Lady in the Lake, by Laura Lippman (2019)
This is a delightful suspense novel that takes place in Baltimore in the 1960s. Maddie Schwartz is a 37-year old bored Jewish housewife who suddenly leaves her husband and son to be on her own. She realized that she needs money, so stages a fake robbery so she can collect the insurance money on her engagement and wedding rings. This brings her in contact with Ferdie, an African-American police officer. Soon they find themselves in a passionate affair. They can’t be seen in public, however, because (1) she is still married, and (2) because interracial relationships are illegal in 1960s Maryland.
After a young girl goes missing, Maddie joins a search group and discovers the body. This sparks her interest in pursuing a job as a reporter. She wrangles her way into a small job at one of Baltimore’s newspapers. When the body of Cleo Sherwood, a young African-American woman, is discovered in a fountain, Maddie becomes obsessed with the woman’s death. She relentlessly pursues leads to find out what happened to the dead woman.
The story slowly unfolds from Maddie’s point of view, as well as that of several other characters, including the ghost of Cleo. The novel gently also touches upon many social issues of the 1960s, including racism, classism, sexism, and gender matters. The solution, once it was revealed, was a surprise twist, but one that fit nicely into the story. [Spoiler Alert: Cleo, it turns out, didn't die. The body in the fountain was that of her roommate, whom no one would miss. Cleo wanted to disappear so she could marry her lover.]
Read: February 21, 2023
4 Stars
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