Laura Lippman is almost always a winner in my book and this time is no different. Plenty of suspense to keep you guessing, but well-developed characters and plot-line to keep you interested and willing to be patient as well. The funny thing about this particular book is that I can't really say that I liked any of the characters, yet it worked for me. I was very drawn to the mystery of what had happened to Cleo. Hers seemed such a sad tale; dumped in the lake with no one even knowing for a good while that she was even missing, and then being dismissed by both the police and the media. I felt so sad for her. I was burning to know who killed her from the start.
I liked the time setting. 1965 was such a time of change in America. I was born in the 70s, so my world has always looked so different. The way things were done then were so very different that it is hard to comprehend. It was fun to visit for a look, though it is definitely no time I would ever want to be stuck in.
Lady in the Lake was fun and enjoyable though a bit morbid, but what book about multiple murders isn't? I would recommend this to lovers of mystery, suspense, and maybe even thrillers. Another great one from Laura Lippman. Thanks to HarperCollins for the free gallery from NetGalley.

This was my first book from this author, and it will not be my last, but this was not my cup of tea. The premise had me immediately, and I had heard so much in advance and built it up in my mind. However, this did not work for me. Since there were so many characters' POV, I felt a hard time connecting to anyone in particular, which makes it hard for me to care about anyone. I felt like this was one I was making myself keep reading. I say it will not be my last however, because the idea was amazing. Sadly though, it did not deliver for me. Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lippman’s latest takes us to 1960’s Baltimore where Maggie, a middle-aged, divorced reporter, seeks to solve the mystery of a woman who was found dead in a fountain, aka, the lady in the lake.

I am a huge Laura Lippman fan but I have to agree with the many others who found that so many POVs made this a bit confusing. I kept trying to keep the characters and the plot straight in my head to no avail. I do applaud Lippman for creating an original plot line and highly respect her as a writer, but this was just not for me.

Many thanks to Netgalley, William Morrow and Laura Lippman for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

It is Baltimore in 1966 and housewife, Maddie Schwartz has realized that she no longer wants to be married to her husband of nearly twenty years. She is also a little shocked when her teenaged son, Seth, decides to stay behind and live with his father. But she still sets out on her own. Trying to find herself after years of being nothing but a wife and mother. She finds herself involved with a young police officer, one who is not of her race. Through him, she gathers information about a missing young girl. She parlays that information into a new career, as a green reporter for the Baltimore Star. Being a woman in 1966 is not easy. Being a divorced woman entering the workforce for the first time is even harder. Maddie starts investigating the disappearance of another woman who has gone missing, but because the color of her skin is not white, her disappearance is not being talked about by the press or the police. But Maddie won't stop until she gets to the truth. No matter what the cost.

Lady in the Lake is a great mystery that tackles some pretty hard-hitting topics. They were hard-hitting topics in 1966 and they are hard-hitting topics in 2019. I liked Maggie and found myself cheering for her often. I wanted her to find happiness, whatever that looked like for her. I didn't think that she would find her happiness with Ferdie, not because he was black, but because their relationship was based on lies and deceit. I will say that I was way wrong about the "whodunit" part of the book. I thought that whoever killed the little girl also killed the Lady in the Lake, and I thought it was a main character in the story. I was wrong. - CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS - The book is told from the perspective of several different characters. Those different perspectives help the reader to see the whole picture, but it is still hard to figure out who are the good guys and who are the bad guys.

Bottom Line - Laura Lippman shows up on the "Best of " lists year after year. And with good reason. With Lady in the Lake, she has proven that she has perfected the art of storytelling.

Details:

Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman
On Instagram
Pages: 352
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication Date: 7/23/19
Buy it Here!
Thank you to NetGalley for the book in exchange for a review.

This book is both a mystery and the story of a woman who wants to break out of her life as a housewife to follow her dream of being a reporter. Maddie Schwartz gives up her comfortable lifestyle and her home to follow her dream. She gets involved in the search for a missing girl and this launches her into her first newspaper job. She finds an apartment in an area that isn't quite good, but is all that she can afford. I will say that she is relentless in following what she believes to be a good story and when her backstory is revealed it is not what I expected. I can't say that I loved Maddie, but I did enjoy the mystery and the detail of this book.

I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from William Morrow through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I realized I had seven Laura Lippman books on my “want to read” shelf in my Goodreads app. Lady in the Lake was the first I read and I will defiantly read more. I love her writing style. There are humor and sarcasm weaved within the facts and details of the story.

