Wilde Lake - Paperback

by Laura Lippman (Author)

The New York Times bestselling author of the acclaimed standalones After I'm Gone, I'd Know You Anywhere, and What the Dead Know, challenges our notions of memory, loyalty, responsibility, and justice in this evocative and psychologically complex story about a long-ago death that still haunts a family.

Luisa "Lu" Brant is the newly elected--and first female--state's attorney of Howard County, Maryland, a job in which her widower father famously served. Fiercely intelligent and ambitious, she sees an opportunity to make her name by trying a mentally disturbed drifter accused of beating a woman to death in her home. It's not the kind of case that makes headlines, but peaceful Howard county doesn't see many homicides.

As Lu prepares for the trial, the case dredges up painful memories, reminding her small but tight-knit family of 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. Now, Lu wonders if the events of 1980 happened as she remembers them. What details might have been withheld from her when she was a child?

The more she learns about the case, the more questions arise. What does it mean to be a man or woman of one's times? Why do we ask our heroes of the past to conform to the present's standards? Is that fair? Is it right? Propelled into the past, she discovers that the legal system, the bedrock of her entire life, does not have all the answers. Lu realizes that even if she could learn the whole truth, she probably wouldn't want to.

Front Jacket

What happens when we're forced to look closely at the myths and stories that shape our families? In Wilde Lake, Laura Lippman takes on the frailty of memory and the way that ever-evolving standards can create villains where heroes once stood.

Luisa "Lu" Brant is the newly elected state's attorney of Howard County, Maryland. Fiercely intelligent and ambitious, she sees an opportunity to burnish her reputation by trying a homeless man accused of beating a woman to death in her home.

As Lu prepares for the trial, the case dredges up painful memories, reminding her family of the night when her brother, AJ, saved his best friend at the cost of another man's life. Now, Lu wonders if the events of 1980 happened as she remembers them.

The more she learns about her new case, the more questions arise about the past. Why was her brother's friend attacked? Who was the true victim? If there is such a thing as the whole truth, Lu realizes--possibly too late--that she would be better off not knowing what it is.

Back Jacket

What happens when we're forced to look closely at the myths and stories that shape our families? In Wilde Lake, Laura Lippman takes on the frailty of memory and the way that ever-evolving standards can create villains where heroes once stood.

Luisa "Lu" Brant is the newly elected state's attorney of Howard County, Maryland. Fiercely intelligent and ambitious, she sees an opportunity to burnish her reputation by trying a homeless man accused of beating a woman to death in her home.

As Lu prepares for the trial, the case dredges up painful memories, reminding her family of the night when her brother, AJ, saved his best friend at the cost of another man's life. Now, Lu wonders if the events of 1980 happened as she remembers them.

The more she learns about her new case, the more questions arise about the past. Why was her brother's friend attacked? Who was the true victim? If there is such a thing as the whole truth, Lu realizes--possibly too late--that she would be better off not knowing what it is.