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Bantam/Random House Australia, May 2006
Review by Kerrie Smith
The day thirty-plus Ridley Jones rescues a little boy from the path of an
oncoming vehicle is the day her own life changes forever. When the initial
flurry of media coverage dies down, and her photograph has been printed on
the front page of a number of New York newspapers, Ridley is contacted by
someone who thinks she is his daughter. Ridley already has parents. Her
father is a well-respected semi-retired paediatrician, so who is this
stranger?
To discover the truth Ridley is required to assess everything she knows
about her life. She knows that she has not lacked for affection, security,
and comfort. She also already knows that there are no family photos of her
before her second birthday, and now she begins to view events in her life,
and people she has been close to, in a new light. When the enigmatic Jake
moves into the vacant apartment in her building, a new element complicates
what is already a rather tangled web.
BEAUTIFUL LIES is not only a thriller, but also a mystery. The action
unfolds through Ridley's eyes. The story is narrated for us, the readers,
by Ridley. Sometimes she addresses us specifically, sometimes just uses
first person narration. It is an interesting tactic as it seems as if we
are being asked to make our own judgements of the connections in this
tightly woven plot. At the same time in BEAUTIFUL LIES there is underlying
serious social comment as the author questions whether it is ever right to
take children away from their natural parents, of whether philanthropy
ever achieves a better world, of whether lies are ever justified.
I enjoyed the pace and puzzles of this well crafted tale. It is not hard
to feel the tension as Ridley finds out things she would rather not know.
BEAUTIFUL LIES marks Lisa Unger's debut as an author, and already she is
at work on her next novel. Be sure to take the BEAUTIFUL LIES Walking Tour
on Lisa's website at
http://www.lisaunger.com/ . Lisa takes the visitor to 9 locations in
New York City, commenting on her own and Ridley's experiences of the city,
as well as reading snippets from the book.
Review first published on Murder and Mayhem, May 2006
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