I've read most of Laura Lippman's books and this is one of the best. There's a mystery bookending the story but this novel is really about a woman breaking out of her stereotypical life as the world changes around her in the 60's. Baltimore is almost always a character in Lippman's books. In this book she reminds us that the Inner Harbor hasn't always been the upscale tourist area it is now.

Mostly enjoyed this book. But I couldn’t really connect with any of the characters. While I did want to know the history behind “The Lady of the Lake” I would find my mind drifting as I was reading, instead of focusing on the story.

Pros: Likable and easy to read.

Cons: Almost a little too slow.

This was a slow burn, character driven story. I did find the multiple narrators distracting and I didn't care for any of them.

Laura lippman never writes the same book twice; what's consistent regardless of the plot, is the acuity of her observations of people, place and milieu and the skill with which she renders them. In this, a character-driven mystery about a couple of unrelated Baltimore murders in the mid-sixties - the kind relegated to the back pages of the newspaper due to the race or class of the victim - she tells the story from so many perspectives that, like a Kaleidoscope, the reader is dizzy with the possibilities each new one presents . Introducing Maddie Schwartz, embarking on a new life at 37, whose accidental discovery of a murdered child propels her to an entry level job at a newspaper, lippman weaves her own journalistic experience into her progagonist's. Maddie is an avatar of her time, class and place - without even mentioning the winds of social change blowing through America then, it's not hard to understand her discontent with her marriage, fear of the approaching empty nest, and impulse to go where those winds take her . Yes, there's murder and mystery enough to keep the reader going, but it's more of a character study than a thriller. And in the highly capable hands of this writer, that's more than enough.

“Lady in the Lake” by Laura Lippman is a suspense novel set in 1960s Baltimore. The main character, Madeline Schwartz, is a recently separated housewife who begins investigating the disappearance of an African American woman named Cleo Harwood.

While I enjoyed the writing and the plot, the numerous narrators distracted from the story and messed up the flow of the novel. I feel like this book could have been so much more.

It's been a long time since I've read a Laura Lippman book. She's written some fantastic character-driven psychological suspense novels in the past, and I was eager to dig into this one. Just as I expected, Lippman's new book is more character-based than plot-driven. Lady in the Lake is set in the 1960's, during a time when biracial marriages were frowned upon and women were expected to be housewives. The protagonist, Maddie, has recently left her husband and is now doggedly pursuing a career in journalism. She's also having a secret love affair with a black police officer, which would have been a controversial, perhaps even illegal, situation in the 60's. After she helps uncover the dead body of a missing woman in her neighborhood, she becomes embroiled in a case that casts a wide net over the people of Baltimore.

The structure of this book was unusual. Most of the chapters deal with Maddie's investigation into the deaths of Tessie Fine and Cleo Sherwood. But almost every other chapter introduces the point-of-view of a new character, many of whom are connected in some way to the crime, but some of whom only make brief appearances in the novel. Then there are the chapters that are narrated by the titular Lady in the Lake, a black woman whose death is at the heart of the novel.

This is a slow-burning novel that may require patience from readers who are used to fast-pace action. But the curveball at the end makes everything worth it. Readers looking for character-driven suspense with a glimpse of 1960's Americana will find this book fascinating.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lady in the Lake is a novel set in the mid 1960s in Baltimore. Amidst great social unrest and change, Maddie is about to radically change her life. She walks out of a two decade marriage to embark on a new career and relationship. Lippmann has an interesting approach to the narrative: she introduces different characters and reveals story sections from their perspectives. I thought the story was interesting: based on the murders of two young women, the author weaves her story around. Readers will enjoy the evolution of the story as well as the main characters.

Laura Lippman is one of my favorite authors. I imagine writing comes easy to her. She writes with what seems an effortlessness. While I didn't find 'Lady in the Lake' memorable, I did get through it quickly, enjoyed Lippman familiar prose, and was veritably transported to the setting she created. I found it a tad longer than it needed to be, and I didn't really like the main character. I found her less interesting than the "lady in the lake", but I still enjoyed the book overall.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.

How fortunate that I was to read this book early. I've been a fan of Lippman's Tess Monaghan series for years. Imagine my delight at discovering there was a connection from one of the characters in this book to Tess. This book takes place in the mid 1960's Baltimore. Madeline Schwartz is an ambitious reporter to be, chasing stories as she accidentally stumbles to find a dead body or 2. She has left her husband, something that women didn't really do back then, although divorce rates later soared as women yearned for independence. I was a little taken aback by the go getter attitude from the beginning and how she went a little too far investigation a murder. Nothing was as straightforward as it seemed, and I liked the twist near the end. I liked seeing other characters' perspectives as a reaction to coming across Maddie. As well as the point of view of Cleo. Baltimore was a changing city in 1966 and we know how things changed but things were certainly different then. Lippman captured the spirit of the times without really being around for that time except maybe as an infant. I have an urge to go read the Tess series again to get a glimpse of some of these characters later on.

