What the Dead Know

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What the Dead Know is a crime thriller by Laura Lippman published in 2007.[1] The story, set in Baltimore in 2005, is about an investigation into a woman who claims to be Heather Bethany, a girl who had gone missing thirty years before. The book was critically acclaimed and won the 2007 Quill Award in the mystery/suspense/thriller category.

[edit] Critical reception

Reviewers saw What the Dead Know as a success both as a well-crafted mystery and as an emotionally powerful novel.[2][3] The Guardian called it a "realistic and poignant detailing of emotional hide-and-seek, ... an excellent mystery and a thoughtful exploration of the nature and effects of grief and loss."[4] The reader is kept guessing to the end as to the identity of the mystery woman.

[edit] Main characters, as first introduced

  • The Bethany family: Dave and Miriam (née Toles); daughters Heather and Sunny
  • Penelope Jackson – registered owner of a car in a highway accident
  • Detective Kevin Infante – lead investigator
  • Harold Lenhardt – Infante's sargeant
  • Gloria Bustamante – lawyer
  • Nancy Porter – police researcher and Infante's former police partner
  • Kay Sullivan – social worker at St. Agnes Hospital; children Seth and Grace
  • Dr. Schumeier – psychiatrist at St. Agnes Hospital
  • Chester "Chet" V. Willoughby IV – retired detective
  • Stan Dunham – former Pennsylvania property owner
  • Irene – a foster mother
  • Tony Dunham – man killed in a Florida house fire
  • Roy Pincharelli – music teacher
  • Joe – art gallery owner
  • Javier – art gallery employee
  • Jeff and Thelma Baumgarten – couple in fidelity crisis
  • Ruth Leibig – Ohio school girl
  • Estelle and Herb Turner – practitioners of Fivefold Path spirituality
  • Priscilla "Syl" Browne – employee at "Swiss Colony" restaurant

[edit] References

  1. ^ Laura Lippman, What the Dead Know, William Morrow, 2007. ISBN-10 0061128856, ISBN-13 978-0061128851.
  2. ^ Patrick Anderson, "A Virtuoso Reappearing Act" (review of What the Dead Know), Washington Post, March 19, 2007; Page C03.
  3. ^ Janet Maslin, "Maybe She’s Reappeared; Definitely She’s a Mystery" (review of What the Dead Know), New York Times, April 5, 2007.
  4. ^ "What the Dead Know" (book review), The Guardian, July 14, 2007.