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Thirty years ago, the two Bethany sisters, ages 11 and 15, disappeared from a Baltimore shopping mall. They never returned, their bodies were never found, and only painful questions remain. How do you kidnap two girls from a busy mall on a Saturday afternoon without leaving behind a single clue or witness? Now, decades later, in the aftermath of a rush-hour hit-and-run accident, a clearly disoriented woman is claiming to be Heather, the younger Bethany sister. Not a shred of evidence supports her story, and every lead she reluctantly offers takes the police to another dead end—a dying, incoherent man; a razed house; a missing grave. But there is something she knows about that terrible day . . . and about a family that disintegrated long ago, torn apart by an unthinkable tragedy and the fissures it revealed in a seemingly perfect household.

Average Customer Rating:

an original but slow mystery

Customer Rating:

I loved the start of this novel. A woman is involved in a hit and run accident, and when confronted by the police, she connects herself to a 20 year old disappearance of two young girls. It was clear at the start that this was not going to follow any typical mystery formula. The novel is very well written, and bounces back and forth from past to present. I did get a bit impatient for a bit more to happen. I liked the characters, but the movement was all in time, and so there was no real character development. I liked the ending as well as so much about the book, but I spent too much time wishing it move along a bit more. This is a true original, and I expect a good read for many out there.

a decent read

Customer Rating:

This was my first book by Lippman. I read this book in one sitting - I love the way she writes, and the story had me hooked. It's a very dark tale, so that was depressing in spots. I figured out the twist really early in the book. (That may not be the book's fault, though.) The resolution was rushed, and I didn't buy aspects of it. Several people are annoyed by the use of the phrase "a police." Didn't bother me - I assumed it was a colloquialism.

Great Psychological Suspense

Customer Rating:

Boy was this book a great find. I am not a fan of detective series so when famous authors do a stand alone novel I grab it up as I did here. I read the rave reviews and must say I wholeheartedly agree. This book is an excellent psychological study of some unique and amazing characters and provides excellent suspense at the same time. In 1975 2 girls went missing - 2 sisters who disappeared at a shopping mall. There was never a resolution brough to their disappearance and now 30 years later a mysterious, mentally off balance woman who was caught fleeing from a car accident claims to be one of these girls. This author uses the often tried but often unsatisfying literary form of going from past to present over and over. She does it to amazing results. This novel is not so much a suspense novel as a deep psychological novel that studies its multifaceted characters in depth. The plot is simple - is this woman who she says she is and why would she reveal herself now? From this premise Laura Lippman creates highly developed characters from the past and the present as we learn more and more. Red herrings are expertly dropped everywhere, twists and turns run galore and they will certainly keep the reader on their toes. There are some definite shocks here. This novel is highly satisfying. It is intelligently written and builds to a surprising and satisfying conclusion that will make you very happy you took the journey. Laura Lippman is an excellent author and you will crave more from her after this gem.

WOW!

Customer Rating:

This is a very good book,riveting though the best part of the book is at the end it's worth the wait. Author builds the suspense level way up to find out the true story. Most stories that deal with alot of facts tend to loose the reader but this isn't the case here. No, I'm not going to tell you how it plays out but I will tell you this when I was done with the book I said that was a really great book. It makes me want to check out other stuff done by the author. This would make a great movie too!

Pleasurable reading	Customer Rating:
The book is well written and the story is nicely developed. As the story progresses the reader can enjoy surprising twist nearing the end. The book is enjoyable.