Laura tells the story predominately through Maddie’s point of view. As the story progresses most of the characters Maddie interacts with gets a chapter to tell their point of view. This includes several chapters told by the “ghost”. I liked this style but found it to be distracting. It was difficult to keep track of all the characters and hard to decipher what was important.

In the author’s notes, Laura explains that the two murders are inspired by two cases from 1969 and two characters are based on real people.

I received this galley from NetGalley.

I really enjoyed the alternating POVs and the setting: Baltimore in the 1960s. It's a bit of a slow burn - not a straightforward thriller. I actually didn't love the mystery plotline -- I enjoyed following the main character's journey through divorce, starting a career in her late 30s and maneuvering men, both platonic and romantic, way more than I enjoyed the "thriller" aspect of this novel, which I found slightly predictable. Overall, a decent read.

Among the things I liked about this book: the roving point of view (including "the lady in the lake"), the intermediate reveal, and the fact that certain sections reminded me of The Smiths.

Another winner by Laura Lippman, this stand alone is a great page turner. Told from several points and featuring Baltimore in the 60's as a backdrop, this book will satisfy readers or mystery and woman's fiction. Will definitely recommend to my customers who seek out those genres.

This book was absolutely perfect for me! I read several reviews that felt like there were too many POV's but that was what I liked most about the book! I haven't read something so original in a long time.

Was a disappointment. Convoluted and sometimes confusing. I had to force myself to keep reading and find out what happened. It did kill a couple of evenings.

My first title by Laura Lippman.and certainly not my last. The Lady in the Lake is a by all means a slow burn mystery told from different perspectives. The primary characters are Maddie Schwartz, a housewife turned newspaper reporter, and Cleo Sherwood, the lady in the lake. Written in my favorite city, in neighborhoods I frequent, I could see this murder mystery so clearly. Set in 1965 Baltimore, an era when women held so little power and were fighting for the most basic rights, racial prejudice and domestic violence were prevalent. Each chapter has you falling further into the journey of Schwartz and Sherwood, from the frustrations on both sides and the vibrancy of the city.

Oh yeah, I forgot I don't like Laura Lippman. I must be missing something, because I know lots of people love her. I haven't found a story of hers yet that I could get behind the story.

When Baltimore-based author Laura Lippman published her first book, Baltimore Blues, starring romantically challenged PI Tess Monaghan, some critics referred to her series as “chick lit with a gun.” While some may have been insulted – it was the latter part of the 1990's, and Bridget Jones and her friends were all the rage – Lippman embraced the title, and Tess went on to star in 11 more books, the latest published in 2015. Read the complete review by clicking on the link below...

2.5 stars. Too many characters and points of view. It was really difficult to keep track of who was talking. There was a good plot addition that redeemed itself towards the end.

I received a digital form of this book from NetGalley

I've been wanting to read a book by this author for awhile now and the synopsis for this one sounded good. so I finally took the plunge. While this book can be classified as historical fiction, it also fits in the mystery and women's fiction genres. I ended up really enjoying this novel and look forward to reading other books by Laura Lippman.

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.

Laura Lippman is a very versatile author. Wow, another home run for Lady in the Lake. This story really makes one think about what it was like in the 1960's to be a young married women in Chicago and the problems that can arise. This book was so very hard to put down at night. I even dreamed about the story. I feel this is one of Laura's best books yet. Highly recommend to someone who wants something fresh and lively.

I expected I'd enjoy this. I've read Laura Lippmann in the past and I'm a big fan of the Tess Monaghan series, so expected this to be equally good. Parts of it were exceptional, or I should say the writing was, but the plot wasn't clean and I found the constant shifts in POV distracting.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title. #LadyInTheLake #NetGalley

This is a mystery made more so by author Laura Lippman’s decision to provide point of view’s for almost every character we meet. I applaud her creativity but must admit it chopped up the tale and made it a less interesting story than it might have been. Rather than stick with her more compelling characters, we meet a host of others; some are obviously meant to confuse us in the larger game of who-done-it but others are just frankly decorative. The story takes place in the late 1960s and scenes are well-described while also almost all are what would have been called “ethnic” back then, either Jewish or African-American households in Baltimore. Newspapers, death and politics are the themes that run through these households, at least in this book. There are some nice twists but there are still too many characters to sift through. I was left a bit at loose ends by it all. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.