Black Out

by Lisa Unger

On the surface, Annie Powers's life in a wealthy Florida beach neighborhood is happy and idyllic. Her husband, Gray, loves her fiercely; together, they dote on their beautiful young daughter, Victory. But the bubble surrounding Annie is pricked when she senses that the demons of her past have resurfaced and, to her horror, are now creeping up on her. These are demons she can't fully recall because of a highly dissociative state that allowed her to forget. Disturbing events trigger strange and confusing memories for Annie, who realizes she has to quickly piece them together before her past comes to claim her future . . . and her daughter.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Audiobook

368 pages, Hardcover

First published May 27, 2008

About the author

Lisa Unger is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of twenty-three novels, including her upcoming release SERVED HIM RIGHT (March, 2026). With books published in thirty-three languages and millions of copies sold worldwide, she is regarded as a master of suspense.

Unger’s critically acclaimed novels have been featured on “Best Book” lists from the Today show, Good Morning America, Entertainment Weekly, People, Amazon, Goodreads, L.A. Times, The Boston Globe, Sun Sentinel, Tampa Bay Times, and many others. She has been nominated for, or won, numerous awards including the Strand Critics, Audie, Hammett, Macavity, ITW Thriller, and Goodreads Choice. In 2019, she received two Edgar Award nominations in the same year, an honor held by only a few authors including Agatha Christie. Her short fiction has been anthologized in The Best American Mystery and Suspense, and her non-fiction has appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, and Travel+Leisure. Lisa is the current co-President of the International Thriller Writers organization. She lives on the west coast of Florida with her family.

Reviews

[Sharon Orlopp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thriller that kept me turning pages rapidly until the very end. Ophelia’s mother falls in love with a man on death row convicted of multiple rapes and murders; she advocates for his innocence even though they haven’t met or had physical contact.

Hair-raising action!

[Suz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I totally forgot to review this one! I drove extra places listening to this and put my hand up for being an extra busy taxi mum during this audio book. Annie and Gray are madly in love with a lovely daughter. Annie's past is creeping up on her though. She lived a terrible youth alongside a narcissistic mother - don't you just hate reading about these sorts of characters, makes me shudder! Annie is an unreliable narrator to the extreme; given her trauma she enters a highly dissociative state. Her psychologist is found dead and clues from her past are beginning to crop up, and strange things are happening all around. I loved the build up of tension in this one, a very good back to basics thriller to make us really think and hold us at the edge of our seats.

[Phrynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh that was good! That was SO good! It was so tense that I could not stop reading and finished the whole book in one day. This was my second book by this author and I shall certainly seek out more of her work. I enjoyed the way the story moved from past to present and I felt an attachment to the main characters and wanted them to survive to the end. And there was always doubt whether this would happen! A real page turner and recommended reading for anyone who enjoys a good thriller.

[hllf · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of unfulfilled potential. Not recommended. Below is a breakdown of my rating:

Enjoyability: 3
Re-Readability: 1
Character Development: 2
Complexity: 3.5
Writing Style: 2
Believability: 2
Overall: 2.25

I picked this book up to read over vacation because I liked the description of the plot. The book started out rather slow; a lot of recounting of past events. In fact, after the first two chapters, I started over and re-read them to try to get a better handle of what was occurring when.

Once the novel picked up, it moved along well, and the suspense was built up, albeit a bit over-dramatic in parts. Throughout the book, it was a bit difficult to keep track of what was really happening and what was in the heroin’s mind.

The book liked to build up suspense by making a page or two of events appear like they were real, then telling the reader it was just a dream. This is a very cheap way to try to build suspense that clearly otherwise is not present.

The character development was poor at best; it wasn’t till at least the 16th or 17th chapter before we even found out how old the heroin is.

The writing style was also mediocre. The entire novel was told from the first person POV of the heroin, which wouldn’t have been so odd, but even the scenes where she was never present were told from her perspective, as if she were a spectator and telling the reader a story.

Finally, the ending was extremely disappointing; I do not like books where you feel at the end that the time you spent reading it was wasted. I still have difficulty determining which parts of the book were real and which parts were just figments of the heroin’s imagination, put in for no purpose other than to mislead the reader in a very silly way.

In conclusion, I was very disappointed, and I do not recommend this book. I may come back to Unger down the road and give her another try, but she has to make many improvements to get my vote for a good new author.

[Lori (on hiatus, life is crazy busy)) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so good! This is the perfect example of how a great psychological thriller should be written. An edge of your seat page turned that will at times make you question your own sanity.
Annie has it all. A wealthy husband who adores her, friends and a perfect daughter whom she would die for. But deep down in the furthest recesses of her mind is a female that she knows. Her name is Ophelia. And she is making Annie doubt everything in her life. What's real, who's lying to her and how can she make Ophelia go away. Is anything really as it seems? Annie must face her dark past in order to save herself and her family that she loves. This was an edge of your seat twisted page turner! I loved this book!

