Wilde Lake by Laura Lippman

Summary from Goodreads:

"Luisa “Lu” Brant is the newly elected state’s attorney representing suburban Maryland—including the famous planned community of Columbia, created to be a utopia of racial and economic equality. Prosecuting a controversial case involving a disturbed drifter accused of beating a woman to death, the fiercely ambitious Lu is determined to avoid the traps that have destroyed other competitive, successful women. She’s going to play it smart to win this case—and win big—cementing her political future.

But her intensive preparation for trial unexpectedly dredges up painful recollections of another crime—the night when her brother, AJ, saved his best friend at the cost of another man’s life. Only eighteen, AJ was cleared by a grand jury. Justice was done. Or was it? Did the events of 1980 happen as she remembers them? She was only a child then. What details didn’t she know?

As she plunges deeper into the past, Lu is forced to face a troubling reality. The legal system, the bedrock of her entire life, does not have all the answers. But what happens when she realizes that, for the first time, she doesn’t want to know the whole truth?"

My Thoughts:

This may be my first book by this author but it certainly won't be my last. What I liked most about this book was how the mystery gradually built up throughout the story. This isn't your typical thriller where every page is filled with suspense and mystery. Instead this is a quieter book where the tension slowly builds up until a very strong ending. I loved the way that this book was set up with the story line flipping between the past and present. Everything is told from Lu's viewpoint and what made that an interesting choice is that Lu was so young when everything happened. So really her viewpoint is a child's viewpoint and it made me question how she remembered things. She recounted things that happened in a way that the reader was able to tell more was going on than she fully understood. It made for a very interesting read and I enjoyed every minute of it. This wasn't a book that I rushed through. Instead I took my time with it and just enjoyed the reading experience.

Although this was quieter novel, it did have some pretty intense moments by the end of it. I found myself intrigued by all of the secrets that this story seemed to contain. The Goodread's summary (I didn't include this part) compares this to To Kill a Mockingbird and I can see the similarities. Obviously this is a very different book but there were just enough things that made the comparison seem valid. Reading that comparison had me thinking about the book in a different way than I had been while reading. Don't you love when that happens? I find myself appreciating this book all over again! Although I took my time reading this one, there hit a certain point of the book where I just couldn't put it down. I found myself reading late into the night because I just needed to see how the book would end.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and am eager to read more by this author. I don't know what I expected when I picked this book up but I feel like this surpassed my expectations. I love when I find books like this where they are just a different and refreshing change of pace. This story still had a mystery too but it was much more character driven. I loved that we got the chance to really get to know these characters throughout the story. It was just a really enjoyable read and I want more books just like it. I would recommend this book to a variety of readers: mystery and suspense fans along with those readers that enjoy character driven novels. Recommended!

Bottom Line: A quiet mystery that I really enjoyed!
Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher as part of a TLC book tour.