A woman has been found dead in a fountain, and no one seems to care. The apathy springs, unequivocally (heartbreakingly) from the fact that the victim was a black woman in Baltimore during the mid-60s. The one person who seems to care, or have any interest in the case at all, is Maddie, who recently left her husband and is trying to make a name for herself as a journalist. Touching on an array of hot topics such as race, gender, and class, in a climate of uprising, this slow burn is a well crafted mystery. Four stars for an intense and thought provoking read.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book as an ARC. I admit I found the writing a little confusing at first with the stream of different points of view but after awhile it was really entertaining. The story of Maddie Schwartz during the changing 1960's was super interesting. Coupled with the death of the "Lady in the Lake" Cleo Sherwood. I always enjoy historical fiction and this book did not disappoint. It was empowering to see Maddie go from a married society woman to finding out about her secret past and how she broke out and became a successful journalist. I don't want to spoil the ending but it was a surprise on many levels. I definitely would recommend this novel and plan to look for other Laura Lippman books as well.

Laura Lippman does it again. She has managed to include so many elements in this story, without taking away anything from the meat of this tale. The story begins with Maddie who is hosting a dinner party for her neighbors and her husband's new friend who just happens to be her prom date from High School. Fast forward she leaves her husband in 1966, not for the prom date, but for the prospect of what her life could be. Lippman than takes us a journey that was unique and so much fun to read.

The story is of Maddie's journey, her first job, a romance with a black man which is absolutely illegal at the time, and a murder. Intertwined, Lippman brings in many characters stories or vignettes that absolutely tell the story of Baltimore and the 1960's. Also you have the voice of the woman who has been murdered.

Lady in the Lake was intense, and will keep you on the edge of you seat the entire time. How Lippman adds so much detail without crowding the plot is amazing. This is a must read for every Lippman fan and anybody who likes a good mystery.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have never read any Laura Lippman but have wanted to after hearing so much about her previous novel Sunburn.
Lippman’s new book, The Lady in the Lake, sees Maddie Schwartz leave her husband and son after deciding she should have done more with her life and it’s not too late to change. She eventually lands a job at the local newspaper where she becomes desperate for a by-line. This desperation drives her to dig deep into the investigation of a missing black woman who no one else thinks is worth investigating. This leads Maddie to unearth many secrets that no one, including, seemingly, the missing girl herself, wants revealing.
There are so many positive things to say about this book. It’s a well-crafted tale dealing with important issues and fully immerses the reader in 1960s Baltimore.
From the book’s description I thought it would have been more of a straight-forward thriller, however the main thriller plot doesn’t really start until half way through and is over pretty quickly. For me, though, the missing girl investigation wasn’t the most interesting part of the story. I loved the descriptions of the relationship Maddie starts with black officer Ferdie and her coping with starting a career so late in her life. The book also brilliantly tackles many important issues around race and sex in 1960s America.
I also absolutely loved how the novel was structured with short first-person vignettes from random characters appearing between chapters. These little insights into some of the minor characters not only provide further viewpoints of the story but often acted like little short stories in themselves.
I really enjoyed The Lady in the Lake and I’m so glad I read it. I want to thank Netgalley and Faber and Faber for the advanced copy.

Laura Lippman is extremely talented writer and I have enjoyed many of her novels, but this one was merely ok. I will continue to read more by her this just wasn't one of her best. Thank you Netgalley.

I have read several novels written by Laura Lippman and have never been disappointed. However this is my least favorite. I didn't like the main character at all. She is very selfish and narcissistic. There were lots of people who were involved in the story and I found it a bit difficult to keep everyone straight. I felt Maddie had very little concern for anyone but herself. I think the authors perception of the 1960's was very realistic and since I was a teenager then I enjoyed that. Even though it was not my favorite it. Is still a good read.

‘Lady in the Lake’ by Laura Lippman, begins with two women looking at each other; this draws the readers’ attention to the subject at the core of this novel. Inside these women are the same desires and needs, on the outside they are worlds apart. This is 1960s Baltimore. What is also a superb hook, is the line ‘God knows, my death has changed me’ and I was suddenly questioning who the ‘lady is the lake’ really was and how she connects to our lead protagonist Madeline Schwartz. It’s also worth noting at this point that there are several narrative voices building this story. I’m still deciding if there were a few too many for me... I felt rather jolted about, but maybe that was the point?
This book is great as an ‘insight’ into life during this period, particularly the expectations of the female at home and in the workplace both white and black. There’s a fairly unique mystery at the core, that twists you totally around in the closing pages.
This was my second Lippman read and I’ll be looking out for more.

I'm not sure when Laura Lippman became one of my favorite authors. Maybe when she started writing about the Jewish Baltimore community, or maybe when she focused on historic fiction. Her last few books are not so much crime novels, but character studies.

