Laura Lippman

Luisa “Lu” Brant is the newly elected 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 burnish her reputation by trying a homeless man accused of beating a woman to death in her home. It’s not the kind of case that makes national 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 18n at the time, AJ was found to have acted in self-defense. Now, Lu wonders if the events of 1980 happened as she remembers them. Long discrete memories began to fit together, revealing connections and secrets that Lu never suspected. As Lu immerses herself in trial preparations, she cannot stop thinking about the past. Why was her brother's friend attacked? Who was the true victim? Lu discovers that the legal system, the bedrock of her life, can no longer provide comfort or even reliable answers. 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. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Laura Lippman is the author of 6 New York Times bestselling novels in an oeuvre that includes the award-winning Tess Monaghan series, a collection of critically acclaimed stand-alone novels, and an anthology of award-winning short stories. She began her career as a journalist; she was a reporter for 20, twelve at The Baltimore Sun. She began writing novels while working full-time, and published seven Tess Monaghan books before leaving daily journalism in 2001. Her Tess books, 11 in all, have won virtually every major mystery prize including the Edgar, Anthony, Agatha, Nero Wolfe, Shamus, Gumshoe, Barry, Quill, and Macavity awards. Laura has also received wide critical acclaim and awards for her stand-alone novels, 3 of which were New York Times bestsellers—What the Dead Know, Life Sentences, and I’d Know You Anywhere. Laura lives in Baltimore with her husband, David Simon, and their daughter.