Lippman draws on two decades of crime reporting to produce a heart-stopping new thriller, which pivots on a state attorney’s drive and cunning as she unravels a baffling murder case with personal implications.
Laura Lippman’s WILDE LAKE is one of her best and most personal. . . . Lippman’s novels are tough-minded, entertaining, heartfelt and wise . . . . She’s one of today’s essential writers, and this, her 20th novel, reminds us why.
Wilde Lake is engrossing, suspenseful and substantial, its wit easing a sober, somewhat elegiac air…The primary attraction of good fiction…is the pleasure of entering a coherent imagined world, a world with enigmas much like those we know. And by that measure, Wilde Lake is a real success.
The New York Times Book Review - Scott Turow
Laura Lippman is one of my favorite writers. I cannot focus on anything else when I am reading one of her books. Her writing makes me wish I lived a sexier and more violent life.” — Mindy Kaling
“Laura Lippman’s WILDE LAKE is one of her best and most personal. . . . Lippman’s novels are tough-minded, entertaining, heartfelt and wise . . . . She’s one of today’s essential writers, and this, her 20th novel, reminds us why.” — Washington Post
“… [a] richly plotted and emotionally devastating standalone…Lippman plays with the concept of truth and expertly hones in on the question of whether there are some truths we never want to know.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“She’s one of the best novelists around, period.” — Washington Post
“I never miss Laura Lippman’s novels.” — Anna Quindlen, New York Times bestselling author
“Laura Lippman’s stories aren’t just mysteries; they are deeply moving explorations of the human heart. She is quite simply one of the best crime novelists writing today.” — Tess Gerritsen
“Lippman is an expert at lending a clear-eyed view of the bonds that link people and the truths we tell ourselves to survive the emotional morass of life. She continues this high standard in Wilde Lake.” — Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers
“As shocking secrets are revealed, the reader realizes that nothing and no one can be taken at face value in Lippman’s brainy, witty, socially conscious, and all-consuming inquiry into human nature and our slowly evolving sense of justice and equality...Lippman is an A-list crime writer.” — Booklist (starred review)
“Lippman as always treads the fine line between certainty and amazement.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Ultimately, Wilde Lake is not so much a crime novel that rises to the level of serious literature as serious literature that rises to the level of great crime fiction. — Chicago Tribune
“A heady brew of twisting tale and accelerating introspection, Wilde Lake at once disturbs and delights, as Lippman impels not only her characters but also her readers to question the depth of their understanding of the past…” — Richmond Times-Dispatch
“Wilde Lake is engrossing, suspenseful and substantial, its wit easing a sober, somewhat elegiac air.” — New York Times Book Review
“Lippman draws on two decades of crime reporting to produce a heart-stopping new thriller, which pivots on a state attorney’s drive and cunning as she unravels a baffling murder case with personal implications.” — O Magazine
Lippman is an expert at lending a clear-eyed view of the bonds that link people and the truths we tell ourselves to survive the emotional morass of life. She continues this high standard in Wilde Lake.
Laura Lippman is one of my favorite writers. I cannot focus on anything else when I am reading one of her books. Her writing makes me wish I lived a sexier and more violent life.
As shocking secrets are revealed, the reader realizes that nothing and no one can be taken at face value in Lippman’s brainy, witty, socially conscious, and all-consuming inquiry into human nature and our slowly evolving sense of justice and equality...Lippman is an A-list crime writer.
Booklist (starred review)
Laura Lippman’s WILDE LAKE is one of her best and most personal. . . . Lippman’s novels are tough-minded, entertaining, heartfelt and wise . . . . She’s one of today’s essential writers, and this, her 20th novel, reminds us why.
Laura Lippman’s stories aren’t just mysteries; they are deeply moving explorations of the human heart. She is quite simply one of the best crime novelists writing today.
I never miss Laura Lippman’s novels.
Wilde Lake is engrossing, suspenseful and substantial, its wit easing a sober, somewhat elegiac air.
New York Times Book Review
A heady brew of twisting tale and accelerating introspection, Wilde Lake at once disturbs and delights, as Lippman impels not only her characters but also her readers to question the depth of their understanding of the past…
Ultimately, Wilde Lake is not so much a crime novel that rises to the level of serious literature as serious literature that rises to the level of great crime fiction.
Lippman is an expert at lending a clear-eyed view of the bonds that link people and the truths we tell ourselves to survive the emotional morass of life. She continues this high standard in Wilde Lake.
11/01/2016 At 17, Lu's older brother AJ was involved in the death of another teen. Though AJ walked away with a broken arm while the other boy was killed with his own knife, the event was ruled an accident. Lu idolizes her older brother almost as much as she looks up to her father, Andrew Jackson Brent Sr., a state's attorney and a pillar of society in their newly minted utopian society of the late 1960s. Now Lu, aka Luisa, a state's attorney herself, is the widowed mother of twins and lives with her aging dad. There is a new murder, and as Lu tries this case, connections to her father's biggest murder case, links to her brother's tragic events, and all of Lu's most vivid memories slowly unfold. The story is told in a series of flashbacks that are deftly handled by the author, and readers will assume that there must be a connection among all these deaths. The suspense of not knowing just what's going on, the smooth writing, and the slight cliff-hanger effect of the alternating chapters will keep readers up late. This is much more than a mystery or thriller; the crimes are almost a mere backdrop to the personal stories of Lu and her family members. The honest portrayals of teenage AJ and his much younger sister growing up will have wide YA appeal. VERDICT First purchase for all high school libraries, and a great read-alike for fans of To Kill a Mockingbird.—Jake Pettit, Enka Schools, Istanbul, Turkey
The tough-minded Louisa (Lu) Brant stumbles down the rabbit hole of her past when she takes on her first case as state’s attorney. Nicole Poole shares the role of Lu with Kathleen McInerney, who portrays Lu as a girl; present and past are told through their alternating narrations. Poole captures Lu’s almost ruthless drive to prove herself in the job her beloved father once held; whereas, in McInerney we hear Lu’s vulnerability, so at odds with her self-image and the competitiveness she exhibits even at a young age. Listeners are drawn in as the two narratives converge and Lu’s present and past collide—with devastating consequences. K.W. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine