My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Hmmm. After putting down 'Life Sentences' by Laura Lippman, I feel vaguely satisfied but this is not what I expected. With other novels by Lippman, I was taken in by the story, couldn't put the book down and after I spend time decompressing what has happened to her characters.
This book was equally as well written technically as the others. Lippman's storytelling is always exact and I am impressed by what she manages to weave together. Always coming together in the end. That is a gift she has! But the story was ... not gripping. Well, it was...perhaps I thought there would be more 'thriller' or 'suspense'. For example, I loved Lippman's Hardly Knew Her and What the Dead Know but this book does not match the stories told in these other two.
The characters in Life Sentences are very strong. I will say that I wanted to have a bit more respect toward the author, Cassandra, but really, I don't think I'd want to be her friend with her almost narcissistic personality and her attitude about sleeping around really too aloof. The other characters were, for the most part, truly tragic. I guess like we all are. But even more so. Teena the cop who has aged at a merciless rate; Fatima who is so "churchized" yet perhaps is involved in a cover-up; Callie is innocent and guilty and just used up; Donna and Reg are about as tragic as any character could be. But still, I wanted a little more. Some sort of ending that would give me the closure I needed after investing the time. But no.
Great read if you're between serious stuff and need some fluff. And, again, this is just me. I see many 4+ star reviews which only has me questioning my own now...
Born in Atlanta, GA, The United States
Website http://www.lauralippman.com/
Genre Mystery & Thrillers
Laura Lippman was a reporter for twenty years, including twelve years at The (Baltimore) Sun. She began writing novels while working fulltime and published seven books about “accidental PI” Tess Monaghan before leaving daily journalism in 2001. Her work has been awarded the Edgar ®, the Anthony, the Agatha, the Shamus, the Nero Wolfe, Gumshoe and Barry awards. She also has been nominated for other prizes in the crime fiction field, including the Hammett and the Macavity. She was the first-ever recipient of the Mayor’s Prize for Literary Excellence and the first genre writer recognized as Author of the Year by the Maryland Library Association.
Ms. Lippman grew up in Baltimore and attended city schools through ninth grade. After graduating from Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, Md., Ms. Lippman attended Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Her other newspaper jobs included the Waco Tribune-Herald and the San Antonio Light.
Ms. Lippman returned to Baltimore in 1989 and has lived there since. She is the daughter of Theo Lippman Jr., a Sun editorial writer who retired in 1995 but continues to freelance for several newspapers, and Madeline Mabry Lippman, a former Baltimore City school librarian. Her sister, Susan, is a local bookseller.