This was an interesting novel. Part 1960s murder mystery and part newspaper homage with a little history and politics added to the mix. The author’s writing kept me engaged but the main character, Maddie, was wholly unlikeable and self-centered and therefore hard to empathize with. I did enjoy the multiple narrators throughout the story and the author’s ability to transport you to 1960s Baltimore.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41735375

I didn't particularly care for any of the characters in this book,and that can make for a struggle to read it.
The multiple person narrative just didn't work for me this time.

Each chapter represents a different perspective from a new character as introduced in the previous chapter. This made for a clever and fresh take on the classic murder mystery where the heroine is a plucky late in life reporter who becomes obsessed with finding out about the Lady in the Lake. White victims versus the treatment of black victims in the Baltimore sixties is highlighted along with a secret interracial romance.

Copy provided by the Publisher and NetGalley

In 1965, Maddie Schwartz is a 37-year-old dissatisfied housewife living in the suburbs of Baltimore. A chance encounter with a friend from her youth makes leave her husband and son and move to the inner city where she strives to become a newspaper reporter. When Maddie witnesses a murder victim lifted from a park fountain, she becomes obsessed with finding the killer. In LADY IN THE LAKE, Lippman gives us another fine mystery while shining light on the oppression of women, racism, and the newspaper industry. This is a luscious, atmospheric mystery with believable, relatable characters and inspired plotting. Another triumph by Lippman.

Laura Lippman writes very well - this book of murders in Baltimore in the 1960s is written in many voices, and the layers all add up to a satisfying mystery and story of a wife and mother finding more in herself. The races and religions of Baltimore much more varied than I knew, I found the books fascinating with the mysteries and tension making it a fast read, with a good noirish twist.

Generally, I love Laura Lippman's books, but this one fell a little flat for me. I think there were too many tertiary characters and I needed more explanation of why Maddie left Milton, why she fell into bed with Ferdie.

I was so excited to read this book. I loved What the Dead Know and After I'm Gone, but there was not enough mystery involved in this book. And I think mystery and crime are Lippman's strong suit, plus her knowledge of Baltimore. She's great with an unreliable narrator. It's never too far-fetched. Sunburn and Wilde Lake are a little bit uneven, but they're still good books.

The Lady in the Lake, however, doesn't quite work. I like Maddie and I like the newspaper setting. I just think that there needed to be more focus on her as the main focus and less focus on various other characters like Judith's brother.

The premise of this book intrigued me.

Maddie Schwartz has recently left her husband and is working for a newspaper when she finds a woman's body in the lake. But not everyone wants her to tell that story, no matter how intrigued she is by the mystery.

I found Lippman's storytelling abilities as well as her ability to create compelling characters wonderful, even if there were bits and pieces of the story that felt a little slow for me.

Thanks to Faber & Faber and NetGalley for the chance to read this book. 3.5 stars.

Lady in the Lake: A Novel

Surprisingly good. I really enjoyed this.



Review copy provided by publisher.

Thank you to Netgalley for my review copy. Maddie schwartz is an unsatisfied housewife who leaves her marriage to start fresh. She moves to a dodgy part of town and gets a job at a local newspaper opening mail for an Agony aunt style column. Her ambition pushes her to investigate the murder of "The Lady in the Lake" to parlay it into a reporting job.
Ultimately I enjoyed the novel, I really loved the insights into the smaller characters. You certainly can't deny Lippmans enormous writing talent, however the loosey goosey way the cases were resolved or sort-of resolved didn't appeal to me. I also didn't find Maddie to be a compelling character, neither rooting for or against her.
Overall some things really worked for me, and others not so much.

"The world kept telling her to look away, to pay no attention to an age-old system, in which men thrived and inconvenient women disappeared."

One of my holy grails of off-duty reading is the book that is engrossing without being silly, and packed with good storytelling without looking over its shoulder to make sure we understand how 'literary' it is: Lippman pulls it off. There are two murders but this is not really a crime novel, however interesting the solutions are.

Instead it's a compelling recreation of mid-1960s Baltimore, a time when race was fraught as segregation was being dismantled but when mixed-race relationships were still troubled, whether they involved black, white or Jewish participants. Maddie leaves her wealthy Jewish husband and comfortable lifestyle, wanting something more, wanting a career as a reporter, wanting to be a woman in her own right rather than an appendage to her husband. Her involvement in two murders are intertwined with her attempts to be taken seriously by the newspaper office and conduct a relationship on her own terms - whatever rules society might lay down.

The storytelling is intelligent, the characters deeper than stock traits, and there's an interesting mode of writing that swaps unevenly between Maddie in the 3rd person, Cleo in the 1st person, and assorted characters with whom Maddie comes into contact, telling their own stories to give a wider perspective on both the overarching tale and attitudes and values of the time. Lippman's attention to issues of race and gender, power and transgressiveness makes this feel modern while having its feet firmly in the 1960s. Satisfying and clever, with a sense of how the 1960s looked forward to the future.

Ms. Lippman is one of my few "auto-buy" authors. Receiving an advance copy from NetGalley was a thill and I put aside the other book I was reading to dive into Lady in the Lake. The author gives a truthful look into the culture of the times and like or dislike the protag, she's to be admired for her determination. Five Stars.