Title: Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Historical (60s), Mystery, Suspense
Length: 352 pages
Book Rating: C
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss
Summary:
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 black 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.
Review:
Set in Baltimore in the mid 1960s, Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman is an intriguing mystery with an unusual premise.
Madeline “Maddy” Schwartz is a dissatisfied wife who abruptly decides to leave her marriage. Moving into a shabby apartment, she is disappointed her teenage son does not want to live with her. With little financial help from her soon to be ex-husband, Maddy rather creatively devises ways to fund her new life. After discovering the body of murdered eleven year old Tessie Fine, Maddy sets her sights on a career as a reporter at the Star. Starting at the bottom, she begins investigating the death of Cleo Sherwood, a young black woman. With the detectives little interested in pursuing the case and the media ignoring the death, Maddy is certain finding out what happened to Theo will finally convince the newspaper to promote her to reporter.
Maddy is not exactly the most sympathetic or likable character. She is impetuous and ambitious and she rarely thinks about how her decisions will affect those around her. One of Maddy’s best qualities is her lack of prejudice and although she is investigating Theo’s death for her gain, she is truly upset by the lack of interest by the police and the media. Unfortunately Maddy is only concerned about her own future and some of her decisions lead to unintended consequences for the people in her life.
While Maddy is the main narrator, many of the chapters are written from secondary characters’ perspectives. Chapters from Cleo’s ghost are often acerbic and disdainful of Maddy’s efforts to uncover the truth about her death. These entries are quite interesting and add to the suspense surrounding her death. The other chapters are short vignettes from very minor characters and these entries add very little to the story.
Lady in the Lake is a very unique mystery but the pacing is slow and many of the characters are not easy to like. Laura Lippman brings the time period vibrantly to life and she deftly tackles racism, classism and sexism with sensitivity. With plenty of suspense surrounding Theo’s disappearance and young Tessie’s murder, the novel comes to a very unexpected, twist-filled conclusion.
