I have been going back to books I originally sat down because I just couldn't finish them the first time around. This is one that I've been meaning to attack because I do love Laura Lippman's writing.

I just can't do it. There are SO many perspectives and I can't keep any of it straight. After pushing through for hours, I still have no idea what is going on - I feel like I need to make a notebook (or one of those cool mystery boards with the pins and yarn) and fill it in as I read in order to put together some pieces of the puzzle.

I did like the setting and the historical perspective (read: racial issues, women's rights) added to the novel. I think it made it more real and much more interesting, though frustrating, as well.

I really wanted to like this one, but I just can't force myself to continue. I do appreciate the chance to read this, and, as I said before, I love Lippman's style. This one just wasn't for me.

As a Baltimore-native, I'm a huge fan of Laura! This one wasn't my favorites by her. I think what really tripped me up was the multiple point-of-views that left me utterly confused is most cases. I think the premise matches today's cultural differences quite well, but just wasn't too into it.

I have read most of Laura Lippman's book, so I was excited to read this one! This is a bit different from her usual novels, and it was a nice departure for the author. I liked the blend of mystery and historical fiction. Although it was set in Baltimore (as her novels are), it was a different Baltimore than what I was used to reading about, and that was a nice change. My only criticism is with the multiple narrative perspectives - at times I felt that it took away from the overall story and was a bit disjointed.

Thank you to #NetGalley for this book.

This is one of the few books by Laura Lippman that I did not like or get into it for some reason. I might have to go back eventually and read it again.

I do like the location of Baltimore since I live sort of close to there and like location books and do like Jewish fiction too.

Thrillers are not usually my go to for reading. However, I do enjoy Lippman’s writing. This one had a touch of supernatural, but the commentary on today’s society is what got my through the story. While the view is through white privilege (a white women tries to be a savior and solves a mystery about a Black woman), it is something go be said that when a Black woman goes missing, no one cares.

Decent writing and story overall.

I like that Lippman remains in Baltimore, but gives us such a classic noir story with Lady in the Lake. Set in the not so distant Sixties, the book has a great feel for the time period as the investigation looks back at her life.

I am in charge of the senior library and work with a group of Reading Ambassadors from 16-18 to ensure that our boarding school library is modernised and meets the need of both our senior students and staff. It has been great to have the chance to talk about these books with our seniors and discuss what they want and need on their shelves. I was drawn to his book because I thought it would be something different from the usual school library fare and draw the students in with a tempting storyline and lots to discuss.
This book was a really enjoyable read with strong characters and a real sense of time and place. I enjoyed the ways that it maintained a cracking pace that kept me turning its pages and ensured that I had much to discuss with them after finishing. It was not only a lively and enjoyable novel but had lots of contemporary themes for our book group to pick up and spend hours discussing too.
I think it's important to choose books that interest as well as challenge our students and I can see this book being very popular with students and staff alike; this will be an excellent purchase as it has everything that we look for in a great read - a tempting premise, fantastic characters and a plot that keeps you gripped until you close its final page.

EXCERPT: Alive, I was Cleo Sherwood. Dead, I became the Lady in the Lake, a nasty broken thing, dragged from the fountain after steeping there for months, through the cold winter, then that fitful, bratty spring, almost into summer proper. Face gone, much of my flesh gone.

And no one cared until you came along, gave me that stupid nickname, began rattling doorknobs and pestering people, going places you weren't supposed to go. No one outside my family was supposed to care. I was a careless girl who went out on a date with the wrong person and was never seen again. You come in at the end of my story and turned it into your beginning. Why'd you have to go and do that, Madeline Schwartz? Why couldn't you stay in your beautiful house and your good-enough marriage, and let me be at the bottom of the fountain? I was safe there.

Everybody was safer when I was there.

ABOUT 'LADY IN THE LAKE': Cleo Sherwood disappeared eight months ago. Aside from her parents and the two sons she left behind, no one seems to have noticed. It isn't hard to understand why: it's 1964 and neither the police, the public nor the papers care much when Negro women go missing.

Maddie Schwartz - recently separated from her husband, working her first job as an assistant at the Baltimore Sun- wants one thing: a byline. When she hears about an unidentified body that's been pulled out of the fountain in Druid Hill Park, Maddie thinks she is about to uncover a story that will finally get her name in print. What she can't imagine is how much trouble she will cause by chasing a story that no-one wants her to tell.

MY THOUGHTS: I ended up liking Lady in the Lake a lot more by the end than I did at the start. This is a book that is impossible to categorise; there are just so many facets to it. But they all meld seamlessly together to paint a portrait of life in the 1960s, a time when I was becoming a teenager, a time of great social change. Maddie is merely the vehicle for this story of the changing role of women in society, and the initial tentative steps towards racial equality, as is the death of Chloe (Eunetta) Sherwood. Don't go into this book expecting a murder mystery; you will be disappointed. It is more of a social commentary.

I have to say that I didn't much like the character of Maddie. She is cold, aloof, and selfish, and not inclined to think things through. Yet, I can also empathise with her. She had a dream and she followed it. We also find out more about her earlier life towards the end of the book and the events that shaped her.

