(76)Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman

It is Baltimore in 1966 and housewife, Maddie Schwartz has realized that she no longer wants to be married to her husband of nearly twenty years. She is also a little shocked when her teenaged son, Seth, decides to stay behind and live with his father. But she still sets out on her own. Trying to find herself after years of being nothing but a wife and mother.  She finds herself involved with a young police officer, one who is not of her race. Through him, she gathers information about a missing young girl.  She parlays that information into a new career, as a green reporter for the Baltimore Star. Being a woman in 1966 is not easy. Being a divorced woman entering the workforce for the first time is even harder.   Maddie starts investigating the disappearance of another woman who has gone missing, but because the color of her skin is not white, her disappearance is not being talked about by the press or the police.  But Maddie won't stop until she gets to the truth.  No matter what the cost. 

Lady in the Lake is a great mystery that tackles some pretty hard-hitting topics. They were hard-hitting topics in 1966 and they are hard-hitting topics in 2019.  I liked Maggie and found myself cheering for her often. I wanted her to find happiness, whatever that looked like for her. I didn't think that she would find her happiness with Ferdie, not because he was black, but because their relationship was based on lies and deceit.  I will say that I was way wrong about the "whodunit" part of the book.  I thought that whoever killed the little girl also killed the Lady in the Lake, and I thought it was a main character in the story.  I was wrong. - CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS -  The book is told from the perspective of several different characters. Those different perspectives help the reader to see the whole picture, but it is still hard to figure out who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. 

Bottom Line - Laura Lippman shows up on the "Best of " lists year after year.  And with good reason. With Lady in the Lake, she has proven that she has perfected the art of storytelling. 

Details:

• Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman
• On Instagram
• Pages: 352
• Publisher: William Morrow
• Publication Date: 7/23/19
• Buy it Here!
• Thank you to NetGalley for the book in exchange for a review.