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars for me is an "ok" read. This was too long. There was also one part of the main character's journey that I think ended abruptly (do I not remember what happened or did the author not know what to do?). Anyway, just ok.

[Kathy]

What was real? What was imaginary? I feel like I need to check into a mental hospital after reading this book. Black Out really messes with your mind and not in a good way. It is very doubtful that I will read any other Lisa Unger books. I was left to wonder....what happened?

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was something unsatisfying about the end of this. I like the detective character, I liked his wife and the side story about them - and then, boom, they're not real. I felt weird about that, unsettled, and like it was a little bit of a cop-out. The story was fast-paced and interesting, I liked the main character, but I ended up feeling like the solution, the whole organization to help victims, the in-laws conspiring to save Annie/Ophelia from herself... it felt more contrived and elaborate than it needed to be. I wanted it to turn out differently, I guess, I wanted a more believable resolution, and I was also annoyed that the detective wasn't "real" and that colored my perception of the rest of the book, for some reason that felt really important to me. There were some beautiful passages - the part about the ghost orchid was breathtakingly gorgeous, the writing was spectacular there - and I liked the jumping from past to present, from one character to another, I felt it added to the supenseful, tense feeling. Basically, a very good book with one real flaw that I think might be just in my own mind, because why should it matter so much?

[PattyMacDotComma]

Did Not Finish
Unger begins with "U", and for a challenge, I needed a mystery writer beginning with "U". She's written lots of books, and this one seems pretty popular, but by golly, I just couldn't get interested.

We have a troubled, confused young mother with a lot to hide, and as her secrets are revealed (both to her and to us), I expected to be drawn in.

Nope. Just didn't like her much or care and wasn't interested in any of the other characters either. I read half, skimmed some more, but I don't even feel like peeking at the end to see who is really who and why we see her, (real, imagined?) in so many different places.

I apologise to Unger's many fans, but at least I won't spoil her record with a low rating because I didn't actually finish.

[Mackey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lisa Unger is such an interesting author to read - each time I do I feel as though it is a completely different experience from any of her other books. I also find myself learning a lot about a topic that I totally didn't expect.

In "Blackout" the primary character, Annie Powers, is a beautiful socialite but who has had a horrific trauma in her past. That past has caught up with her - or did it ever leave - and now her mind is unable to cope with all of the realities and the lies that have been part of her world for so long.

Part thriller, part mystery and a dabble of paranormal mixed with a lot of psychological torture and you have the perfect recipe for this really good book! So why only 3stars? The characters are great, well developed and I totally loved Annie's character. As much as I want to say the storyline is unbelievable, anyone who follows politics knows better. No, the reason is that in this instance the back and forth timeline was incredibly confusing. It should have worked and often did work but too often I had no idea what was happening and would have to read entire pages before figuring it out. I'm not that slow, it was that confusing. Yet despite that it still was a good read and I do recommend it.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first time I've read anything by Unger, but she has now earned a place on my list of "newly-discovered-and-now-in-complete-awe-of" authors! I can't wait to read all of her other works.

For the past three days, I have been completely immersed in this book, only putting it down when it was necessary to deal with certain real-life issues and get some sleep. It grabbed hold of me and refused to let go until I'd finished the very last page. The main character is Annie, who used to be Ophelia before she broke free of her past and started a new life in a fancy house on the beach, with a husband who makes her feel safe and a little girl she loves dearly. Her younger life was filled with massive amounts of trauma from which she yearns to escape, complete with an absent dad and a mother who is so desperate for a man to love her that she marries an inmate sitting on death row. This book is not simply about family issues, though. It is a psychological thriller, very suspenseful, with some truly creepy moments that will send chills down your spine.

I will say that this book is very very dark, and may not appeal to everyone. Scrolling through other reviews, I see that a lot of people were turned off by certain elements. Interestingly, I've noticed this same type of polarization with several other books that are along the same lines as Black Out (Craig Larsen's Mania and Lehane's Shutter Island come immediately to mind). The story moves back and forth between past and present, which might have a tendency to frustrate some readers. I read the book in 3 large chunks of time, so I was able to follow it pretty well and never felt lost; if I had read a few pages here and a few there, it might have been more difficult. In addition, you find yourself questioning the reality of what is happening vs. the sanity of the main character, which seems to turn some people off. I personally enjoy all the twists and turns and wondering what is true and what is not. I felt that the epilogue tied up all lingering questions quite nicely, and I closed the book feeling nothing but satisfied.

[Wendi Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.75 stars*

Annie Powers has a lovely, peaceful life with her husband and young daughter. No one would ever guess that she was once Ophelia March, stepdaughter to a serial killer, in love with his equally sadistic son. Those events were solidly in her past. But soon strange events happen that make Annie think she isn't safe after all, and she must figure out how to protect herself and her daughter from her horrific past.

