Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger

 

CONFESSIONS ON THE 7:45, was just published this week on 6 October. It is the latest book by bestselling author Lisa Unger. When I was invited to be part of the blog tour, I was thrilled! Thank you to Park Row Books for the invitations and providing a e-copy of the book in exchange for my honest feedback. I have to say I loved the book! It has a lot of twists and keeps you guessing the entire book. The publisher provided book summary drew me in from the beginning.

BOOK SUMMARY: 

Be careful who you tell your darkest secrets...

Selena Murphy is commuting home from her job in the city when the train stalls out on the tracks. She strikes up a conversation with a beautiful stranger in the next seat, and their connection is fast and easy. The woman introduces herself as Martha and confesses that she's been stuck in an affair with her boss. Selena, in turn, confesses that she suspects her husband is sleeping with the nanny. When the train arrives at Selena's station, the two women part ways, presumably never to meet again.

But days later, Selena's nanny disappears.

Soon Selena finds her once-perfect life upended. As she is pulled into the mystery of the missing nanny, and as the fractures in her marriage grow deeper, Selena begins to wonder, who was Martha really? But she is hardly prepared for what she'll discover.

Expertly plotted and reminiscent of the timeless classic Strangers on a Train, Confessions on the 7:45 is a stunning web of lies and deceit, and a gripping thriller about the delicate facades we create around our lives.

As you know I love not only to read books but find out about the author and the behind the scenes to writing the book.

Q&A

Q: Please give the elevator pitch for Confessions on the 7:45. 

A: Selena Murphy is a young mother who is having a terrible day. When she gets on her commuter train home, it stalls, dying on the tracks. The beautiful stranger sitting next to her strikes up a conversation with a confession. Maybe it’s her awful day, or the drink she shouldn’t have had, or the dark of the train, but, whatever the reason, Selena shares a secret of her own. When the train comes back to life and Selena is finally headed home, she’s embarrassed. What would lead her to confess her darkest secret to a complete stranger? She hopes she’ll never see the mysterious woman from the train, ever again. But, of course, she will.

Q: There are so many twists in the story.  Did you know the ending before you plotted all of the surprises?

A: When I sit down to write, I have no idea what’s going to happen, who’s going to show up or what they’re going to do day to day.  And I certainly have no idea how things will end.  It’s kind of a crazy way to write a book, but I’ve never done it any other way.  I write for the same reason that I read, because I want to know what’s going to happen.

Q: Why do you love Selena and why should readers root for her?

A: As most of my characters are, Selena is imperfect. The pressures she experiences from the world around her are matched by those she places on herself. She is struggling, but she also knows she has reserves of strength from which to draw to overcome the obstacles she faces, some of which are catastrophic. I think we’re all stronger and braver than we believe ourselves to be, so when we’re rooting for Selena, we’re really rooting for the warrior within us all.

Q: How do you come up with your stories? Is anything based on or influenced by real life? 

A: Everything in fiction is autobiographical -- and nothing is! If we’re writing from a deep and authentic place, then all of our experiences, our observations, the people we meet, the situations we observe, the conversations we have and overhear, inform our fiction. Sometimes inspiration comes from the news, from travel, from questions I have about people and the world. My fiction is always influenced by my real life but in really layered and mysterious ways.

Q: Which came first: the characters or the plot line? 

A: The characters, always. My stories always begin for me with a voice, someone with a story to tell.

 

About the Author

Lisa Unger is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of eighteen novels, including CONFESSIONS ON THE 7:45 (Oct. 2020). With millions of readers worldwide and books published in twenty-six languages, Unger is widely regarded as a master of suspense. Her critically acclaimed books have been voted "Best of the Year" or top picks by the Today show, Good Morning America, Entertainment Weekly, Amazon, IndieBound and others. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, and Travel+Leisure. She lives on the west coast of Florida with her family.

 

You can connect with Lisa Unger on the below social media sites.

Author Website: https://lisaunger.com/ 

TWITTER: @lisaunger

Facebook: @authorlisaunger  

Instagram: @launger

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18445.Lisa_Unger