Five novels revolving around dysfunctional families

Lisa Unger is a New York Times and internationally bestselling author. Her books are published in 26 languages, with millions of copies sold worldwide. In 2019, she received two Edgar Award nominations, an honor held by only a few writers including Agatha Christie. Her work has been named on "Best Book" lists from Today, People, GMA, EW, Amazon, IndieBound and many others. She has written for the NYT, WSJ, NPR, and Travel+Leisure. Netflix is currently making her 2020 book Confessions on the 7:45 into a series starring Jessica Alba. She lives in Florida with her family.

[Q&A with Lisa Unger]

Unger's new novel is Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six.

At CrimeReads she tagged five "novels that do a deep dive into the darkest family dynamics," including:

BLACKTOP WASTELAND by S. A. Cosby

Beauregard (Bug) is on the straight and narrow, a business owner, loving father and devoted husband. He’s left behind his other life, and his family legacy, as the best wheelman on the east coast. But making ends meet is a struggle. So, when his brother and former partners dangle one last job, the heist that can’t go wrong, Bug feels that he has no choice but to go along. Bug has other choices, and his wife Kia tries to make him see that. But the pull back to his old ways is just too strong. With searing prose and bone-deep understanding of his characters, Cosby reveals all the layers of Bug’s predicament — poverty, paternity, the lure of easy money, and the thrill of that one last job. This is a raw, moving, noir classic about hard choices, the riptide of dark family history, and the crush of poverty, as powerful and fast as any muscle car.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Blacktop Wasteland is among Nick Kolakowski’s five best getaway drivers in contemporary crime fiction and Kia Abdullah's eight novels featuring co-conspirators.

--Marshal Zeringue