What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $1.25 You Save: $6.74 (84%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of What the Dead Know
Book Review: I want to know what the dead know...
Summary: 4 Stars
OK, first, a caveat - though I'm a Philly girl, my husband's family is from Bawlmuhr, so I've heard a lot about this author and have more than a passing knowledge of the local flavor. I think that probably added to my enjoyment of the book. Additionally, I could see where someone who doesn't know the Baltimore area might lose a bit of the book.
That being said, the story line of the thriller is quite a new one - for me. I'm not a huge reader of the crime fiction genre, but sisters disappearing and one reappearing 30 years later? I wanted to know very early on how this panned out.
The twists and turns of this book did keep me hooked, and I really enjoyed the denouement. The plot did hold up to expectation.
There were some drawbacks to the book, though. I found the long backtracks into the side characters (the parents, the detectives) rather uninforming and, mostly, not interesting. I ended up skimming or skipping a bit here and there just to keep to the main plot. Some of those bits were rather large. And yet, I don't feel if I missed much. That's not really a good sign.
Over all, a very good premise and a mostly good read, with (in my opinion) a little too much filler.
(*)>
Book Review: Meandering tale of missing girls
Summary: 3 Stars
This novel is almost less a mystery than it is the intimate inspection of the complete deterioration of Dave and Miriam's relationship and a smug woman who may or may not be Heather, one of their missing and presumed dead daughters.
The mystery woman who claims to be Heather was a quite unlikable character. Her parents were the much more interesting and compelling people in the story.
What the Dead Know is a decent, if dense and wandering, read. The constant shifts in time made it jarring where it didn't really need to be. I might just have to see what else this author has to offer.
Book Review: Much too slow
Summary: 3 Stars
For one thing, what on earth is Amazon doing listing this under Romance? It wasn't Romantic Suspense - there wasn't a single character in this you'd WANT to see in a romantic situation. Aside from that, which wasn't the fault of the novel, I just couldn't get into it. I kept reading because it was well written (aside from the irritating quirk which has been mentioned frequently in other reviews of using 'a police' as a singular noun) and I wanted to see what happened, but I didn't especially enjoy getting there. The pacing was very slow, the slow feeding of information felt forced, the twist at the end was easy to guess well ahead of time, and the explanation for it (which is what I slogged through the whole book for) was anti-climactic.Book Review: My first Laura Lippman Novel but definitely not my last
Summary: 5 Stars
What a wonderful book. I listened to the audio book and it was captivating. Her prose style is wonderfully intelligent and well articulated. The plot was ingenious with totally unpredictable twists and turns. 5 star rating is low in my estimation for this wonderful work.Book Review: No psycho-babble, just interesting humanity
Summary: 5 Stars
With WHAT THE DEAD KNOW, Laura Lippman hooked me from page one, kept me going, had me "going," and finally reversed everything in an unexpected way, brilliantly wrapping the story's climax into its denouement. This tale is a skillful work which goes beyond the potboiler, stock pot formula mystery. The characterizations are intricate--complex, strong, vulnerable, and credible, with intensely important super objectives. The journey of the protagonist from child to adult, from confusion to meaning and understanding, from girl to woman is heartbreaking and yet uplifting. The mother's journey, spurred by pain and love, to self-knowledge and a sense of fulfillment ( even serenity) is agonizing but, nevertheless, the inevitability of a strong personality. As for the mystery/suspense elements, they're an incredibly exciting bonus. Lippman's understanding of human nature and her splendid intuitions about what happens when the unthinkable intrudes on ordinary reality and generates a second reality, provides a powerful, insightful tale for any reader without a closed imagination.
Laura Lippman, don't you dare stop writing.