Wilde Lake; Laura Lippman

Wilde Lake; Laura Lippman

Harper Audio and William Morrow - 2016

Touted as a modern day version of To Kill a Mockingbird, Wilde Lake, is a story that spans a period of nearly 40 years, a story about family and its secrets.

Wilde Lake has been home to the Brant family since Lu and her older brother A.J. were very young. Lu, now a young widow with twins have returned home to Wilde Lake to live. Lu's father Andrew Jackson Brant, a widower, was a former state prosecutor and now, at 45, Lu is the state's first woman prosecutor. in Howard County

Lu's first case as prosecutor involves the murder of a woman in her home by a homeless drifter.  The case takes her back in time to an incident that occurred on the night of her brother AJ's high school graduation when Lu was just 10 years old. On that night, AJ saved a friend but, another man was killed. AJ was cleared by a grand jury back then but, as her memory takes her back in time, she wonders whether she knew the whole story because she was just a young motherless child at the time. As Lu digs deep into the past eventually the past and present converge and some secrets, once thought buried forever come to light.

The story began in 1980 with a death at a party on the night of AJs graduation. The story is told in alternating chapters between the present case and the time and, back when she was a child and the incident involving AJ.  Lipman weaves an intricate tale based on memory, family, secrets and justice.

I liked the way that the story showed how very different our perception of events in childhood can be to what really occurred. Unfortunately, I did not care for the main character Lu, and for some reason my overall enjoyment of this thriller was marred by that.  The audio version read by Kathleen Mcinnerney and Nicole Poole was very good.

3.5/5 stars
(library audio and eGalley)