My guest on this episode of Writers at Work is Lisa Unger, the bestselling author whose latest novel is CLOSE YOUR EYES AND COUNT TO 10. The tale involves a high concept. Her protagonist, the physically fit Adele Crane, participates in a reality competition program called Extreme Hide and Seek that's held on a remote island. The show's founder and star, the deliciously named Maverick Dylan, is aging and increasingly unhinged. The last time around, one contestant was lost and never found. So what will happen now? I won't tell.

CLOSE YOUR EYES AND COUNT TO 10 is Lisa's 23rd book. She's moved back and forth between series and standalones. Her most recent series was HOUSE OF CROWS, a four-part serial released in 2021. Prior to the new one, her most recent novel was THE NEW COUPLE IN 5B, now available in paperback, in which an apartment in a sinister New York building is the setting for a psychological thriller that recalls Rosemary's Baby and The Shining, set 1700 miles to the east.