Synopses & Reviews
If Ridley Jones had slept ten minutes later or had taken the subway instead of waiting for a cab, she would still be living the beautiful lie she used to call her life. She would still be the privileged daughter of a doting father and a loving mother. Her life would still be perfect—with only the tiny cracks of an angry junkie for a brother and a charming drunk with shady underworld connections for an uncle to mar the otherwise flawless whole.
But that’s not what happened. Instead, those inconsequential decisions lead her to perform a good deed that puts her in the right place at the right time to unleash a chain of events that brings a mysterious package to her door—a package which informs her that her entire world is a lie.
Suddenly forced to question everything she knows about herself and her family, Ridley wanders into dark territory she never knew existed, where everyone in her life seems like a stranger. She has no idea who’s on her side and who has something to hide—even, and maybe especially, her new lover, Jake, who appears to have secrets of his own.
Sexy and fast-paced, Beautiful Lies is a true literary thriller with one of the freshest voices and heroines to arrive in years. Lisa Unger takes us on a breathtaking ride in which every choice Ridley makes creates a whirlwind of consequences that are impossible to imagine . . . .
AN INTERNATIONAL BOOK-OF-THE-MONTH SELECTION
A featured alternate selection of the Literary Guild, Doubleday Book Club, Book-of-the-Month Club, Mystery Guild, and Rhapsody Book Club.
Also available as a Random House AudioBook, a Large Print edition, and an eBook.
From the Hardcover edition.
Review
One of The Boston Globe's 10 Best Crime Books of the Year
One of Library Journals Best Books of the Year
“TRUST YOUR EYES IS THE BEST BARCLAY SO FAR, A TALE HITCHCOCK WOULD HAVE LOVED.”—Stephen King
“One of the best thrillers of the year!”—#1 New York Times Bestselling Author Lisa Gardner
“A wicked-good story.”—The New York Times Book Review
“The Web equivalent of downloading pure entertainment straight into your brain.”—USA Today
“Delivers shocks and surprises at every turn…Trust Your Eyes is one of the best thrillers of the year.” —Associated Press
Synopsis
Thomas Kilbride is a schizophrenic who spends his days and nights on a Web site called Whirl360. He travels the world without ever leaving his bedroom and memorizes the details of every street in every city. Then one day, he sees an image that looks like a woman being murdered in a window in New York City. Thomass brother, Ray, knows Thomass paranoia all too well. But if this time its real, both of them will have more to deal with than Thomass delusions.
Because someone somewhere is watching them.
About the Author
Lisa Unger was born in Hartford, Connecticut, but grew up in Holland and England. A graduate of The New School for Social Research, Unger spent many years living and working in New York City. In 2000, she left a career in publicity to pursue her dream of becoming a full-time writer. She lives in Florida with her husband and daughter.
Reading Group Guide
1. One of the novel's main themes is choice, and how both big choices and little ones can have a profound impact on a person's life. Did Ridley have a choice in finding out the truth about her past? If she'd chosen to ignore the first picture and note, could she have avoided all the questions and secrets that arose?
2. Would it have been possible for Ridley to ignore the events of the past and still have developed a true sense of self? Would you be able to?
3. On page 17, Ridley says, “Freedom, I'd have to say, is probably the most important thing to me, more important than youth, beauty, fame, money.” Does this freedom Ridley craves influence the lies she's been told to her entire life? Or is this freedom what could have protected her from asking questions about her past?
4. Throughout the story, the author compares Jake to Zack. Are there any similarities between the two men? In the beginning, what does Ridley admire about each of them?
5. Why did Jake keep the truth from Ridley for so long? Would it have been easier to tell her who he was from the start? Would she have believed him? Would you?
6. The author brings up the idea of parental (and adult) control over children, even after these children have grown up. Is there a control parents will always have over their child? Or at some point is control relinquished to the child to live his/her own life? How could Ridley's parents have handled the situation differently? Would it have worked?
7. On page 58, Ridley says, “When you love someone, it doesn't really matter if they love you back or not. Having love in your heart for someone is its own reward. Or punishment, depending on the circumstances.” By the end of the novel, has Ridley's view of her family and Jake altered this idea of love? How has it altered? If her family and Jake followed the same definition of love, would their views have been changed by the events of the story?
8. What do you think of the nature of Project Rescue before Teresa Stone's murder? Was there another or better way to protect children from abuse or neglect? What do you think of the systems in place to protect children today in your own society?
9. Do you believe Ridley's father and Max should both be penalized or blamed for what happened? What about Ridley's mother and Ace? Did any of these people have a responsibility to tell Ridley what happened to her? Why or why not?
10. If you were Jake or Ridley, would you have looked into all the cases of missing children, as they did, or would you have focused solely on finding the truth of your own past? What was to gain by looking at all the cases? Could they have found the truth about their own life without looking at the others?
11. Do you think Ace's drug addiction and problems with his parents were related to Ridley's history, which he overheard their father and Max discussing one day? How do you think Ridley would have handled the truth had she been told by her parents instead of finding out the way she did?
12. On page 298, Ridley says, “I was operating under a faith that the universe conspires to reveal the truth, that lies are unstable elements that tend toward breaking down.” Do you think the truth would have revealed itself to Ridley without Jake's involvement? Would it have been easier or more difficult to take without Jake?
13. On page 436, Ridley asks, “Isn't that so often true with family, that we see them through the filters of our own fears, expectations, and desire to control?” How does this apply to each of her family members? How is it affected by the truth that's come out, and how will it affect their relationships moving forward? Can Ridley, or anyone, project fear, expectation, or desire to control onto how she views anyone else now?
14. By the end of the story, what do you think of Zack's and Esme's role in Project Rescue? Was it right for Esme to help Max as she did because of her love for him?
15. On page 437, Ridley says, “We don't have control, we have choices.” And on page 439, she says, “In life, there are only good and bad choices. And sometimes even choices can only be judged by their consequences. And sometimes not even then.” Is it really as simple as a matter of choice? How would any of the characters agree or disagree with these ideas?
16. When Ridley confronts Jake on the Brooklyn Bridge, she wants to know how he found her to begin with. He tells her that he saw her picture in the Post, just like Christian Luna. Can this be the truth? Or is Jake hiding more than Ridley ever realizes even as the book ends?
“Suspenseful, sensitive, sexy, subtle. The best nail-biter I have read for ages.” —Lee Child
The introduction, discussion questions, and suggestions for further reading that follow are intended to enhance your group's discussion of Lisa Unger's debut novel, Beautiful Lies.