Disappearance sparks accusations in ‘Fragile’

Sometimes living where everyone knows your name can be a blessing and sometimes a curse. That’s the way it is for the residents of The Hollows, a tiny town outside of New York City, where memories of the past can be very long.

Those memories surface in Lisa Unger’s “Fragile” when a young girl goes missing, sparking recollections of another girl’s disappearance years before. It doesn’t take long for the finger-pointing to begin as suspicious eyes look through a veil of the past.

Jones Cooper remembers the horror and fear that surrounded the day a girl from his high school class went missing. It’s a memory that has haunted him throughout his life. So when his son’s girlfriend runs away, disappearing into thin air, Jones can feel the same queasy terror as the unreasonable accusations begin, but this time, it’s affecting his entire family.

As head detective of the town police force, Jones is on the inside of the investigation, but when it looks like the evidence is pointing toward his son, he must make a choice to be impartial and professional or do everything he can to protect his family.

Secrets past and present are unearthed as the search for the girl takes on a life of its own, leaving no one untouched. But will the truth be discovered before it’s too late or will more secrets be buried?
 
Unger delivers an intriguing, downright frightening thriller that will keep parents of teenagers up at night. Inspired in part by an actual event that happened when she was a teen, Unger takes readers on a twisty roller coaster ride of accusations and confessions in this well-developed tale.

By tapping into the well of a parent’s psyche, Unger conveys a magnificently emotional story that will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very last sentence.