Lisa Unger knows how to tell a story! This one was riveting from the very beginning. After learning just the barest details of Annie's old life, I actually put the book down for a few weeks because I was terrified for her and her daughter, Victory.

There are some great red herrings in this book, and the wrap up at the end was satisfying, with a few unanswered questions.

I did keep wondering about Annie/Ophelia and her mother. All this began because Ophelia's mother started dating an incarcerated serial killer. What makes a woman, or in this case, women, fall for serial killers? There is something terribly sad hiding out beneath the plot of this book, a commentary about broken women, damaged girls. Ophelia's mother was convinced Frank was innocent. Ophelia loves Marlowe despite the violence. Remarkably, Ophelia's daughter, while young, seems to be incredibly strong.

Is it motherhood that changes Ophelia/Annie? It propels her through most of this book, so I would like to think so.

Anyhoo, I will stop rambling. Read this book. It's breathtaking.

[Jordan Price]

I think, initially, I wanted to be persnickety about some things like character voice (a trailer trash girl with a GED who uses whom/whomever in speech, for instance -- and how convenient it was they had so much money that they could hire planes, boats, etc.), but then the story sucked me in, and I didn't give a rat's ass if it was written the way I would have, and I gave myself over to the story.

The mystery is like a set of Russian nesting dolls. Every time you think you know what's going on, it opens up and there's something else (perfectly logical, with all the groundwork laid for it) waiting inside.

Stylistically, I thought it was cool that the novel was nonlinear, and then that the first person narrative shifted to a sort of modified omniscient narrator for scenes in which the protagonist wasn't present. Maybe I'll try that someday, although I'm certain I won't carry it off as well as Ms. Unger...because when that nesting dolls cracked open, it came clear that the stylistic choice was also deeply interwoven in the plot.

What a rollercoaster ride!

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Annie Powers leads a happy, healthy and wealthy life and is happily married to Gray and they have a beautiful daughter, Victory. In fact, you could say that those who know her well believe she possesses the perfect life, but does she?

Something from Annie's past reappears and now Annie finds herself confused and she has no idea how to escape her past, a past she had forgotten and left behind years ago.

Well, I must say I'm so glad I decided to read another book by Lisa Unger because I truly enjoyed this one. Thriller, suspense and mystery fans, this one is for you.

[Lewis Weinstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the ultimate book of unreliable narrators. Whoever says anything is not to be believed. Evidence is not to be believed. The very existence of some of the characters is not to be believed. Yet, instead of spinning out of control, Lisa Unger keeps firm command of a dazzling sequence of twists, surprises, time jumps, and venue changes. We have faith in the author to get us to the end of the journey. No more to be said without revealing something you should experience for yourself.

[Krissy · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a 3.5 stars. I enjoyed it. The last 1/3 or so was really intense and I couldn't put it down. But it's one of those books that you have to pay really close attention because there is A LOT of stuff going on. Especially at the end.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this, I really did. But I put it down about 150 pages in and just had no desire to pick it up again, even after renewing it at the library. There was so much potential for a good psychological suspense novel, but I never felt much suspense in the chapters that I read, and when I did, it turned out to be a dream or was written off in some other way.

I do admit that the author is a good writer, and there were some well-crafted passages. And as hesitant I was about the choice to use present throughout, I ended up not being as confused by the timeline as I was expecting. But, still, as curious as I was about the Annie/Ophelia question, the plot didn't grab me. I would have liked to have seen more of the scenes on the boat, but the rest of the story felt kind of pedestrian and unexciting to me.

[Λίνα Θωμάρεη · Rating 3 out of 5]

Καλό αλλά όχι τόσο όσο το Έρωτας μέχρι θανάτου!

[Melody McNamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been re-reading Lisa Unger's earlier books, and although I read this one many years ago, I really didn't remember it at all. This one is a very dark, disturbing story, so it may not appeal to everyone. I found it sometimes difficult to differentiate between what was real and what was imagined. Still, a tense and suspenseful plot that I found compelling and haunting.

[✴ Cindy ✴ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing was great, but there was something missing. Using an unreliable narrator to tell a story is risky because I usually end up getting mad a the author for purposefully tricking me. In this case I didn't have a satisfied feeling at the end. There were unanswered questions. Things the author didn't or couldn't explain to my satisfaction. I found myself wanting to talk to a fellow reader to see what they thought happened. Sadly, none of the reviews answered my questions. I guess everyone else was in the dark as well.

