Read as part of CBR15bingo: adulthood. The book focuses on people who are moving on to adulthood in the present day after something terrible happened to them in their respective pasts.
Laura Lippman’s been on a roll in the last decade with these standalone novels. This is another winner and while it might not be on the level of Sunburn or Dream Girl, it’s still quite good.
Lippman is very good at writing about people who are perpetually bound together in certain ways, often by tragedy. Here in this instance is a couple in adulthood who were part of something terrible on prom night. We’ve all heard references to “prom night babies” and here, Lippman brings one to life. The consequences are dire.
Along the way, there’s a continuation of her late career target: the consequences of coddled men. The Guy who thinks he’s a Good Guy even if he’s done some not-so-good things, only to find out that he can’t charm his way through every situation. The women who wake up having to deal with the fallout of said good guy’s behavior. Add the unlikely shudder of covid to the situation (the book takes place between 2019-2020) and it’s another quality effort of domestic suspense.
Lippman does use obstruction here as she often does and it frustrates. I get why she does it: she doesn’t want to sacrifice characterization for twists so most of them come at the end. Nevertheless, this one really worked for me. Her hot streak continues and I’m excited to see what’s next.