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Friday, December 5, 2014

Short Fiction Friday: The Burning Girl by Lisa Unger

Lisa Unger takes readers back to The Hollows with her latest, a trilogy of short e reads featuring Eloise Montgomery. You can read my post on the first installment, "The Whispers," here.

"The Burning Girl" picks up ten years after "The Whispers." Eloise has become somewhat used to her gift and has made increasing use of it since the death of her husband. Not everyone is so pleased, though. Eloise's daughter has distanced herself over the past decade and some of the citizens of The Hollows are understandably wary - and even critical - of Eloise's ability. 

When the angry spirit of a girl accompanied by smoke and fire begins to appear to Eloise, she is curious and wants to help. But Eloise is warned off of involving herself with such a spirit. Meanwhile, retired cop turned PI Ray Muldune has taken on a complicated missing persons case and has asked for Eloise's assistance. 

I enjoyed this one even more than the first! The burning girl herself is incredibly intriguing and the progression of Eloise's character is really wonderful. Both tales are quite short - easy to slip in when you've got limited reading time - and I'm really dying to read the third now as well. ("The Three Sisters" is out Jan 5.) And of course this little trilogy is leading up to Unger's upcoming novel, Crazy Love You, out February 10.

Lisa Unger really is one of the best thriller writers of the day. Her characters are flawed and well-drawn and her stories are tense and fabulously plotted. Some of the books are connected and do have a reading order. If you enjoy the Whispers trilogy (or if they've piqued your curiosity) and you've not yet read any of The Hollows tales, I suggest starting with Fragile (it's one of my favorites!).

Rating: 4/5

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