What the Dead Know

By: Laura Lippman

Narrated by: Linda Emond

Thirty years ago two sisters disappeared from a shopping mall. Their bodies were never found and those familiar with the case have always been tortured by these questions: How do you kidnap two girls? Who'or what'could have lured the two sisters away from a busy mall on a Saturday afternoon without leaving behind a single clue or witness?

Now a clearly disoriented woman involved in a rush-hour hit-and-run claims to be the younger of the long-gone Bethany sisters. But her involuntary admission and subsequent attempt to stonewall investigators only deepens the mystery. Where has she been, why has she waited so long to come forward? Could her abductor truly be a beloved Baltimore cop? There isn't a shred of evidence to support her story, and every lead she gives the police seems to be another dead-end'a dying, incoherent man, a razed house, a missing grave, and a family that disintegrated long ago, torn apart not only by the crime but by the fissures the tragedy revealed in what appeared to be the perfect household.

In a story that moves back and forth across the decades, there is only one person who dares to be skeptical of a woman who wants to claim the identity of one Bethany sister without revealing the fate of the other. Will he be able to discover the truth?

Best yet

I have read most of Laura Lippman's novels and this is the best yet. Far more intricate than her prior novels, it is woven in a forward/backward/sideways narrative that winds ever more tightly around the killer. The ending has an amazing "reveal" that is terrific.

Who would have guessed!

No one really wins in this story. Having said that, there is some closure at the end of the book and hope for the future.

Excellent I

A gripping story with intriguing turns and twists with a surprising end well told and narrated

Interesting but a little lacking

The plot was interesting and a bit of a slow burn. There was a lot of mystery but not a lot of action, so to speak.

The music was annoying and made it hard to hear the story.

Also, the last few chapters are repeated several times. Also annoying.

The narrator was great and did all kinds of accents fairly well.

I might not repeat this author as the mystery wasn't as mysterious as I would of liked.

Even my Husband liked it

This was my first read by this author. Her writing was not only engaging, it was a well-written novel on par with most high-brow literature. Her characters are memorable and the plot lines are truly unique. I had no problem following the jumps through time. If anything it added more depth to the story.