[João Carlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Black Out – A Cortina da Memória” é um excelente policial escrito pela norte-americana Lisa Unger, nascida em 1970, e editado originalmente em 2008, com publicação em Portugal em 2009.
A narrativa centra-se na Florida, Annie Powers tem uma família perfeita, ama o seu marido Gray e a sua filha Victory, vive numa casa luxuosa, mas…
Nem tudo o que parece é ou nem tudo o que reluz é ouro…
A vulnerabilidade interior de Annie é evidenciada quando as recordações do seu passado reaparecem; em consequência, os seus implacáveis demónios ressurgem, tudo porque o seu transtorno dissociativo de identidade começa a dominar a sua vida idílica, numa dualidade emocional implacável, alternando diferentes horizontes temporais; o presente, o passado recente e o passado remoto, em situações e acontecimentos que são verdadeiros ou apenas ilusórios, mas que nos mantêm permanentemente na expectativa e na dúvida.
Marlowe Geary, o serial killer, “renasce” para a atormentar…
Um verdadeiro “thriller” psicológico, com uma escrita perfeita, um ritmo e uma intensidade asfixiante.
Muito bom…
Só não entendo porque é que não são editados em Portugal mais livros da Lisa Unger.

[Linda Boyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started reading this book, I didn't think I was going to like it. Ophelia March who changes her name to Annie Powers after a traumatic childhood is working thru her demons. The book jumps back and forth between Ophelia March (when she was a young girl) and Annie Powers (who she has now become). Annie realizes she will have to piece together her memory to make sense of who she was and who she is now to save herself. Very good book, a dark story with a lot going on. I gave this book 4 stars.

[Christina Leftwich · Rating 2 out of 5]

After sticking this book out through its confusing state, Im feeling let down with the ending. I wonder if the author was just tired of writing it by that time, and the last two chapters could have been left out completely.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unger is a master. I wish I had more time to read everything she's written. She's sort of dark, but can really weave a good one.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! Unique twist to the traditional "amnesia" storyline.

[G Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing, thrilling, soulsearching book that I couldn't put down. Lisa writes in a profound way, with sentences and choices of words that make me re-read paragraphs without it jarring me one little bit. I cared for the protagonist, the "I" in the story, from the first page, even if I normally shy away from stories written in the first person. This is the only way, IMHO, that Lisa could've written this story, because we needed to be in Annie/Ophelia's head to understand what she was going through.
I am in awe over this author's development from Beautiful Lies, A Sliver of Truth, and now this one. I'm waiting for her fourth book to be available as paperback (not because I'm cheap, but because the hardbacks are too heavy for my arms) it's called "Die For You" and the blurb I read for it make it sound just as good. Thank goodness someone recommended Lisa Unger's books. I love them!

[Claire · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is one of the most disjointed books I have ever read. I haven't a clue what happened, what was real and what was not, it was very confusing. Hated the 1st person narrative and the even more confusing way the story jumps from past to a few days ago and then to the present...all in the space of a few paragraphs! Waste of time.

[MaryG2E · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5★s
In my mind I struggled with the most appropriate rating for this book. After consideration I've gone for a compromise score.
Black Out is a tense, intriguing psychological mystery, with many twists and surprises that drew me in. The characterisation of the main protagonists is excellent and the build-up of suspense is nail-biting. That Annie is a seriously unreliable narrator contributed an additional layer of perplexity.
One of the greatest virtues of the novel is the careful way in which Unger constructs the personality and mental anguish of Annie. The character's background and life experiences documented many elements of abuse and neglect that I felt were authentic, and based on real cases studies. Annie's identity and personality problems were also very well written.
Like some other reviewers, I found the jumps back and forward in time were hard to follow on several occasions. There are lots of secrets and lies in this fascinating story which demand a high level of concentration on the part of the reader, so having to navigate the shoals of shifting time periods was both annoying and a distraction.
My other issue was that, despite the author grabbing my attention fully at the start, I found towards the end that the story dragged. It seemed to go on for ever, going over the same old stuff. At one point I thought I'd scream if Annie said one more time "I need to protect my daughter." Revelations were few and far between, and my interest waned. There were just too many odd moments and misdirections, and I became desperate to get to the end.
So those three niggles caused me to deduct 0.5 stars each, resulting in my score of 3.5.
I did enjoy the ending, and the sense of relief that Annie had finally come to terms with her past and the evil people who had wronged her so grievously.
I've read other novels by Lisa Unger and have enjoyed them, and will look forward to continuing my interest in a fine writer of psychological mystery books.

[Nicole Hurd · Rating 3 out of 5]

The two stories going on simultaneously about the same person was sometimes difficult to follow. Not my favorite but if you want a plot twist, check it out.

[Ana Goulart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gostei muito. Um livro que aborda as sequelas deixadas pelos maus tratos e negligência parental. A história está bem construída, deixando o leitor perdido durante toda a obra no misto de realidade, alucinação, fantasia e ansiedade da personagem principal, sem saber bem o que é ou não real.