How can a book be sad and mournful, yet bursting with hope at the same time? It's a tricky balancing act, for sure, but in the expert hands of Laura Lippman, magic such as this tends to happen. On its face, THE LADY IN THE LAKE is the story of Maddie Schwartz, who leaves her husband at a time when proper women did not do such a thing (the 60s) and dared to chase her dream of becoming a reporter (again, at a time when proper ladies did not do such a thing). Over the course of her journey Maddie takes on a forbidden lover and scoops the men around her in finding not one but two dead women in Baltimore. What makes this novel sing, though, are the tapestry of voices that lend their own takes throughout. This is a crackling good mystery and the ending is a shocker. Ultimately, I must add, this also is a love letter to the dying newspaper business. See? A lot of balls to juggle, and yet Lippman manages to do so with aplomb. She is a gem, and so is this great novel.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Unfortunately I was unable to finish this book. I had high hopes and kept trying to get through it.

Interestingly, I feel like this book missed the mark. Almost close enough to make an impact, but pulling back at the last second before it hit the point.

I typically love Laura Lippmann’s books but this one was just too confusing. There were way too many perspectives! Every time a new character was introduced, the next chapter was from their perspective. It was hard to keep track of and detracted from the plot instead of enhancing it. Still a well written book, just not my favorite.

I am a longtime Laura Lippman fan and Lady in the Lake did not disappoint. It is such a great, well-written mystery set in a time period that makes for fascinating reading. It takes a great talent to write such an engrossing read even with a not so likable main character. I felt the same way about Ms. Lippman's previous novel, Sunburn. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley.

This was absolutely wonderful. At first, I wasn't sure this book and I would get along. The main character, Maddie is hard to understand at first. But soon after she moved, I got a rhythm for her. I both listened and read this one. I loved the audio but sometimes I couldn't listen to I carried my Kindle around. The story is great both ways.

There are a lot of POV's - but they are easy to decipher. After almost every interaction that Maddie has, the next chapter is the previous person's POV. So when Maddie pushes for a job, the next chapter is the POV of the interviewer. It helped the story flow easily and kept some of the parts that were hidden from Maddie easy for the reader to know. I loved the layers, the different ways that it pointed out how very different Maddie lived both married and separated and how different men perceived her. It was just a great story, good mystery. It was well written. I loved it!

I really enjoy reading Laura Lippman's writing, and I can't explain why. I'm always pleased to read her books even when the plot and the pace don't match with me. Lady in the Lake is a very slow-burn mystery. It wasn't thrilling or left me on the edge of my seat, and I never had the need to try solving the mystery myself. Although it was a journey, and when the mystery was solved I was surprised. Not because it was unpredictable instead because I was so laid back and enjoying the story that I didn't want to think ahead of time.

The story is told from different characters points of view which are confusing at first. One chapter was following Maddie and the next a "random" person that she met. As the story progressed, I got used to those shifts. Usually, they didn't add much to help solve the mystery but it gave a different perspective of 1966 Baltimore, a different perspective of Maddie, the differences in classes, races, religions, genders, and more. These changes in the story were what made me enjoy the ride, although it took a toll on the mystery part.

The plot could have been summed up in a shorter book if the story didn't lose itself in all those other characters. That created a nice book to read but not an exciting mystery to solve.

Laura Lippman does it again! This book takes place several decades before her Tess Monaghan series (which is excellent) and I found it a refreshing and exciting change of pace. Lippman writes fantastic characters with solid mysteries and this one was no exception. Lady in the Lake is loosely based on true events and I think Lippman did a wonderful job bring complex issues like racism and sexism to life.

Enjoyed this very much. As a woman born in the 50s, I experienced how woman were 2nd class and just even getting a job was a big deal. She really captured the times. I hope younger readers realize this is how it really was. This is not made up.