It's 1966 and Maddie Schwartz is a privileged housewife in Baltimore. After a dinner party with an old prom date, Maddie realizes that her traditional life is not fulfilling. She leaves her husband and eventually starts working for a local paper. She becomes fascinated with the death of a local black woman, Cleo Sherwood and begins investigating her life and death.

Maddie is a sympathetic character. She is entitled, manipulative and selfish. I think this is purposeful as Lippman has been exploring unlikable female characters in her last few books. If Maddie had been the entire focus of the book, I would not have enjoyed it. The books strength is that we get to see Maddie through the eyes of those she encounters on her quest: her fellow newspaper men, a waitress, an Oriole and a few others along the way. These vignettes not only give us additional views of others, but they are great character studies in themselves. We hear from Cleo as well, and she looms in the background of the entire book.

Laura Lippman is a prolific novelist with many good reads out there but the storyline of this newest novel was too disjointed for me - there was too much going on - and I was not a fan of the main character, Madeline - she was too self-centered and narcissistic. I just couldn't get into this one enough to care about the storyline. I will try another one of hers in the future though.

Lippman is good at rendering Maddie’s (and everyone else’s) muddy motives for wanting to investigate the murder. None of the characters are particularly endearing, even though we hear from each of them in turn, even the most minor ones. I was not smitten with the storyline, but felt it provided a nice slice of American life in the mid 1960s. An enjoyable read, with a dark underbelly.

I first became a fan of Laura Lippman through reading her series about Baltimore PI Tess Monaghan, and am still holding out hope that a new Tess novel with be forthcoming; it's been a long wait since 2012's Hush Hush. Her recent run of standalone novels - Wilde Lake, Sunburn, and now The Lady In The Lake - are more slow burners than high octane thrillers, but some with all the hallmarks of her previous books: a superlative sense of place, particularly when writing about her beloved Baltimore; excellent characterisation, and a noir-ish feel. Of late, Lippman has (understandably, in the context of Trump's America) begun to engage more explicitly with politics in her writing, especially gender and race, adding an extra depth to her writing. I can't think of another author who's working at the intersection of literary fiction and mystery with such skill and ease. I'd recommend anyone to read Lippman, and The Lady In The Lake is a superb addition to her canon.

A masterclass in voice, affording each character autonomy and depth, Lippman’s latest is a gem. It deftly handles issues of gender, race, our own expections for our self weighted against those of society, all set against the backdrop of an ever evolving murder mystery that keeps you guessing until the end.

3.5 stars
If I'm honest the first few pages of Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman simply did not grab me. I thought about putting it aside for awhile and trying another title instead. But by the time I'd read five pages this comment caught my attention and suddenly I was intrigued about where this was heading.

<blockquote><i> "God knows, my death has changed me"</i> </blockquote>

Not only did we have a voice from the dead but interspersed throughout the story were various first person accounts from an assortment of peripheral characters who lent weight to the accounts from Maddie Schwartz the central character. And since I'm being honest, I'll also admit I didn't really like Maddie.
Certainly she was an interesting character but she was someone who would do whatever it takes to get something she wanted. Her morals were flexible in this respect and I think this grated on me a bit. Set in Baltimore in the 60's, Maddie made the sudden decision to walk out of her marriage and pursue a career in journalism. She was a dedicated worker and somehow inveigled herself into a couple of murder case, one of which she coined The Lady In The Lake.

It was an interesting enough story and Lippman included plenty of references to the social and political issues of the day including among other things womens rights and race. There was a twist I hadn't seen coming and a denoument that at once showed me somethings change over time but some stay the same.

I'm glad I made the decision to continue with the book and thank Faber and Fabler Limited and NetGalley for the opportunity of reading this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This one left my head spinning and not in a good way.

It’s 1965, Baltimore, and Maddie Schwartz decides she is going to leave her husband without a concrete plan of where she will go or how she will survive financially on her own. She moves into an apartment in a rough part of town where she begins a relationship with a black policeman. Maddie is determined to get a job at a local newspaper. She happens to be indirectly linked to two murder cases that happen in the area which gives her an in at the paper. And she continues to receive inside information from her relationship with the policeman, Ferdie. But her fixation on solving the mystery of these murders and finally receiving the recognition she so desperately wants comes at a cost.

I feel like this book had so much potential, but with the introduction of so many characters I was completely overwhelmed and lost at times. The never ending jump from one narrator to the next felt unnecessary and took away from the storyline. However, Laura Lippman did an excellent job of transporting the reader back to the 1960s. The history of Baltimore was interesting -racial tensions were high and women’s roles were quite different at the time. This book really felt more like historical fiction with a dose of mystery thrown in.

Thanks Netgalley and Faber & Faber for this copy.

For the most part, I enjoyed this book. Reviewers have said it is authentic Baltimore and a good depiction of the print industry. I only have The Wire to compare it to as far as Baltimore is concerned. But I found it all very believable and mostly fun. The Maddie character was a stretch for me. I can't say exactly why. She seemed both too independent in her actions but also dependent on her looks and her past history to get what she wants. I think she is supposed to be spunky but it was a stretch for me.
However, all in all, it was a good read.

