Books By My Bedside: Laura Lippman, author of Wilde Lake

American reporter turned writer Laura Lippman has been awarded every major prize in crime fiction and her books always hit the New York Times bestseller lists.

Her latest novel, Wilde Lake, penetrates deeply into the life of Luisa ‘Lu’ Brant, the newly elected state prosecutor of Howard County, Maryland, following in her father’s footsteps. 

At 39, following the death of her husband, Lu has moved in with her father. With the help of Teensy, the housekeeper who brought her up, she’s raising her twins in her old childhood home.

Fiercely intelligent and hungry for success, Lu is working on a tough case—the Drysdale Case. A mentally disturbed drifter is accused of strangling a middle-aged woman to death in her home.

As Lu prepares for the trial, the case dredges up painful memories of the night when AJ, her brother, saved his best friend at the cost of another man’s life.  AJ was cleared by a grand jury but now Lu finds herself reliving the events and wondering if her memories are reliable.

Wilde Lake is a brilliantly complex and psychologically mystery. As Lu investigates the Drysdale case and relives her brother’s trial, she finds herself questioning everything around her. What it means to be a man or woman of one’s time—and if she could find out the whole truth, would she really want to?

We asked Laura Lippman about the books she currently has on her mind.

LL: Modern Lovers by Emma Straub

Evicted by Matthew Desmond

Stoner by John Williams (I'm often late to the party)

Troubling Love by Elena Ferrante

Factory Man by Beth Macy

Go, Dog, Go by P. D. Eastman (My 6-year-old sleeps in my bed when her father is out of town.)

The Book that Matters Most by Ann Hood

Die of Shame by Mark Billingham

You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott

White Trash: The 400-Year Untold Story of Class in America, by Nancy Isenberg

Americans think that class doesn't matter that much in the United States, but I think it matters a lot.

Maybe not as much as race, but it's still significant to understanding our history and our culture.

With everyone! There's a young man at my favourite sandwich shop who likes to talk about non-fiction, so we swap recommendations. And most of my friends are writers, so we speak about books endlessly.

All My Friends Are Going to Be Strangers by Larry McMurtry.

I first read this early McMurtry novel when I was on a bus in Texas, travelling to see my boyfriend.

From its first lines, I was in its spell. And I remember thinking, 'I hope I can make someone else feel that way one day, reading something I have written.’

Institutionalized.

Wilde Lake by Laura Lippman is published by Faber & Faber. Browse similar titles in our shop

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