Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview Dream Girl by Laura Lippman.
I have always followed Lippman's books - i really liked the Tess series and in this novel, Tess makes a cameo appearance. Love it.
This is a dark novel - the characters are tough to like, but this is a departure from Lippman's other books. I like that very much and i found i even though i didn't relate to the main characters, i could not put this book down.
This book is relevant and scary - recommend - 4 stars.

This book fell far short of my expectations. It felt like the majority of this book was just random ramblings by the main character, Gerry Anderson. The ramblings were political, race related, man/woman stereotypes, and a lot of white privilege. Then there are various flashbacks into Gerry's life which were just confusing and felt like "filler" in my opinion. Gerry is just an old white man that had an accident making him bedridden and he thinks he's being gaslighted. I didn't care.

Dream Girl follows Gerry Andersen who, after an unfortunate stumble, finds himself bedridden in his high rise apartment with his assistant and nurse for company. He starts to question his own sanity when he starts getting calls and letters from someone who should not exist.

The premise is fantastic, a remake of sorts of Misery but set in a Me Too world but I finished this book feeling almost nothing resulting in my rating of 2.5 stars.

There are no redeemable characters, the choppy back and forth with the timeline and the general slowness of it all made it difficult to get through. It was confusing how all the flashbacks fit together with the current story line and the ending is only mildly satisfying.

I think the plot is excellent but it somehow got lost in execution for me.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC

The suspense and satire along the way kept me riveted. Gerry's thoughts and actions were truly riotous.

Take one part Stephen King's Misery, one part Gaslight and one part #me too and you end up with this gem. I’ve read a handful of Laura Lippman books and they have all been winners for me. It’s safe to say she’s an auto-request at this point and the fact that this was available as a Read Now on NetGalley means no one even had to suffer the consequences of me being rejected an early copy ; )

Lippman is calling this her first work of horror and you know what? I think I’ll allow it. Most would probably label it a thriller since there are no things that go bump in the night or alien spider reveals, but it definitely had plenty of WTF??? and creep factor going for it that it could loosely fit into that genre.

The tale here is about an aging author who takes a tumble leaving himself bedridden and housebound on traction with two broken legs. It’s also about the women in his life – both past and present. And that’s all you’re gonna get. Lippman is a great storyteller. Just read it.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!

Lippman turns a sharp eye to men who fancy themselves open-minded but are still so poisoned by patriarchy that they perpetuate the same misogyny they think they're above. While there's an obvious Misery influence, Lippman uses it with a different focus so it is a fresh experience.

***An Advanced Reader's Copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review***

I really like Laura Lippman's books. They are normally funny with good plots and characters I like to read about. I noticed her newer books are getting more serious, but I have still enjoyed them. In contrast, I don't enjoy books by authors like Phillip Roth, where a lot of nothing happens. "Dream Girl" reads like a Roth. In fact, he is referenced a few times in the book. So is the concept of a writer cutting out parts that the reader skips. I read every word, thinking that somehow the thoughts and sex life of the main character, an unlikeable man, would somehow come into play. I was wrong. I should have skipped them.

At one point Tess Monaghan showed up and I actually sighed in relief. Now the book would start to be good. But it was a short and pretty dull appearance.

I did like the ending. But it was the only part of the book that I found at all amusing.

I appreciate that Lippman is evolving and maybe the Tess books aren't what she wants to write at this point in her life. I prefer her old formats and will be careful before purchasing her next book to see if she continues in this vein. In the mean time, I will go back and re-read the Tess series.

A cleverly written book, that goes a few steps beyond “Misery.” I enjoyed the various twists and revelations, although I found the interwoven timelines and characters a little difficult to follow at times. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have several of her books on my TBR shelves and I’ve been meaning to read Laura Lippman for years. I’ve been wasting those years! This was a stunner!

Dream Girl is the place where Stephen King’s Misery meets #metoo and kills (pun intended) the suspense game.

I really don’t know how to talk about this book without spoilers, except to say it’s the dissection of a mind meeting its past and coming face to face with the gravity of truth, without the filter of lies we tell ourselves. It is a reckoning and it’s a realization, but it’s also a line of sight into a human’s ability to commit the most atrocious of acts and excuse the behavior.

It also takes a deep dive into the true complexity of human nature. It speaks to the ways in which our minds romanticize our history and choices making them far more palatable than reality. And that what we think we are doing or have done is more likely our own inability to see our true intentions.

Or perhaps there is far more to be said for personal perception?

5/5 ✨

A fine, decent thriller. Somewhat difficult to follow the plot. Zero likable characters. All in all, a fine read but overall fairly forgettable.

