This is a slow burn of a literary thriller, a powerfully written suspense novel in which Lippman shows her extraordinary skill as a novelist whose work is grounded in social realism and character driven prose. Her Baltimore is a city, one whose complexities are richly evoked. The POV and temporal shifts showcase a novelist at the top of her always excellent game. This is a stunning novel whose characters leap of the pages of the novel and of history.

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and Laura Lippman for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own and are completely unbiased.

I will give this book 3 stars. I did enjoy the story and found it interesting; there were just as many parts in the story that I disliked as I liked.

Laura Lippman is a "hit or miss" author for me, more often hit than miss. Lady in the Lake demonstrates why I keep coming back to her work. It is a stellar mystery set in the perfect era. She manages to capture the frustration of women in the 1960s, the racial tension of then and now and lays out an incredible mystery that keeps readers guessing until the very end. That she does all of this with a very likeable and witty character is "icing on the cake."

Lady in the Lake is actually inspired by a true story of the unsolved murder of Shirley Parker in Baltimore. Although that case remains unsolved, Lippman's indomitable character, Maddie, is on a mission to prove that she has what it takes to be an ace reporter and solve the mysterious death of Cleo aka The Woman in the Lake. The story is told from multiple points of view but Lippman seamlessly transitions through each of them as she makes each of their voices clear and understood. Lippman's past as a reporter shows in her astute descriptions of the newsroom. Add to that the nuances of racial tension that was simmering throughout America at this time and you have a winner of book. To say that this was one of my favorite books of the summer is an understatement. I loved the characters, the era and the writing immensely.

Bravo to the author, what a way to tell a story! What an ambitious way to introduce a mysterious, vibrant, ordinary city & guarded, selfish people within its 60s landscape (most of it gone now), combining research, history, life, gender, race, politics, journalism and zip codes - with murder. I googled the places and the people (some of whom are real, or based on real people) and the distance from Pikesville to W. Mulberry Street is huge. I could not stand Madeline Morgenstern Schwartz, what an irritating wannabe she was, upstart really, who made it in the end! And I kept thinking why Eunetta's voice was not huge in the story, considering it was her murder / death that was the basis for the story, why her baby daddies didn't get a voice over or her sister or even the club owner Shell Gordon, but the reason is clear in the end.

What a sad, ambiguous retelling of two true crimes, one of which remains unsolved to this day (and one is not even classified as a crime!) Very good book.

I love everything Laura Lippman does. I grew up in Baltimore so I find her intimate writing of 1960's Baltimore, so nostalgic. Lippman writes her settings as if they were their own character. I also love the way Lippman alternates perspectives. One of my favorites!

I really enjoyed Lady in the Lake! It is very different from Lippman's Tessa Monaghan series and it actually reminded me a bit of Jennifer Weiner's Mrs. Everything (another great read).

Lippman does a fantastic job creating the atmosphere of Baltimore in the 1960s and the religious and racial tensions and nuances. I really loved her depiction of the newsroom and the newspaper culture of the time. the mystery tied things together, but for me, the focus was on what the crime meant for Baltimore and society and how we treat victims of different races (still a big issue today).

Lippman has always been a favourite author and I can't wait to read what she does next. Highly recommend Lady in the Lake and that you check out her backlist if you haven't yet.

Thank you to #netgalley and Faber & Faber for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for an ARC of this book.

If you enjoyed Sunburn, this will be another winner. The main character is unlikeable, but I kept rooting for her. A little distant, Maddie wants to be a hero, but can't seem to stay out of others business. She is out of touch with others needs and is constantly looking to "be" something. She was annoying at points, but I couldn't get enough of Lippman's story!!

There are a lot of POVs, but I found it so interesting!!

I found the format of this book very interesting. The first chapter really sucks you in. I enjoyed the continued back and forth between Cleo and Madeline. However, I did not care for the chapters in between with the first person perspective from any random character. It was an interesting idea, but I really didn't care for it. I don't feel that it added anything to the story.

I grew up in this neighborhood, in this community, and remember the true story/murder this is based on. Its disturbing and enthralling and EVERYTHING you expect from Laura Lippman! Amazing!

Laura Lippman has been around for a lot longer than you think. She cut her teeth as a novelist with the great Tess Monaghan series and has now moved on to writing a series of fantastic standalone books. Lady in the Lake is probably the most accomplished so far.

