Wilde Lake

A Novel

By: Laura Lippman

Narrated by: Kathleen McInerney, Nicole Poole

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 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?

Enjoyable read

Another great story, woven together by Ms. Lippmann. Though the book jumps back and forth in time, it is so perfectly written that it seems seamless.

Very Unique and EXCELLENTLY Written

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The plot kept me on the edge of my seat because of how it was written. It lulls you into thinking it's just a sort of memoir or, but all the pieces come together to reveal mystery upon mystery...secret upon secret, lies upon lies.

Any additional comments?

As a MD resident, I always love listening to Lippmans books because she includes so many local references. The narrator must not be from the area, though, because many names were mispronounced. Such as Catonsville...(Long A sound)....but it wasn't too distracting.

Fantastic book

I have never read one of her books. I loved every minute of it. Fantastic

Borrows liberally from To Kill a Mockingbird

This is an okay story, read well by McInerney and Poole. However, I was shocked at all of the plot, character, and theme "borrowing" Lippman has done from Harper Lee.

This is why I love Laura Lippman.

Laura Lippman is one of my favorite contemporary authors and this story is a perfect example as to why. My only complaint is that while I prefer stories told in the first person, this story bounces back and forth between first and third person narrative. At first, I thought it was to differentiate between the timelines of Lu as a child and Lu as an adult, but as the book progressed, that didn't hold up. All in all, I still enjoyed the story. I might even say that this is the best one yet.