Synopsis
Bestselling and award-winning author Lisa Unger returns with her best novel yet. Reminiscent of the classic Strangers on a Train, Confessions on the 7:45 is a riveting psychological thriller that begins with a chance encounter on a commuter train and shows why you should never, ever make conversation with strangers.
Be careful who you tell your darkest secrets…
Selena Murphy is commuting home from her job in the city when the train stalls out on the tracks. She strikes up a conversation with a beautiful stranger in the next seat, and their connection is fast and easy. The woman introduces herself as Martha and confesses that she’s been stuck in an affair with her boss. Selena, in turn, confesses that she suspects her husband is sleeping with the nanny. When the train arrives at Selena’s station, the two women part ways, presumably never to meet again.
But days later, Selena’s nanny disappears.
Soon Selena finds her once-perfect life upended. As she is pulled into the mystery of the missing nanny, and as the fractures in her marriage grow deeper, Selena begins to wonder, who was Martha really? But she is hardly prepared for what she’ll discover.
Expertly plotted and reminiscent of the timeless classic Strangers on a Train, Confessions on the 7:45 is a stunning web of lies and deceit, and a gripping thriller about the delicate facades we create around our lives.
Review
“Sometimes a stranger was the safest place in your life.”
And sometimes there is danger lurking in the unknown.
When working mom Selena confides her suspicions with a stranger on the train she feels a momentary release from the burden of her secret. Oddly, she feels a connection to this woman even though she she doesn’t quite understand why. Her brief meeting leaves her feeling uneasy especially after the woman starts texting her. But Selena has bigger problems to deal with. Her nanny has gone missing and the police are asking questions. Questions that if answered truthfully could put her and her husband in hot water.
The twists in Confessions on the 7:45 come early and hit hard. For a moment you are both intrigued and unsettled. You may not yet have a clue as to where the novel is headed, but you are certainly anxious to find out. Loosely based on Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train, Confessions reminds us how much of our lives are on display for the world to see and how this technology may be used against us.
In Confessions on the 7:45 Unger delves into those liminal spaces where things are neither black or white. People are not all good or all bad.
The found family trope takes on new meaning when you have a psychopath at its center. For each character Unger shows how they were shaped by their childhood experiences. Family secrets are not just burdens for those who hold them; their price can be meted out upon the heads of those kept in the dark.
Adding to this mystery are the layers of metaphor Lisa Unger weaves into her writing. People are like pine seedlings on a forest floor. They appear to be refuse, litter to be consumed by fire. But instead that pressure and heat is the spark they need to blossom and flourish and start on their path in life. This sentiment is repeated with the myth of the phoenix rising out of the ashes to fly unburdened into the sky.
Confessions on the 7:45 is my third Lisa Unger book. I find her work to be intelligently written with much thought given to the development of her characters. Readers are pulled in to the stories because her characters are relatable. They can be you or me or someone we know. Their past lives are given enough attention that you understand what makes them tick.
The plot is full of twists and turns and plenty of salacious details. I was riveted to my seat all day long.
Highly recommended for thriller and mystery fans.
Meet the Author
Lisa Unger is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of eighteen novels, including CONFESSIONS ON THE 7:45 (Oct. 2020). With millions of readers worldwide and books published in twenty-six languages, Unger is widely regarded as a master of suspense. Her critically acclaimed books have been voted “Best of the Year” or top picks by the Today show, Good Morning America, Entertainment Weekly, Amazon, IndieBound and others. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, and Travel+Leisure. She lives on the west coast of Florida with her family.
Carry a Big Book 
Awesome review. I really enjoyed this one as well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Carla! I think I need to add Lisa Unger to my list of go-to authors.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Absolutely!
LikeLiked by 1 person