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 - BORING!I couldn't even read this book! I picked it off the shelf in the library because the blurb sounded good. NOPE. It's all interior dialogue and it's telling! "I did this, I felt that..." Also the back and forth in time is confusing. I want to read a book that grabs me from the FIRST sentence and won't let go. This isn't it - by far. Rating:  - Fast Paced and Thrilling!On the outside, Annie Power's life looks perfect. Her amazing husband, Gray, and their precious daughter, Victory, make her life complete. That is, until flashbacks of her once forgotten past come into focus. You see, ten years ago Annie was Ophelia March, a young, naïve teen caught in the web of an infamous serial killer, Marlowe Geary. Gray rescues Ophelia, and in the process, murders Geary. Ophelia "died" and Annie was born. The emotional and physical trauma caused Annie to forget most of what occurred. But one thing she knows for certain-they never found the body of her boyfriend, the serial killer. Annie thought she was rid of this horrid past, but slowly people around her begin to die. She hears her former name being called from the shadows. People she trusted turn out to be her enemies. A local police detective begins to dig into her past and comes close to finding out the truth. Annie soon discovers that Geary is not dead, and she is willing to give up her life to find the answers to what happened that night a decade ago. Unger does an amazing job of revealing the character's history to the reader. It is unraveled slowly and methodically. I was engrossed in the storyline from page one, this was a book I couldn't put down. Black Out was definitely an intense tale that chilled me to the bone Rating: - Yowza!This is a fast paced, tight, intense tilt-a-whirl ride of a book! A psychological thriller wrapped seamlessly in a many faceted mystery that will keep you up late into the night turning pages and trying to figure it all out (you won't--it's THAT well written, but it's fun and a tiny bit maddening trying). Annie is a loving wife and mother. Ophelia is the traumatized captive of a sociopathic serial killer--or maybe his accomplice. The thing is, Annie and Ophelia are the same person. This is the story of how one woman became two who fight to become one again. It goes back and forth in time and perspective, introducing characters that may or may not exist, events that may or may not have happened, always leading to a white knuckle conclusion that may or may not be the conclusion. Nothing is definite in this book except it is a definite must-read for thriller fans. Rating:  - Quality Psychological SuspenseThere are many good authors out there who write enjoyable, well done novels on murders or serial killers with good suspense and usually a little romance. This novel is so superior to that genre. It is so literate and intelligent. It is character driven and provides amazing psychological depth to all the characters. We have Annie Powers Gray who has a very troubled past. She grew up in an abusive household and a serial killer became a member of her family at an early age. Her innocence was destroyed, she lost all ability to see any clarity in life and found love and identity where she could. As victims do, she became easy target for one particular predator and became his puppet as she lost her own identity more and more. She marries the man who saved her from this life and supposedly killed this man who haunted her life. She reinvents her identity and starts life anew. But is he really dead? Things start to happen that show maybe he isn't. But are these things really happening or all in her mind? Lisa Unger has created a psychological suspense novel of the highest caliber here. She has done her research and treats her main character and how she deals with her abuse with respect and knowledge. Every aspect of Annie and how her life works due to the abuse she has endured is carefully illusrated and explained. The victim is shown openly and honestly and she clearly shows what victims such as Annie actually do endure perfectly. Then she adds to this an amzing, edge of your seat story line that has no holes. You ride the journey with Annie and there are twists and turns that will have you just as confused as she is. But the bottom line is - it all works. This book is very intelligent as I stated and in no way pop fiction. The plot contains serial killers, murder, childhood abuse, mental illness and all are dealt with accurately, respectfully and with the highest skill. This novel is very intense and is one of the most satisfying reads I have had all year. I will now read all the books by Lisa Unger and put her on my list of favorite authors. She put me on a suspenseful journey that was so strong I could not put the book down. Do yourself a favor and venture into the world of Annie and read this book. Rating:  - Courageous literary attemptLisa Unger took a bold approach with her latest novel and she is to be credited for her efforts. I must agree with other reviewers though that she crossed the line of intriguing complexity and and ended up with a knotted tangle that was exhaustingly tedious. Linear narration does not have to be dull and while we all know that truth is generally stranger than fiction, a story line that has so many stretches of credulity fails to satisfy. The characters did not call forth enough interest or sympathy and it was overall an easy to put down book.
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