Lady in the Lake, Laura Lippman
Lady in the Lake, Laura Lippman
22 Rating(s)
List: $26.99
On Sale: $6.99

Lady in the Lake
A Novel

Author: Laura Lippman

Narrator: Susan Bennett

Unabridged: 10 hr 44 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 07/23/2019


Synopsis

SOON TO BE A SERIES FROM APPLE TV!A New York Times Bestseller2020 Audie Awards® Finalist - Thriller/SuspenseThe 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: Cleo Sherwood, a missing woman whose body was discovered in the fountain of a city park lake.If Cleo were white, every reporter in Baltimore would be clamoring to tell her story. Instead, her mysterious death receives only cursory mention in the daily newspapers, and no one cares when Maddie starts poking around in a young Black woman's life—except for Cleo's ghost, who is determined to keep her secrets and her dignity. Cleo scolds the ambitious Maddie: You're interested in my death, not my life. They're not the same thing.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 Ferdie, the man who shares her bed, a police officer who is risking far more than Maddie can understand.

About Laura Lippman

Since Laura Lippman’s debut, she has been recognized as a distinctive voice in mystery fiction and named one of the “essential” crime writers of the last 100 years. Stephen King called her “special, even extraordinary,” and Gillian Flynn wrote, “She is simply a brilliant novelist.” Her books have won most of the major awards in her field and been translated into more than twenty-five languages. She lives in Baltimore and New Orleans with her teenager.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Nilufer on October 18, 2024

There’s an unpopular review below. I’m so curious about the Apple TV+ adaptation starring Natalie Portman. I hope the multi-POV situation is fixed in the series and I can enjoy it more than the book. There were too many points of view (POVs) flying over my head, and I began to get confused. A thrille......more

Goodreads review by Meredith (Trying to catch up!) on July 07, 2019

Cold, Dark, and Distant Lady in the Lake is a mystery about a want-to-be journalist who inserts herself into murder investigations in 1960's Baltimore. Maddie Schwartz, married to Milton for 18 years and mother to 16-year-old Seth, decides she needs to do more. She makes a drastic change and leav......more

Goodreads review by j e w e l s on September 04, 2019

FIVE HARD-BOILED NOIR STARS Welcome to the 60's! woo-hoo-hoo-wooooh.🎶🎵🎶GOOD MORNING, BALTIMORE! Thank GOD, this novel has restored my faith in the literary mystery thriller genre! HOORAY! As we all know by now... the 60's were a turbulent, exciting time of change in our country. Racial tensions, th......more

Goodreads review by Barbara on June 10, 2024

I need to read more novels by Laura Lippman. In her newest, “Lady in the Lake”, Lippman, who always writes novels inspired by true crime, bases her story on two murders that happened in Baltimore in the 1960’s. In her NPR interview she is clear that she doesn’t base her novels on facts of the crime,......more

Goodreads review by Michael on January 05, 2021

Well, this was a truly unique way to tell a mystery. Bonus: Catching me off guard with part of the conclusion? I.AM.HERE.FOR.IT. 👏 The year is 1966 in Baltimore, Maryland. Maddie Schwartz has just left her husband and her comfortable monetary life, and is starting over. After finding the body of a m......more