This one is a hard one for me. I am rating 4 stars as I'm rounding up as this was between 3.5-3.75 for me. I really wanted to like and feel captivated by this book so much more than I did. I feel as if this is a great author and I enjoy reading her material but this one was hard for me to get into. I like the premise of the story and the synopsis, but once I got into the book I felt like it jumped around a lot and sometimes it was difficult to follow and I got lost. I believe there was some great depth in the characters, but I didn't feel a strong pull towards their connections with each other. Based on the title, you assume there's a person at the center of this story that pulls it all together in the end, but I feel as if the Lady in the Lake was a secondary character and didn't leave much to the imagination - I think I felt a little let down I guess. Again, I will continue to read this author and I know I'm not going to love every book, every time. Part of my disconnect may come from having so much time between starting and ending this book as well, but I just wasn't drawn to finish it, although I did.

An historical mystery set in 60’s Baltimore when a pampered housewife bolts from her long term happy marriage to become a journalist turned mystery solver. Different, dark, quirky. Loved it. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the arc.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this title.
Unfortunately after trying several times I realized that this book wasn’t going to work for me and I skimmed the rest.

This is like many of the author’s other books in the way that there is always more going on than just a mystery. When I started reading the book, I thought it was about the differences in how the media/public treated the two murders based on the race of the victims. It was really more about how the main character involved herself in the investigation and solving the murders. The mysteries don’t disappoint, partly due to the true crimes that have made national news over the last few decades.
The story is also about a woman who remembers that she also had dreams and plans of her own. She had plans other than pleasing her husband, mother and neighbors. She learns the world is a different place when you don’t have the privilege you have lived with for most of your life and they also consider you to be too old to start over. (Her age is less shocking today)
The book is also about race. The media attention focuses on the white victim and ignores the black victim. It reminds us of a time when there were different newspapers based on the race of the victims and readers. Career paths for men were different based on race. Of course, career paths were different for women and men but, vastly different for a white woman and a black woman. The author doesn’t take a deep dive in to the true Baltimore in the era but, she also reminds us that this isn’t just about a white woman going through a mid-life crisis. Thankfully the book doesn’t get too preachy and doesn’t tie up the end too neatly.
Lady in the Lake covers a lot of topics and throws in a couple of murders and it doesn’t disappoint.

I really liked this! It was timely and engaging. I’m from Baltimore and I felt like the author captured the atmosphere and realities of the city well.

Thank you so much for this ARC!

I was so excited at the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately, I could not really get into this story and was unable to finish. Giving 3 stars!

Lippmann is a real novelist , not just a writer of disposable mysteries. This novel, set in the sixties in a changing Baltimore(shades of Wire) traces the arc of a Jewish woman from childhood to early marriage to breaking into the male dominated newspaper business as she investigates the murder of a young black woman and a Jewish teenager. Told from multiple points of view, representing the different strands of Baltimore society, the book moves fast as both a crime and a coming of personhood story. Highly recommended.

This book unfortunately was just not for me. I found myself totally uninvested and not caring about how it ended. There were too many different character perspectives and I failed to find myself attached to any of them. The story also just became boring in my opinion. I wished I’d liked it more, but 2/5 stars ⭐️. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me access to this book!

I greatly enjoyed the suspense of this book. The main character is eager and flawed while trying to figure out what happened to missing girls.

Laura Lippman is one of those authors that's a must read. And she did not disappoint with LADY IN THE LAKE. Lady In The Lake is 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.

Laura Lippman is an excellent writer and this book is one of her best. The story is told from the perspective of the "Lady in the Lake" , Cleo Sherwood, who was murdered and found in a lake and the Baltimore journalist who wants to write about her, Maddie Swartz. There is a back story about Maddie, a Jewish housewife who leaves her husband and starts working at a newspaper with ambitions of being a journalist. The book is set in the 1960s when things were not always easy for women to be successful in the men's club of a newspaper. She is not particularly sympathetic but she does have determination.

Cleo Sherwood was a beautiful, black bar girl in Baltimore, The investigation of her death is not being pursued by the local police and not covered by the newspaper. In contrast, the death of a young white girl is getting much more attention. These two cases are intertwined in the story. Maddie, on her own, does an investigation of both cases which leads to some startling revelations.

I highly recommend this book.