Even though her 'dream job' of journalist left a lot to be desired - women didn't get promoted and she still had to answer to men who were much like her husband - she stuck with it and stuck by her principles. While she grows as a person, and becomes more politically aware, she is still rather careless of the feelings of those around her. Her ambition is paramount. She is not a woman to whom relationships mean much, and she doesn't appear to have friends. So, no, I didn't much like Maddie, but I did have a little sneaking admiration for her here and there.

The ending of Lady in the Lake is interesting, and entirely unexpected.

The author's notes at the end of the book are illuminating. While the two murders are inspired by two cases from 1969, the author has created her own version of these, and set them amongst real events from some years earlier.

While Lady in the Lake didn't bowl me over, and I am not about to recommend it widely, it is an interesting and thought provoking read made up of a blend of historical fiction, politics, human rights and mystery.

⭐⭐⭐.7

#LadyInTheLake #NetGalley

THE AUTHOR: Since her debut in 1997, New York Times bestseller Laura Lippman has been recognized as one of the most gifted and versatile crime novelists working today. Her series novels, stand-alones and short stories have all won major awards, including the Edgar and the Anthony, and her work is published in more than 20 countries. A former Baltimore Sun journalist, she has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, O, The Oprah Magazine, Real Simple, Glamour and Longreads. "Simply one of our best novelists, period," the Washington Post said upon the publication of the ground-breaking What the Dead Know. She lives in Baltimore and New Orleans with her family. (Amazon)

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Faber and Faber via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Page turner to the end. Lippman once again shows she's a masterful storyteller. I thoroughly enjoyed.

"Lady in the Lake" gave an inclusive and well-rounded look into Baltimore in the 1960s, exploring elements of social disparity, racial tensions, and the dynamics of a "traditional" family. While the switching POVs were an interesting element, it detracted from my connection to our main character's life. A careful eye is needed to piece together the different puzzle pieces of this novel.

Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman⁣⁣
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I thoroughly enjoyed this slow burn and will be picking up more of Laura Lippman’s work! The novel follows former housewife, Maddie, as she tries to catapult herself into a reporter by investigating the death of a young black waitress, Cleo. It is not lost on me or the author that Maddie is trying to advance herself off someone else’s tragedy, but there is more to the story than meets the eye. I won’t say more than that because I don’t want to spoil anything. I really enjoyed the Baltimore setting in the 60s where sexism, racism and classism are explored. Thanks @netgalley and @williammorrow for the ARC!⁣⁣
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Laura Lippman is fantastic at creating an atmospheric and intense read and she has absolutely done that in Lady in the Lake. The 1960’s setting is crafted well and I loved the noir feeling the book and characters have.

Laura Lippman’s Lady in the Lake is a thrilling read! It tells the story of Maddie Schwartz, a middle aged housewife who is recently divorced and searching for a way to bring meaning and substance to her life. She begins to do this by helping police to find a missing girl, and then getting hired on at the local newspaper. The team at the paper decides that Maddie could really achieve breakout story status if she solves another missing girl case in town.
The story is told in a very interesting way, and was a good read!

I really wanted to like this book but I just could not get into it. The writing style was not for me and I felt it was a bit different from what I was expecting.

Thank you to neutrally for providing me with an advanced reader copy.

This book just went over my head with the many POV’s. It was hard trying to keep them straight in my mind.
It's 1966 and Madeline "Maddie" Schwartz lives in Baltimore with her husband and teenage son. She has been married for 18 years and is the mother to 16-year-old Seth. She feels bored and seeks a divorce to start over. After stumbling into a homicide scene she decides she wants to become a reporter. She lucks her way into a job at a newspaper and is determined to be the best reporter ever and goes to extremes to move up on the ladder. She goes into trying to solve the murder of Cloe Sherwood whose body was found in a lake.
This was an eARC received by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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 leaves Milton and Seth to start over. She luckily gets a job at a newspaper and goes to extremes to move up on the ladder. In order to succeed, she will cross boundaries and put herself into dangerous situations all to get the story--even if it means hurting those she is closest to.

Overall I found this to be a good historical fiction novel that kept my interest. I really liked the crime part of the novel and the historical facts included.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book for an unbiased review.

This story really kept my attention and I whizzed through it in just two days. The description gives a good representation of what is inside. This is full of the times and lifestyle of the 1960’s. Maddie Schwartz has decided she wants to be a reporter and will stop at nothing to get what she wants.
The ending ties up quite a few loose threads which certainly helps the story leave you with a good understanding of what happened. My only complaint with the book, there is not good chapter headings and sometimes the storyline would switch between characters and I would have to try and figure out who was talking. But that was a small price to pay for an otherwise well told story.
The author has a knack for describing the scenes and making you feel as if you were right there in the 1960 world. I will advise there are quite a few sex scenes, beware if you are offended by this type of material.
I want to thank Faber and Faber Ltd and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book for my honest unbiased opinion. Rounding this one up to 5 stars.

A fabulous crime novel with a unique structure that grips the reader from the first page to the last. Lippman with this novel continues to demonstrate why she is a master of crime fiction with this intriguing story of race, murder, and the role of newspapers.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read and review this title. I will review this title at a different date.