Synopses & Reviews
Laura Lippman, the acclaimed
New York Times bestselling author of
The Most Dangerous Thing, Id Know You Anywhere, and
What the Dead Know, returns with an addictive story that explores how one mans disappearance echoes through the lives of the wife, mistress, and daughters he left behind.
When Felix Brewer meets Bernadette “Bambi” Gottschalk at a Valentines Dance in 1959, he charms her with wild promises, some of which he actually keeps. Thanks to his lucrative—if not all legal—businesses, she and their three little girls live in luxury. But on the Fourth of July, 1976, Bambis comfortable world implodes when Felix, newly convicted and facing prison, mysteriously vanishes.
Though Bambi has no idea where her husband—or his money—might be, she suspects one woman does: his mistress, Julie. When Julie disappears ten years to the day that Felix went on the lam, everyone assumes shes left to join her old lover—until her remains are eventually found.
Now, twenty-six years after Julie went missing, Roberto “Sandy” Sanchez, a retired Baltimore detective working cold cases for some extra cash, is investigating her murder. What he discovers is a tangled web stretching over three decades that connects five intriguing women. And at the center is the missing man Felix Brewer.
Somewhere between the secrets and lies connecting past and present, Sandy will find the truth. And when he does, no one will ever be the same.
Review
“Despite the murder at its center, this is less a suspenseful whodunit than a masterly novel of character, with secrets skillfully and gradually revealed. Revel in the pace and pleasures of this book [...] that should add to Lippmans literary luster.” Library Journal (starred review)
Review
“I never miss Laura Lippmans novels.” Anna Quindlen, NY Times Book Review
Review
“Lippman is a bet you just cant lose.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Review
“Shes one of the best novelists around, period.” Washington Post
Review
“smart and mesmerizing [...] an involving and elegant novel of the psychological ravages of crime” Booklist
Synopsis
Dead is dead. Missing is gone . . . When Felix Brewer vanishes on July 4, 1976, to avoid serving a fifteen-year prison sentence for mail fraud, he leaves behind five devastated women: his sophisticated wife, Bambi, their three lovely daughters, and his devoted young mistress, Julie. Though Bambi has no idea where her husband or his money might be, she suspects his mistress does. When Julie disappears ten years to the day after Felix went on the lam, everyone assumes she's left to join her old lover—until her remains are discovered in a secluded park.
Now, twenty-six years later, Roberto "Sandy" Sanchez, a retired Baltimore detective working cold cases for some extra cash, is investigating her murder. What he discovers is a tangled web of bitterness, jealousy, resentment, greed, and longing, stretching over five decades. And at its center is the enigmatic man who, though long gone, has never been forgotten by the women who loved him.
Felix Brewer left five women behind. Now there are four. Does one of them know the truth?
About the Author
Laura Lippman is the author of eleven novels featuring Baltimore private detective Tess Monaghan, seven stand-alone novels, and a short story collection. Her six most recent books have all been New York Times bestsellers. Lippman has won numerous literary prizes for her work, including the Edgar®, Anthony, Nero Wolfe, Agatha, Gumshoe, Barry, and Macavity Awards. A recent recipient of the first-ever Mayor's Prize, she lives in Baltimore, Maryland, with her husband, David Simon; their daughter; and her stepson.