An African-American man accused of rape by a humiliated girl. A vengeful father. A courageous attorney. A worshipful daughter. Think you know this story? Think again.
Laura Lippman, the “extravagantly gifted” (Chicago Tribune) New York Times bestselling author, delivers “one of her best novels ” (Washington Post)—a modern twist on To Kill a Mockingbird. Scott Turow writes in the New York … New York Times, “Wilde Lake is a real success.”
Luisa “Lu” Brant is the newly elected state’s attorney representing suburban Maryland—including the famous planned community of Columbia, created to be a utopia of racial and economic equality. Prosecuting a controversial case involving a disturbed drifter accused of beating a woman to death, the fiercely ambitious Lu is determined to avoid the traps that have destroyed other competitive, successful women. She’s going to play it smart to win this case—and win big—cementing her political future.
But her intensive preparation for trial unexpectedly dredges up painful recollections of another crime—the night when her brother, AJ, saved his best friend at the cost of another man’s life. Only eighteen, AJ was cleared by a grand jury. Justice was done. Or was it? Did the events of 1980 happen as she remembers them? She was only a child then. What details didn’t she know?
As she plunges deeper into the past, Lu is forced to face a troubling reality. The legal system, the bedrock of her entire life, does not have all the answers. But what happens when she realizes that, for the first time, she doesn’t want to know the whole truth?
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I enjoy mysteries the most when they feature strong political components, not of electoral politics (those don’t tend to be my favorites) but rather in the politics of day-to-day life, with themes that encompass racial tensions, class struggles, gender dynamics, with a critical look at society as a backdrop, and a crime dancing across the foreground to drive a plot. Perhaps no one does this better than Laura Lippman. (And not just on the page.)
Good, but kind of hard to get into and slow.
I would give WILDE LAKE six stars if I could. In this beautifully written novel about a leading Maryland family bad deeds and secrets fester, only to impact lives many years later.
This is a well-developed mystery.
Favorite Quotes:
‘Jonnie Forke.’ Lu, aware that her trouble with names and faces is a liability for a politician, plays her favorite private game of trying to construct a mnemonic trick. Stick a fork in her, she’s Jonnie. Heeeeeeeeere’s Jonnie – with a Forke for her butterface.
Noel taught us the valuable lesson that making a spectacle of yourself was sometimes the best way to get people to stop noticing you. Noel lived his life based on this premise, although he would have been heartbroken if he weren’t the center of attention when he wanted to be. He was that rare young person who understood exactly who he was what he needed – and that his parents, his friends, the world at large, were not ready for this information.
It is possible to anticipate something so ferociously then one day forget that it’s happening at all. Part of this is the passage to adulthood; birthdays fade in importance, holidays become something to be endured. I know there are grown-ups who still become excited about Christmas, although I find them suspect.
After our mother was gone, nothing the touched could be changed… AJ, meanwhile, would not speak of her at all. Although not generally selfish, he hoarded his memories of our mother as if they might evaporate in the open air.
My Review:
Wilde Lake was a smartly written and cleverly paced spider web of intricately woven family secrets that snared me and held me fast. It was stellar! The storyline was multi-layered and craftily exposed, and lushly detailed with vivid and evocative visuals. I enjoyed every timeline, flashback, secret, plot twist, and character. Laura Lippman is a gifted and skilled scribe. I reveled in her acumen and adored her character of Lu. Lu was whip-smart yet admittedly flawed and had no problem confessing her worst traits. She was overwhelmingly curious with a deep-seated competitive need to “win” as a child as well as an adult, and these intelligent traits caused considerable consternation to her taciturn father. As a child she considered herself an ever-alert sleuth, always watchful but not always able to comprehend what she observed, but wily enough to store it away for future leverage. I took great enjoyment in her efforts to make sense of confusing data through the limited tools and reference materials available to her – the baby-sitter’s soap operas, her father’s dictionary, and her favorite television program of Angie Dickinson’s Police Women. How disillusioning it would be to discover your entire childhood was a prevarication, or to use a current buzz phrase, couched in alternate facts. I was enthralled and engrossed with the story throughout, although the revelations in the final chapters were rapid, stunning, and heart stopping. I am breathless with awe.
While I did not see the ending, I did see the accused being exonerated. You just
knew someone else did it.
Well written and well developed characters
Too dark and depressing
Did not finish it. It droned on and on and there was no point to the story.First book I haven’t finished in years.
My favorite book by Laura Lippman to date. Wonderfully woven, unexpected plot twists, beautifully developed characters, a real page turner. I love the way each chapter lets out a little more information that makes prior chapters suddenly significant and continues to build till the end. Highly recommend.
I’ll read anything by Laura Lippman
As someone who has lived most of my life in the locales Laura Lippmann details in her books, I am constantly brought into the reality of her fictional accounts. I never tire of reading her marvelous novels.
We’ll done as always by Laura Lippman
A good read. Usually i have a mystery figured out way before the end, but I didn’t with this one. An interesting story of how one bad decision can change your life forever.
I usually like Lippman’s books. This was good but it got to be a game fir me to see how much she was “inspired” by @To Kill a Mockingbird.”
Found the character of the two adult lawyers more interesting than the young girl’s coming of age. Would have enjoyed an increased focus on those two, and less on the back story. The ending was a surprise and it kept me reading until the last page. Laura Lipmann is a favorite author of mine. she does not disappoint with this story, but there was too much switching between the present and the past that disrupted the plot flow.
I like this writer very much, but wish the book had been edited more–slow in places.
I’m a big fan of Laura LIppman.
Not the best Laura Lippman book out there, but was on promotion so I gave it a try. Lippman admits this is an homage/update of To Kill a Mockingbird, which is an all time favorite, so dive in expecting the parallels. Complex story, challenging assumptions, and wrapped up in the end just a little bit too neatly and quickly, where even the foreshadowing was barely there and not at the level that some of the resolutions demanded. This was an interesting read and it held my attention throughout.
Wonderfully written.