It’s 1964 and Maddie Schwartz has recently separated from her husband. Determined to forge her path in life on her own terms, she takes up a job as an assistant at a local newspaper. Maddie soon becomes interested with the murder of African American woman, Cleo Sherwood and sets out to find out who murdered Cleo.

This is a book where nearly every character has a voice. The reader sees Cleo silently pleading with Maddie to let her rest in peace and we get to read the thoughts of everyone from Maddie, to local beat cops, to hardened reporters and even a baseball player at a game Maddie goes to watch. I loved this POV device, it adds a real depth to the story and was used in a really original way that I don’t think I’ve seen before. Maddie is a single minded narrator and it was interesting to see her through the eyes of other characters. It’s such an atmospheric book and really nails its time and place. Maddie starts dating an African American cop called Ferdy and they’re forced to keep their relationship secret. Ferdy isn’t even allowed his own patrol car and it’s a timely reminder of how recently such a stark disparity existed.

Lippman writes excellent murder mystery books and this is no exception. Her writing seems to improve with every book she brings out and luckily for us they seem to be coming thick and fast too. I’d also recommend the brilliant Sunburn by the same author. This is a terrific book and one I expect to see on many end of year best of lists.

I received a ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair review.

""Lady in the Lake" by Laura Lippman is an uncommon book. It's set in a Baltimore known intimately by the author, who grew up there. It's also a close portrait of work in a newspaper office in a bygone era.

Ms Lippman's book is receiving acclaim from every side and there isn't much new I can write about it. I found the pace a bit slow, and I am not fond of multiple POV, especially first person contributions from a dead person, so I wasn't thrilled. I'm sure most people will like it a lot though.

It was the first book from Laura Lippman and I chose it because I used to live close to Baltimore and I was intrigued by the story.
I am not sure I will read other books of this author because I had hard time in finishing it. I didn’t like Maddie character; to me it resembled more to an annoyed rich wife looking for something exciting to do and I didn’t had any sympathy for her. Then what I didn’t liked was the structure of the novel; in my humble opinion the different point of view of the other characters slowed down the rhythm of the story and some of them didn’t really add interest to the story.
I want to thank NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wonderful and expected. I have read previous novels by Laura Lippman so I expected fast paced and something I wouldn't want to put down. In addition to a twisty thriller this is a study of race, gender, class, and even religion in late 60s Baltimore. Told from various voices, each compelling and genuine, this is one of the best books I've read in 2019! Total winner!

I really tried to enjoy this book although it has no depth.,.the lead character is narcissistic and full of anti-male venom. Her supposed personal development felt forced as did the solving of the whodunits. When i finished the book I really felt like I had wasted my time

There's so much going on in this book. It's a mystery, but it's also about a woman having a mid-life crisis (back in the days before we had a name for it) and trying to forge a new life for herself. It's told from multiple points of view, and with flashbacks. As the central character, Maddie, works toward her goal of becoming a reporter (with no journalistic training), the multiple points of view show the things she's caught in her investigative efforts - as well as the things she's missed. For me there was also a nostalgia factor - set in 1966, I could relate to much of it as my mother was right around Maddie's age at that time, and I was about the age of Maddie's son. But it's not a sanitized version of the time, sexism and racism are both well-represented, as are the roots of changing attitudes. Overall I enjoyed this one - it isn't exactly a happy book, but it was well worth the read, both for the writing and for the story. (And as a sort of homage to Marjorie Morningstar, which I've read a couple of times but long ago - it's moved my planned re-read up my TBR list.)
My thanks to Netgalley and Faber & Faber for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

This was a fabulous read.


Don’t miss this one, it is one of the author’s best.

Laura just keeps getting better not just with each new book, but each time I read a title I find something new and interesting to dive into. The time period of the 1960s was a nice change of pace for me and I loved it! I got through this book pretty quickly and thought it was really fun.

I was super stoked about the opportunity to get to read the new Laura Lippman novel. I really enjoyed her novel Sunburn. I love that she writes with multiple voices. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about a novel being set in the 60s but it was better than what I thought it was going to be. I loved the title of this too.
Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

In Lady in the Lake, Laura Lippman sweeps readers back in time to 1960s Baltimore, where the body of a young, African-American woman is found floating in a lake. No one seems to know who she is, nor do they seem all that interested in finding out, so housewife-turned-reporter Maddie Schwartz decides to solve the case for reasons of her own. Not only does this novel deliver a fascinating mystery, but it also explores the darkest parts of the human heart and mind as it unearths dangerous secrets.

