What do you actually know about the person sitting next to you on a train?
I was up at 0400 with Ranger - the old boy's bladder doesn't care about my sleep schedule - and figured I'd knock out the last couple hours of this one while the coffee brewed. There's something about pre-dawn darkness that makes a psychological thriller hit different. And Lisa Unger's Confessions on the 7:45 is precisely the kind of book that benefits from that unsettled, too-quiet atmosphere.
The Setup Is Clean, The Execution Is Messy (In a Good Way)
Let me cut to the chase: this is a solid domestic thriller that earns its twists. The premise is deceptively simple - two women on a commuter train, trading confessions about infidelity. Selena admits she thinks her husband is sleeping with the nanny. The stranger, Martha, admits to an affair with her boss. Then they part ways. Then the nanny disappears.
I've sat through enough intelligence briefings to know when someone's feeding me information strategically. Unger plays that game well here. She parcels out revelations like a skilled interrogator - just enough to keep you engaged, never so much that you feel ahead of the story. Hidden uses a similar technique, though with less finesse. The multiple POV structure works like overlapping surveillance feeds, each one adding context to what you thought you already understood.
The thing is, I called about half the twists. Maybe 60%. But here's where Unger earned my respect: even when I saw something coming, she'd execute it in a way that added a layer I hadn't anticipated. It's like knowing there's an ambush ahead but still getting surprised by the direction of fire.
Leheny Carries a Heavy Load - Mostly
Vivienne Leheny has a crisp, articulate delivery that serves the material well. Her voice has this quality - controlled on the surface but with something coiled underneath - that fits the suburban-secrets-and-lies genre perfectly. When she's voicing Selena's internal justifications or Martha's too-smooth charm, she captures that gap between what people say and what they actually mean.
But here's where it gets complicated. This book has a LOT of characters. While Leheny differentiates them reasonably well, there were moments - particularly in the back half when the plot threads start converging - where I had to rewind to figure out who was talking. Not a dealbreaker, but I found myself wishing they'd gone with a dual-narrator setup. One voice for Selena's chapters, another for the secondary POVs. Would've added clarity without sacrificing the performance quality.
At 12 and a half hours, this isn't a quick listen. But it never felt padded. Unger knows how to pace a slow burn without letting it actually drag.
The Predictability Problem (And Why It Didn't Kill This For Me)
I've seen some reviews calling this predictable, and I get it. If you've read enough domestic thrillers - or, frankly, if you've spent any time in environments where people routinely lie to your face - you develop pattern recognition. The "unreliable narrator" tricks, the "everyone has secrets" reveals, the "the nice character is actually dangerous" switcheroo. It's all here.
But Unger's not trying to reinvent the wheel. She's trying to build a really well-functioning wheel. And she does. The character psychology feels authentic. The suburban setting with its manicured lawns hiding rotting foundations - it's familiar territory, but she maps it with precision. Head Full of Ghosts explores that same gap between surface appearances and underlying rot, though it takes a darker, more supernatural route. I've done enough corporate security work to know that the most dangerous threats often come wrapped in expensive suits and practiced smiles. Unger clearly understands that dynamic.
What elevates this above average is the thematic work underneath the plot machinery. Questions about identity, about the stories we tell ourselves to justify our choices, about whether anyone really knows anyone. Heavy stuff, handled with a light enough touch that it doesn't become preachy.
Who's This For (And Who Should Bail)
If you like psychological thrillers with multiple unreliable narrators and you don't need constant action to stay engaged, this is worth your time. Good for commutes, road trips, or - apparently - pre-dawn insomnia sessions with a restless German Shepherd.
Skip it if you need airtight plot logic or if you're easily frustrated by characters making questionable decisions. These people make a LOT of questionable decisions. Realistic, given human nature, but if you're the type who yells at the screen during horror movies, you might find yourself yelling at your earbuds.
Mission Debrief
Unger delivers a competent, engaging thriller that doesn't quite reach the top tier but never embarrasses itself either. Leheny's narration is strong despite the character-juggling challenges. The pacing works, the twists mostly land, and the ending doesn't cheat.
Worth a credit? Yeah, I'd say so. It's not going to change your life, but it'll make a long drive or a few gym sessions considerably more interesting. Ranger slept through the ending, but he's heard enough thrillers to be hard to impress. I stayed awake - and at 0400, that's saying something.
