What the Dead Know

By: Laura Lippman

Narrated by: Linda Emond

Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

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?

©2007 Laura Lippman (P)2007 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Edgar-winner Lippman...shows she's as good as Peter Abrahams and other A-list thriller writers with this outstanding stand-alone." (Publishers Weekly)
"An uncommonly clever impostor story, so cagily constructed that it easily fulfills the genre's two basic demands. First, Ms. Lippman is able to keep her reader guessing about the main character's disputed identity until the very end of this book. Second, when the revelation comes, it makes perfect sense, and it has been hiding in plain sight. This is not one of those mysteries with a denouement that feels tacked on, half baked or pulled out of thin air." (The New York Times)

Compelling story that keeps you hooked.

Laura Lippman is a talented writer and storyteller. What the Dead Know hooks you with a mystery that you can't stop listening to until you know the answer? Well written and very well preformed. Linda Emond's performance brings all of the characters alive allowing you to submerse yourself into the story.

I enjoyed this book.

I really enjoyed this book. It had a interesting twist at the end. Just when I thought I had it figured out! The music during it was awkward but didn't really have anything to do with the story so after the first couple times it was played it didn't bother me anymore.

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.

Excellent narration saves this story

While the premise was interesting, the execution of WHAT THE DEAD KNOW was excruciatingly tiresome that I skimmed most of the book.

I liked the audiobook more than the written version, though.

Problem with the recording

The last hour of the book was repeated for some unknown reason. The story was ok, but lagged here and there

Don't make assumptions.

If you could sum up What the Dead Know in three words, what would they be?

Engaging, unpredictable, emotive.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

it kept me hooked. The story telling was not predicable and it left you wanting to know more.

Have you listened to any of Linda Emond’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

N/A

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It evoked many emotions but my reaction were not on the extreme end of the scale.