Terror, mystery, twists and turns are all on board with this thrilling thrill ride of a thriller. Grab a beverage, put on something comfy and prepare for intrigue. Laura Lippman knows what keeps the masses coming back.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read and review Dream Girl by Laura Lippmann. I must admit that I struggled with this one. The characters in this book have no redeeming qualities whatsoever. It's hard for me to stick with a book when I can't be on anyone's side. The timeline jumps around significantly, making the story hard to follow. That may have been the point, but for me it did not work. Additionally, the ending felt rushed and undeserved. This one just wasn't for me.

This is my second Laura Lippman book and I have been pleased both times now. Dream Girl reminds me of a Stephen King type novel and usually nothing else is like Stephen King! It is impressive how she builds this male character into such an interesting person. I don't like him but I ended up really wanting to read more about him.

Gerry is a womanizer, or maybe I will say, a man with a past with no respect for the women in his life. He suffers a horrific injury and while recuperating he experiences many thoughts of the past and present. He also receives calls and mail from a female but he can't tell reality from fiction. This female is the character in the book he has written! Is he suffering from Dementia or is this real?

I read this book in two days because I wanted to get to the ending. The end comes with a twist that is totally unexpected and satisfying. Thank you for the ARC from NetGalley and William Morrow. I appreciate the opportunity to write an honest review.

How can a woman who never existed come back to haunt you? Gerry Anderson is about to find out. Creepy in a good way and dark and claustrophobic also in a very good way. This book ran all over the place with a lot of threads the reader ends up having to connect on their own. The wasn't necessarily a bad thing but there was a lot going on here. The end totally blew me away. I am a big fan of this author and this book did not disappoint. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

This was just right in the middle for me. Not great, not horrible. I know I am the unpopular opinion with that and I'm happy with that! The timelines jumping all over the place was a little jarring to me and I couldn't grab ahold of reality for the longest time. It took me out of the story. It gave me real Misery vibes and that aspect I enjoyed!

Well-written & fast-paced, this gripping and twisted book kept me guessing until the end. Laura Lippman's slow burn tale of Gerry Andersen had me questioning my sanity as well as his. A must read!

Oooooh this was spookily, claustrophobically good. Gerry Anderson is a critically acclaimed, successful (snobby) 60 something male author. He's returned to Baltimore from his glittery life in New York to be with his mother during her final months of life. Gerry is an only child, his father left home when he was a child - alas his mum dies from a dementia related illness shortly after he moves into his modern, soulless penthouse. When Gerry falls and discovered he is to be bed bound for weeks, his assistant Victoria hires night nurse Aileen to be with him during the nights to give him his meds. Gerry has had a complicated love life, with three ex-wives behind him and a tricky ex, deliciously dangerous Margot, who is refusing to believe her meal ticket in Gerry is over. While bed bound and on strong painkillers and sleeping tablets Gerry receives a call from a woman who claims she is the character in his bestseller novel Dream Girl. Who is the woman calling him - does she exist? And what is the relationship between Margot, assistant Victoria and night nurse Aileen. This was an excellent read, very cleverly plotted and with compelling characters.

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.
Wow.
There is so much I would like to say about this story and its telling, but I really have to tamp that down to avoid spoilers. Instead, I'll give you a taste of what you can expect.
This book is being touted as a great summer read, and it is, but don't let that fool you into thinking that this is bubblegum fun. I mean, it is, but it's much more.
Lippman tells the story of Gerry Andersen, a Phillip Roth-like character (generalizing, but you get the picture), an author with one huge hit book and modest success after, who in his 60s has an accident that causes him to be bedridden...…………
he starts to get calls from his "Dream Girl"...…...who was fiction...…….or was she?
There are so many sly references that made me smile (the most unexpected was the TV series "My World and Welcome to It"), and so many directions this story can go, with plenty of throwaway references throughout that hint at foreshadowing...……..or do they?
I also really enjoyed that ins and outs of the writer's life and process...…….the ego, casual misogyny, insults real and imagined. Lippman deftly plays the reader so well, it's like a shell game. Her sharp wit is released and in full display here.
It's a mystery. Its a comedy. Enjoy the misdirection as it unfolds....you'll get there.
I highly recommend this book.

A novel that frightened me as much as it had me enthralled! Can a character appear from within the pages of a book? And can it haul the author? Those are the questions that are the crux of this excellent story.

Lippman’s book ‘Dream Girl’ is a captivating psychological thriller that kept me wanting to know more. This is the first book I’ve read from this author and I am quite surprised on how good the writing was. It was different reading about a character that you didn’t really root for, but nonetheless it made this book unique. The random flashbacks had me a bit confused at times, so that’s probably the only thing I didn’t necessarily like, but overall it was a great book. I’m probably going to read other works from this author. Thanks NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book!