Book Review: Every Secret Thing

Reviewed By: Woodstock - RAM

Every Secret Thing     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Laura Lippman
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Woman Main Character

Not precisely a murder mystery, we know almost immediately the identity of the killers in this tale. But nevertheless profoundly mysterious in every sense of the word. Two young girls, approaching middle school age, find a child sleeping alone in an expensive pram on the doorstep of an upscale home. Some misguided motivation leads them to wheel the baby away, convincing themselves that she has been abandoned and has no one to care for her. Several days later police cadets on a training excercise find the infant's body - with evidence that before her death the child had been very ill.

A few toys left at the scene lead investigators to the two girls, and after legal maneuvering and political pressure from the family of the dead infant, the two are incarcerated in juvenile faciliaties for seven years. After their release another young girl disappears and the mother of the first infant puts the pressure on again, leaking tips to the media, calling the police, and insisting that the two be questioned again.

Nearly everyone in this story has a double agenda. Lippman reveals the complete circumstances of the first death very very gradually, giving us tantalizing glimpses into the ruinous decisions which contributed to the first tragedy, and indeed continue into the lives of the two girls who were arrested.

Not easy to put down while reading, and I don't think I will stop thinking about this book for awhile.

Woodstock - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Woodstock - RAM