A multi layered story of two murders in Baltimore. The voice of the main character is strong but so are the voices of all the other people she encounters. It has a strong enough plot to drive the narrative but it is never only plot - there are other voices, there are nuanced connections - it a portrait of a specific time and place as much as it about one woman's determinations to forge a career as an investigative reporter.

I enjoyed Laura Lippman’s first novel, Baltimore Blue. I enjoyed Laura Lippman’s second novel, Charm City, but I worried that she might become a formula novelist. You know the one whose book you could open and by the time you have finished chapter three you could predict what was going to happen and by the end of the book have your predictions affirmed.
Thankfully I can say Lippman is not a “formula writer.” She is a skilled mystery writer who sets forth developed characters facing complex situations. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in her latest novel, The Lady in the Lake.
Set in Baltimore in the 60s, we follow the entwined lives of two very different women. Madeline Schwartz is newly separated from her husband, living in a Baltimore City apartment, unemployed, and searching for a meaning to her life. Cleo Sherwood is dead. In life Cleo, a young beautiful black woman, was an unmarried mother of two young boys, who searched for happiness, a good man, and a better life. Her body has been found in a fountain in a city park. Because she is black, there is little effort to find her killer.
Madeline meanwhile, has had a bit of luck and lands a job as an aide to the help column on the major Baltimore newspaper. Facing the constraints of 60s racism and sexism, Madeline struggles to succeed. Madeline digs into the Sherwood case against the advice of others. Cleo’s ghost watches in agony as Madeline inserts herself in the case. Yes - you read that correctly. Cleo’s ghost offers her thoughts about this situation. Seeing trouble ahead Cleo wishes Madeline would give up, would leave her family alone, would let her alone. Madeline throws herself full force into the case, ignoring warnings, betraying trusts, using people, putting her needs first. Madeline’s efforts result is a gut wrenching double twist you won’t see coming.
The novel is enhanced by the perspective offered by newspaper staffers, Baltimore police, family members, bartenders, waitresses, even a Baltimore Oriole.
You will remember The Lady in the Lake and you will ruminate over the ending. I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley. #NetGalley #TheLadyintheLake

Madeline Schwartz, known familiarly as Maddie, has decided that her marriage is over, as far as she is concerned. She wants more from her life but is unsure exactly what that might be or how to get it. The important thing is to leave the old life, and she does. It’s 1966 Baltimore and Maddie leaves her nice suburban home, husband and son behind and finds an inexpensive apartment in a not so good part of town and begins thinking about the future.

In another part of town with a mostly black population, a young woman has been missing for several months, since New Years Day. These two will eventually intersect in unexpected ways. I don’t want to present too many plot points here but Maddie becomes interested in what happened to that missing woman and determines to work for one of the local newspapers and to find the answer. And work she does, finding that this is something she likes more and more as she asks questions and tries to write beginners stories that get rejected.

The narrative is presented through various voices, passing from one to the next as one character connects to another in the story. This allows for the reader to learn of some things before Maddie or to possibly be led astray with so much information. But Maddie is the center.

Also at the center is the city of Baltimore itself. In the mid 1960s it is in the midst of tremendous change, as are most American cities. Longtime neighborhood structures are falling due to changes in racial makeup in the city. Realtors are creating a frenzy by expediting white flight from many areas of the city. Political corruption is growing and drugs are becoming a larger issue. Maddie picked quite a time to enter the newspaper field.

This is an interesting story, told in a new way, with twists I didn’t expect. I do recommend this book.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I liked this, especially the 60s setting, but Maddie as a main character grated on me and I felt the bulk of the secondary character narratives were just there to talk about how beautiful she was. The mystery was interesting enough, though definitely not the book's main focus.

Lady in the Lake is a whodunit with finely drawn characters. I picked it up after hearing author Laura Lippman on Fresh Air.

Baltimore. 1966. Recently separated Maddie Schwartz finds the body of teen Tessie Fine while out searching with a “friend” and the reader fears her life is about to tumble like a house of cards.

Yet it is those whom she investigates and those who help her as she tries to make it as a reporter who seem to pay the price.

This book was a surprise. First, while I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish, I wasn’t expecting the ending at all.

Second, the reader sees so many different perspectives. It’s hard to have any sympathy for Maddie until her big reveal towards the end because you see how she’s hurting so many people.

This book is quite remarkable in that it essentially states outright the subtext of many other books: it’s not OK to hurt other people no matter how badly you’ve been hurt in your own life. Maddie experienced something that would today be illegal as a girl, but that doesn’t excuse how she uses her privilege (white and wealthy) to steal the dreams of others.

Excuse me while I make my way through the entire back catalog of Laura Lippman.