What the Dead Know explained
What the Dead Know is a crime thriller by the American writer Laura Lippman, published in 2007.[1] [2] 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 it won the 2007 Quill Award in the mystery/suspense/thriller category and 2008 Anthony Award for Best Novel.
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 sergeant
- 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
Critical reception
Reviewers saw What the Dead Know as a success both as a well-crafted mystery and as an emotionally powerful novel.[3] [4] The Guardian described the novel as 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."[5] Kirkus Reviews praised the novel, noting that "Lippman (To the Power of Three, 2005, etc.) crafts a tale that resonates long after the last page is turned."[6] Janet Maslin of The New York Times praised What the Dead Know as "an uncommonly clever imposter story", "three-dimensional", and worthy of reading a second time — "You read it once just to move breathlessly toward the finale. Then you revisit it to marvel at how well Ms. Lippman pulled the wool over your eyes."[7]
Notes and References
- Laura Lippman, What the Dead Know, William Morrow, 2007., .
- Web site: WHAT THE DEAD KNOW | Kirkus Reviews. www.kirkusreviews.com.
- Patrick Anderson, "A Virtuoso Reappearing Act" (review of What the Dead Know), Washington Post, March 19, 2007; Page C03.
- Janet Maslin, "Maybe She’s Reappeared; Definitely She’s a Mystery" (review of What the Dead Know), New York Times, April 5, 2007.
- "What the Dead Know" (book review), The Guardian, July 14, 2007.
- Book: WHAT THE DEAD KNOW Kirkus Reviews. en.
- News: Maslin. Janet. 2007-04-05. Maybe She's Reappeared; Definitely She's a Mystery. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-06-08. 0362-4331.
