What the Dead Know

by: Laura Lippman

Published by: Harper

Reviewed by Julina K. Mills

How can two young girls disappear from a crowded mall on a busy Saturday afternoon without a trace? Their bodies were never found and no witnesses came forward, yet the mystery remained until 30 years later when a woman involved in a car accident claimed to be one of the missing Bethany sisters.

Stumbling down a highway following a hit-and-run collision, Heather Bethany begins to involuntarily reveal bits and pieces about her past to the detective that is assigned to her case. She hires a highly successful attorney and befriends a social worker who allows Heather more leeway than most clients should ethically receive. With the history of the case recorded on numerous internet sites, the detective begins to question Heather’s integrity and wonders if she might be cleverly reciting memorized facts to escape her pending criminal conviction for the hit-and-run.

Written with a style that keeps you glued to the pages, author Laura Lippman has a unique way of adding twists to the storyline that are unpredictable yet believable. From the handsome detective who has just been assigned to the case, to the Bethany girls’ mother who has run away to Mexico–each character in the story brings a vivid liveliness and creatively designed personality to the plot.

The main character, the alleged Heather Bethany, keeps me and the other characters in complete suspense right up to the last chapters of the book. The mystery deepens as she hides secrets about her past, where she has lived, what her name has been changed to, and what has happened in her private life. For thirty years the mystery has remained, and no one knows if even her long-lost mother can solve the riddle of who she is in the end.

Laura Lippman was a reporter for twenty years and has received numerous awards for her writing. She currently lives in Baltimore where she continues to freelance for newspapers while publishing her tremendously successful novels.

Armchair Interviews says: Drama, mystery, suspense—whatever you call it, read it.

Author’s Web site: http://www.LauraLippman.com