could it be a case where Ana has followed too closely in her mother’s footsteps? Even she admits her scars have shaped similar tendencies.

“There’s a part of me that stays caged most of the time. But every once in a while, I unlock the door and let it out,” Ana relays. “Things rarely go well when that happens, and I know it. But you can’t keep the beast in a cage forever, hard as you try, especially when it’s always screaming and rattling to get out. It goes mad, becomes even more dangerous.”

Even older sister Vera isn’t quick to rule Ana out as a suspect.

“We come from a long line of secret keepers, of women who do bad things, sometimes for the right reasons, sometimes not,” Vera contemplates after a police interrogation.

Yet Paul — Ana’s ex-boyfriend and murder victim — also has a sordid past, with many others who wanted him dead. A shady entrepreneur with a long list of scorched business partners and a history of sexual violence toward women, he leaves the lead investigator with his work cut out for him as he narrows down the list of suspects.

Told through the perspectives of six different characters’ points-of-view, including one that offers a voice from the distant past, Served Him Right unravels like a runaway spool of yarn until everyone is a suspect and the line between guilt and innocence is blurred.

With razor-sharp insights into the psychology of victims and survivors, Unger has woven a tale of vengeance that may or may not have the reader rooting for the bad guys (or gals). The morally ambiguous, sometimes seemingly justifiable actions of the lead characters can’t help but challenges readers’ thinking, raising ethical questions for which there are no easy answers.

Yet the thought-provoking complexity of the characters and their questionable actions don’t slow down this fast-paced story. Readers will find themselves breathlessly turning pages until reaching the satisfying conclusion, confirming once again that Unger is a master in the art of suspense.

A sharp-eyed reader with a passion for psychological thrillers, Rochelle Squires is always chasing the next twist she never saw coming.