Every Secret Thing
by Laura Lippman
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 294)
Read in March, 2008
Laura Lippman's detective fiction is top-notch, grounded with a very strong sense of place (Baltimore) and character. I'm particularly fond of the why-and-how-dunnit school of mysteries, where you start off knowing who did the murder, but not knowing why or the details of how, and sometimes even who, and Lippman finds great strength in that more psychological approach.
In this story, two young women, convicted at age 11 of abducting and killing the baby granddaughter of a prominent judge, are...more
In this story, two young women, convicted at age 11 of abducting and killing the baby granddaughter of a prominent judge, are...more
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Two 11-year-old girls come across an abandoned baby in a stroller, kidnap it & are accused of killing it. After being sentenced to separate juvenile detention centers for seven years, the two girls are out again and are encouraged to not contact each other. Shortly after their release, another child goes missing and fingers are pointed at the Ronnie & Alice for a second time.
This book moved way too slowly for my taste. The storyline is a good one but I think someone like James Patter...more
This book moved way too slowly for my taste. The storyline is a good one but I think someone like James Patter...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
people who like mysteries
This is the 2nd Laura Lippman book I have read in the past few months. I have not read her series just the stand alones. This book was very entertaining. Lippman is really skillful at giving the reader little details throughout and having a surprise twist at the end. She depends on the reader making a lot of assumptions only to discover that things are never what they seem. I think this book is a little better than her latest book,<b>What the Dead Know<b> (which is still really good...more
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I read this book a couple years ago after seeing the excerpt in the back of the book I was reading. I anticipated the book, read it, and was thoroghly disappointed. It wasn't just that the characters were horrible people, it was the writing itself. There wasn't much to recommend it, and the story, since it wasn't well written, dragged forever for me. This is a book that lasted probably a month for me (really unheard of when it comes to me and reading), but I just couldn't get into it. When...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
I can’t say my first experience with author, Laura Lippman was a positive one. I really didn’t enjoy Every Secret Thing. I thought the plot jumped around to much. There seemed to be far to many unnecessary story-lines. So many times well reading the book I was thinking. O.k. Where is Ms. Lippman going with this? Also I kept thinking. Can you please get to the point. Pages and pages of descriptions and pointless chatter between characters that didn’t really have a part in the story. I wonâ€...more
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Read in March, 2008
This is my first Laura Lippman book. I've seen her name many times on the bestseller list, but somehow never got around to reading them (weird, because I love mysteries and series with woman detectives, etc.) Anyhow, I believe this is one of her few books that is not part of a series. It was pretty interesting. The premise, two young girls who abduct and kill a young child, was fascinating and chilling. I found it distracting the way the author went into depth on each character in the book, e...more
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I quite enjoy Lippman's mysteries - the entire community perspective, the rotating points of view, the lack of one entirely sympathetic viewpoint. I came to her books on the heels of Eileen Dreyer's books, which I adore madly but can only read a couple in a row. They're kind of like candy. Lippman's books also fall into the candy factory, as they're easily devoured and not particularly earth-shattering, but they're more like chocolate candy, as opposed to the sugar-spun confections of Dreyer. Hm...more
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Read in January, 2008
I love how Lippman toys with your perceptions as the novel winds on - just when you think you've decided how you feel about a character, she feeds you another piece of information that forces you to reevaluate. That she can do this without the new events and circumstances seeming out of place or manipulative is a testament to her skill and talent. This one would make a great book club pick for the challenges Lippman makes to the reader.
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Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
those who like dark crime fiction
I hadn't read this author before. This book is very good, great characters. Lippman does an excellent job of getting into the minds of her characters, in this case two young girls who committed a terrible crime. Seven years later, they are released from prison. The Question is ... who really was the guilty one?
Racial issues also enter into the mix. The victim's family was black. The two girls are white.
Kept me turning pages late into the night.
Racial issues also enter into the mix. The victim's family was black. The two girls are white.
Kept me turning pages late into the night.
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Read in February, 2007
I like Laura Lippman, especially her Tess Monaghan books but this book just didn't quite get there for me. I just didn't find the characters very real or thought out, if that makes sense. Can't really put my finger on the problem. It is a genre and author that I like but the book just kind of fell flat.
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Not quite as good as the remarkable and surprising What the Dead Know; it's a little slow at first, with overly familiar cop characters, but the author is smart, and has a nicely twisted view of people. It's ultimately pretty gripping, with some distinct and memorable characters emerging.
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
Mystery/fictio
Lippman usually sets her books in familiar territory of Baltimore/Washington DC.. she has a way of unveiling the tale that keeps you in suspense, but her writing is appealing enough that you don't flip to the end to find out what happened..somewhat similar to What the Dead Know
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in August, 2008
I love Laura Lippman. I'm a little biased, maybe, being from Baltimore, but her stories are so fun, dark and twisty. This one was shocking, sad and difficult to put down. Perfect for the beach, but there's a lot more to her books that your average beach read.
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If you live in Maryland, like me, this is a lot of fun simply for being set in Baltimore. but this author is a very good writer, and her story of what happens when two little girls kidnap and kill a baby is a modern story of crime and punishment.
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Read in May, 2008
An interesting plot. Two 11 year old girls are accused of murdering a baby they took from a porch in a baby carriage. They spend 7 years in prison. Pieces of information keep coming out and change your views of who did what and why.
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Read in July, 2008
I am really liking her books thus far...reading this now, I find myself wanting more when I just don't have time! This was pretty good - not as good as the first one of hers I read. The ending wasn't as good as I wanted it to be.
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Read in February, 2008
Another fun read from Ms. Lippman. I enjoy her non-Tess Monaghan books more than the Tess series. Great characters and psychological insights. Also, I'm really digging Baltimore, especially as I'm feeding my Wire addiction.
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Depressing yet compelling. It kept my interest and yet at the end I wasn't sure I was happy about reading it. No uplifting ending, but certainly the writing pulls you in. The characters are well crafted and natural.
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Read in February, 2008
I enjoy pretty much any reasonable mystery novel, and Laura Lippman is a fine, soft-boiled, female-focused mystery writer. But why, with a three-month-old in the house, did I pick the book that focuses on baby murders?
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Read in November, 2007
2 12 year old girls find an unattended baby, kidnap it and kill it. They are convicted as youthful offenders and released after 7 years. Another child disappears after their release.
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