To The Power of Three

by: Laura Lippman

Published by: Avon

Reviewed by Sharon Broom

(also in CD)

Three teenagers, Josie, Kat and Perri, live in an affluent suburb of Baltimore where they enjoy a life of being the 'it' girls in school. The three have been best friends since childhood and are the envy of many other students.

During their senior year, something changed for one of the three friends and the girls began to drift apart. On the last day of school, Josie, Perri and Kat meet in the girl's bathroom. One of the girls carried a gun with her to the meeting and when the police arrive, two of the friends have gunshot wounds and one is dead.

Laura Lippman usually writes wonderful, gripping page turners. To The Power of Three has a fascinating plot and interesting characters but it is filled with much more information than necessary for it to be considered suspense, mystery or a thriller.

Lippman's use of the flashback is done with greater ease than someone with less experience, yet it is a distraction because it continually flashes from the present to the past. Whiplash was a distinct possiblility....

Even minor characters are treated like major characters in To The Power of Three. We are privy to their history and intimate details of their lives. It doesn't add anything to the novel and I found myself skipping entire sections. I just didn't care. As a device, it fell flat.

Armchair Interviews says: If you enjoy a good plot and in-depth character study, To The Power of Three might be for you. If you want a gripping, fast-paced thriller, it might not be the book for you.