Lady in the Lake
by Laura Lippman
Hardcover: 352 pages
William Morrow (July 23, 2019)
The revered New York Times bestselling author returns with a novel set in 1960s Baltimore that combines modern psychological insights with elements of classic noir, about a middle-aged housewife turned aspiring reporter who pursues the murder of a forgotten young woman.
In 1966, Baltimore is a city of secrets that everyone seems to know—everyone, that is, except Madeline “Maddie” Schwartz. Last year, she was a happy, even pampered housewife. This year, she’s bolted from her marriage of almost twenty years, determined to make good on her youthful ambitions to live a passionate, meaningful life.
Maddie wants to matter, to leave her mark on a swiftly changing world. Drawing on her own secrets, she helps Baltimore police find a murdered girl—assistance that leads to a job at the city’s afternoon newspaper, the Star. Working at the newspaper offers Maddie the opportunity to make her name, and she has found just the story to do it: a missing woman whose body was discovered in the fountain of a city park lake.
Cleo Sherwood was a young African-American woman who liked to have a good time. No one seems to know or care why she was killed except Maddie—and the dead woman herself. Maddie’s going to find the truth about Cleo’s life and death. Cleo’s ghost, privy to Maddie’s poking and prying, wants to be left alone.
Maddie’s investigation brings her into contact with people that used to be on the periphery of her life—a jewelry store clerk, a waitress, a rising star on the Baltimore Orioles, a patrol cop, a hardened female reporter, a lonely man in a movie theater. But for all her ambition and drive, Maddie often fails to see the people right in front of her. Her inability to look beyond her own needs will lead to tragedy and turmoil for all sorts of people—including the man who shares her bed, a black police officer who cares for Maddie more than she knows.
My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
It was like that first great work of art that transfixes you, that novel that stays with you the rest of your life, even if you go on to read much better ones.
Within a year, she was engaged to Milton Schwartz, big and hairy and older, twenty-two to her eighteen, his first year of law school already behind him. I went to their wedding. It was like watching Alice Faye run away with King Kong.
The detectives, who seemed to find everything about her mildly hilarious, had shrugged, told her that motives were for Perry Mason.
Another blue-eyed brunette would indicate that she was just a type, whereas a wispy blonde would suggest that he would never quite get over her, that she would be with him forever, sort of like chickenpox.
My Review:
Baltimore in 1966 – a completely unfamiliar locale and a lifetime away; I was a child in the sixties so I have only a vague awareness of some of the events and icons mentioned. And I should not fail to mention that laws and societal expectations were vastly more limiting, confining, and even dangerous for women and minorities.
While reading and even upon reaching the last page, I was conflicted in how to assess and rate this uniquely constructed, captivating, and complicated opus. It was like an oddly choreographed symphony consisting of numerous instruments and movements that couldn’t be fully appreciated or heard until assimilated and meshed together. Only in those final pages did the separate notes weave together to reveal the clarity and understanding of how brilliantly contrived the entirety had been.
I kid you not, while compelling and original, this wasn’t an easy read as the myriad POV and meaty storylines were robust and somewhat labor-intensive to hold together. The ingeniously diabolical Laura Lippman led me on a merry chase, and while somewhat addled and even exasperated at times my interest never flagged as the intensely captivating breadcrumbs and mysterious undercurrents constantly tickled my gray matter. It was mesmerizing and well-worthy of a 5-Star rating.
I was provided with a review copy of this well-crafted conundrum by HarperCollins and TLC Book Tours.
About The Author
Since Laura Lippman’s debut in 1997, she has been recognized as a distinctive voice in mystery fiction and named one of the “essential” crime writers of the last 100 years. Her books have won most of the major awards in her field and been translated into more than twenty languages. She lives in Baltimore and New Orleans with her family.
Connect with Laura on her website, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
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