Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger

EXCERPT: You shift, close your arms around me, and whisper, ‘Tell me something you’ve never told anyone else.’

Up to this moment, I’ve measured everything I’ve shared with you. I’ve given myself over in pieces, slivers of truth, layers of self, curated memories, only the most banal likes and dislikes. But there are things I’ve hidden. It hasn’t been necessary to bare all; relationships these days rarely last. I can’t afford to give all of myself away to someone who may ghost me without a moment’s notice.

Does he know? Jax asked when I confessed how much I liked you.

No, I told her.

When will you tell him?

Now, I think. This is the moment. Tell now or it becomes a lie, something I’ve hidden. So, in the warmth of your embrace, in the dark of the hours after midnight, I tell you something I’ve never told anyone else.

ABOUT ‘LAST GIRL GHOSTED’: Think twice before you swipe.

She met him through a dating app. An intriguing picture on a screen, a date at a downtown bar. What she thought might be just a quick hookup quickly became much more. She fell for him—hard. It happens sometimes, a powerful connection with a perfect stranger takes you by surprise. Could it be love?

But then, just as things were getting real, he stood her up. Then he disappeared—profiles deleted, phone disconnected. She was ghosted.

Maybe it was her fault. She shared too much, too fast. But isn’t that always what women think—that they’re the ones to blame? Soon she learns there were others. Girls who thought they were in love. Girls who later went missing. She had been looking for a connection, but now she’s looking for answers. Chasing a digital trail into his dark past—and hers—she finds herself on a dangerous hunt. And she’s not sure whether she’s the predator—or the prey.

MY THOUGHTS: Last Girl Ghosted is disturbing on many levels. It is dark and gritty and so very plausible. Set in the world of online dating and at the time where there are media rumblings of a pandemic virus emerging in China, Unger takes the reader on a journey involving PTSD, familial abuse, missing women, and so much more.

I am usually the first person to criticise an author for trying to cram multiple ‘themes’ into one novel, but Unger makes it work and work brilliantly. The threads are tightly woven together to form a richly coloured tapestry, a compelling read that kept me enthralled from beginning to end.

I loved Wren’s character – strong yet vulnerable. She wasn’t always Wren. She was once Robin, a child who suffered an unimaginable trauma, who has emerged intent on helping others, albeit anonymously through her advice column Dear Birdie. She worries about these people and their problems. Sometimes she dreams about them. But ultimately she believes that by helping them, she is helping herself to become stronger.

And Adam. Hell, I fell for Adam. He’s very good at what he does. And I loved that he’s not smooth and handsome.

Bailey Kirk is a PI, hired by one of the missing women’s fathers to find his daughter. But it has become something of a personal crusade for him. It’s a case that has gotten under his skin. All the missing women have a similar background: they have suffered a great tragedy and are wealthy. All have dated Adam through dating apps. Wren is the latest. But Wren is still here. She is not missing, but Adam is. Bailey believes that Wren is his best chance of catching Adam. He doesn’t believe that Adam will walk away from Wren. But if Adam contacts her again, will Wren tell him? It’s a cat and mouse situation.

The story is told mainly from Wren’s perspective over two timelines; the current day and her traumatic childhood. We occasionally get the story told from Bailey’s perspective.

There is nothing banal or mundane in Last Girl Ghosted. I loved it from beginning to end. I was rooting for Wren the whole way through. And yes, for Adam too. I wanted him to be redeemed. Was he? Not telling. You’ll have to read Last Girl Ghosted to find out.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

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I: @launger @hqstories

T: @lisaunger @HQstories

#contemporaryfiction #crime #mystery #privateinvestigator #psychologicalthriller #suspense

THE AUTHOR: Lisa Unger is a New York Times and internationally bestselling author. With books published in thirty languages and millions of copies sold worldwide, she is widely regarded as a master of suspense. She lives on the west coast of Florida with her family.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to HQ Digital for providing a digital ARC of Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

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