Maddie Schwartz has just walked out on her life, and she doesn't regret it one little bit. Sure, it means her relationship with her teenaged son will be strained for the next little while, and her social standing has plummeted to something approaching non-existent, but in Maddie's mind, it's all worth it. Now, she'll be free to explore the parts of herself her husband never wanted to get to know, and maybe she'll even find a way she can make a difference to the world at large while she's at it.

Living in a slightly seedy apartment in a poorer area of Baltimore isn't quite what Maddie had in mind. Her neighbors appear quite suspicious of her presence in their midst, and no one she approaches is willing to let down their guard and get to know her for who really is. But when she discovers the body of a missing eleven-year-old girl, her life gets a lot more interesting. Suddenly, Maddie knows exactly how she wants to leave her mark on the world. Now, all she has to do is put her plan into action.

Through a series of complicated events I won't go into here, Maddie talks herself into a job at a local newspaper. She dreams of becoming a reporter, but with absolutely no experience in the field, she knows she'll have to start off at the bottom and work her way up. Fortunately for Maddie, she's given ample opportunities to prove herself, and it's not long before she manages to get her name on a few popular stories.

Meanwhile, the body of Cleo Sherwood is found in a lake, and Maddie is desperate to know how she ended up there, but she seems to be the only one who's interested. Her superiors at the paper caution her not to get involved, reminding her that the African-American-run papers have covered the story to no avail. But Maddie is unable to leave well enough alone, and she sets out on a personal quest to learn the truth about what happened to Cleo, heedless of who she might hurt along the way.

Maddie is a hard character to like, but I honestly can't imagine the story working so well if she had been any other way. Her world view is pretty narrow, and although she gives lip service to wanting to broaden her horizons, the reader is never fully sure of her motivations for wanting to do this. Everything she does centers around her own interests, even though she doesn't always realize it, and even her investigation into Cleo's death ends up being more about Maddie than Cleo herself. Still, Maddie does manage to learn a bit about herself and her place in the world by the story’s end. She's far from perfect, but I appreciated the author's ability to craft such a deeply flawed heroine.

Maddie is the central character, but we hear from lots of other people as well. Most of the characters appear only once or twice, just long enough to share their own small part of the story. You won't understand the relevance of these people until closer to the end of the book, but I urge you to stick with it, even if the constantly changing points of view start to bug you. I found myself questioning what certain people had to do with anything, only to have it make total sense by the end.

I've read several of Ms. Lippman's other books, and have loved the strong sense of place she manages to weave into her work. Lady in the Lake is no different in that Baltimore itself almost feels like a character in its own right. The author's deep love for this location shines through on every page, making me wish I could spend time in the neighborhoods she manages to bring to life so vividly.

The mystery itself is utterly enthralling, and I found myself unable to put the book down once I started reading. There were several times I was sure I had things figured out, only to learn I was wrong on all counts. Ms. Lippman is a master storyteller, skilfully combining elements of crime, historical fiction, and even a bit of women's fiction to create one of the best books I've read so far this year.

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Madeline Morgenstern Schwartz had always wanted to be a writer, but marriage and a son had intervened with her dream. And of course, nice Jewish women in Baltimore in the 1960s had no business pursuing a career, especially when they had a nice, successful husband like Milton. Maddie wanted more from life, so, when her son Seth was sixteen, she left Milton and found an apartment downtown. While helping in the search for a missing girl, Maddie stumbles across the girl’s body, which helps her get her foot in the door at the Star, one of Baltimore’s main newspapers. Being in the newsroom leads Maddie to her next story, featuring Cleo Sherwood, a young African-American woman whose body was found in a fountain in the park.

Cleo Sherwood had dreams of being a wife, and a full-time mother to her two little boys. She liked to have fun, she dressed beautifully, and outside of her family, no one really wondered why she had been murdered until Maddie became curious. Maddie’s ensuing investigative reporting led her into dangerous situations, and her professional standing improved while her ambition caused her personal life to crumble around her.

I appreciated the change in Maddie from mousy housewife to ace reporter, during an era when women were not encouraged to make such a transformation. I also liked her determination to tell Cleo’s story, by interviewing Cleo’s family and co-workers, trying to make sure Cleo wasn’t forgotten. Told through multiple viewpoints, the reader is able to see into Maddie’s ambition, Cleo’s desires for an easier life with the man she loves, and the damage both women leave behind them.