Confessions
On The 7:45 by Lisa Unger is a riveting thriller. This
nail-biting story has at its heart psychological manipulation,
lies, deceit, and secrets.
“It was in my head for a while. I did a lot of research
on the psychology of a con artist, including reading the book,
The Confidence Game by Maria Conapova. It is about the
con artist, their scams, how they think, and how they find
their mark. I thought how con artists only succeed if someone
wants something because that is what makes them vulnerable
to the scam. This is the seed that started me writing this
story."
The plot begins when Selena Murphy misses her regular commuter
train and ends up on the 7:45. There she has a chance encounter
with the passenger sitting next to her. The woman, Martha,
confesses that she is having an affair with her married boss.
Having just found out her husband Graham is having an affair
with their nanny, Selena is completely overwhelmed. Selena
feels comfortable sharing her own situation and even voices
what she wants to happen to the nanny. But problems arise
when the nanny does not show up for work the next day. On
top of that, Selena is getting weird messages from Martha
about meeting again. She begins to wonder if her husband had
something to do with the nanny's disappearance and what role
did Martha play.
"I am always interested in those small moments of people's
lives. The emphasis is always on the big moments: getting
married, going off to college, and getting a job. But there
is that chance encounter: turning down the wrong street or
missing a train. This dictates the course of someone's life.
It is loosely based on "Strangers On A Train." How
easy is it for people to remain faithful for a lifetime? I
say that, yet I am in a twenty-year faithful marriage. But
a lot of relationships do implode and fall apart. There are
packs within a relationship, whether with a boyfriend/girlfriend,
with the person someone chooses to be their wife/husband or
a friend. It is a negotiation, a set of rules that constantly
change. Someone like my character Selena would never cross
the line, but her husband did. In this book, there are all
different kinds of infidelity."
There
are alternating narratives between Selena and another character,
Pearl. She is also having trouble in her life, having lost
her mother to murder, and being raised by a con artist. It
becomes obvious Pearl is also a con artist, a predator who
is patient and careful. Readers wonder who is Pearl, and why
is she relevant to the story? Unger keeps people glued to
the pages as they and figure out how all these characters
will connect.
This mind-bender is reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock’s
“Strangers On A Train.” Both this story and Hitchcock’s
are a reminder of the delicate facades and masks everyone
creates around their lives. The cat and mouse game played
by the characters only enhances the many twists and turns
the story takes.
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