Maddie’s going to find the truth about Cleo’s life and death. No one seems to know or care why she was killed except Maddie-and the dead woman herself. Drawing on her own secrets, she helps Baltimore police find a murdered girl-assistance that leads to a job at the city’s afternoon newspaper, the Star. Working at the newspaper offers Maddie the opportunity to make her name, and she has found just the story to do it: a missing woman whose body was discovered in the fountain of a city park lake.Ĭleo Sherwood was a young black woman who liked to have a good time. Maddie wants to matter, to leave her mark on a swiftly changing world. This year, she’s bolted from her marriage of almost twenty years, determined to make good on her youthful ambitions to live a passionate, meaningful life. Last year, she was a happy, even pampered housewife. An outstanding work to behold.In 1966, Baltimore is a city of secrets that everyone seems to know-everyone, that is, except Madeline “Maddie” Schwartz. The protagonist is far from perfection, but she is compelling and sympathetic. The various narratives provide an extra boost to a juicy storyline. The plot is solid, the narration provided by multiple perspectives. Lady in the Lake is a well plotted and gripping mystery thriller penned by Laura Lippman. The mysteries and secrets surrounding the submerged victim threaten to consume Maddie and much more. She elicits information from Ferdie and soon begins investigating the death of the titular Lady in the Lake. Maddie parlays her actions into a job at the local newspaper, her aspirations high but her position far below. The two discover the body, and Maddie reaches out to the young man arrested in the killing. Maddie starts to take chances, her and a friend searching for a missing eleven-year-old girl. They soon become covert lovers, their interracial romance frowned upon in the 1960s. Her decision to fake a crime leads to her encounter with Police Officer Ferdie Platt.

However, now she is cash strapped, estranged from her son & searching for purpose. She resolves to end her marriage and live on her own. What happens when you decide to take the road less traveled? Maddie Schwartz is a middle-aged housewife living in Baltimore when a chance dinner invitee propels her into a swirling life change.

Laura lippman lady in the lake review