crazyloveyou

I have just finished Crazy Love You by Lisa Unger and it has left me perplexed…

It is the story of Ian Paine, who as a child, suffered terrible trauma and came through a very difficult childhood to become a successful New York hipster type, writing and drawing comics in his rented Tribeca apartment and he owes it all to his best friend Priss.

Priss is there to fight on his behalf. She was there right from the beginning when he was a weird, fat kid who had a distant father and a mum in a mental institution. She was there when he discovered his talent for art and broke out of the Hollows to become a success in New York. All the while, in the dark shadows of Ian’s life, Priss was there and the police loom near; Watching as he grew, as he attempted to escape his family, his dark past and his inevitable future.

The storyline moves at a breakneck pace and the characters are styled, smart and sharply written. So why didn’t I connect? Each character is well thought out, layered, and incredibly detailed but I felt there was an ‘X factor’, something that should have drawn me in, was missing. What is it that makes you want to root for the hero, the villan, anyone in fact to keep you turning the page?

On reflection, I think was turning the page for the storyline, not the characters. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but to really be hooked into a book it’s what you need. You need to care enough.

I didn’t put the book down for 2 nights and read straight through. Not because I had to, but because I wanted to, so something kept me there.

It would not put be off reading Lisa Unger books at all and hope other readers find the ‘hook’ with Crazy Love You. This is a smart, clever, thriller and there are plenty of stellar reviews out there, I just didn’t get the book hangover I was anticipating and that left me just ever so slightly disappointed.

Buy Crazy Love You here

 

#Simonandschuster#thrillerread