Don't Miss Laura Lippman

The Most Dangerous Thing

by Laura Lippman

Its appropriate that, the week that the Baltimore Ravens will take the field at the Super Bowl, I should write about a true daughter of Baltimore, Laura Lippman. Over the weekend, I finished one of her recent books, The Most Dangerous Thing and realized that I'd never written about her.  She's one of my favorites.

Lippman started her career as a journalist at the Baltimore Sun  and began writing crime novels while she worked there.  I started reading her mysteries years ago.  They are good stories, set in Baltimore with a female hero and lots of plot twists and character.  I have enjoyed these books and liked the way she writes. If you haven't tried them, you should.  Then in 2003, Ms. Lippman began writing stand alone books - ones not in the Tess series - and that's when she really started to shine for me.

The Most Dangerous Thing is about a group of preteens who become fast friends and roam the vast wooded park near their home in Dickeyville, the Baltimore neighborhood where Lippman grew up.  As they approach high school, the kids are part of an event that becomes the secret that changes their lives and those of their parents.  Fast forward to present day when the kids are now in their 40's and one of them is killed in a car wreck (possible suicide) and they all meet again at the funeral.  Eventually the story of that fateful night unfolds.  The story and its characters keeps you engaged and Lippman creates a tension and suspense that keeps you reading and makes your stomach hurt at the same time.

Instead of telling the story in a linear fashion, Lippman tells it from different points of view. First the kids, both young and middle aged, then the parents, both in flashback and present day. In this format, the reader can see how the story unfolded in the way that it did, with innocent kids and self absorbed, closed mouthed parents.   Lippman is a master of character who understands the way people think and how their life changes in different stages.  You really understand their motivations, their sorrows and their reasons for acting the way they do.  She breathes life into the story and gives insight into how the events of the novel proceed.  Since the novel is set in 1979 and 1980, it helped me consider those women of my parent's age who had teenagers on the cusp of the equal rights movement while they came of age without the benefits that their daughters enjoyed.  An interesting perspective on my mother and her friends and sets up a dynamic that makes me think of my relationship to my own preteen daughter.

Baltimore is a weird place.  For those of you who don't know it well, it is a dichotomy of old world class and campy funky kitsch. Its gritty and cultured at the same time. Think a mixture of "Homicide Life on the Streets", "Hairspray" and "Accidental Tourist" rolled into one.  People who live there love their town, their sports teams and their landscape.   One of the fun parts of the novel for me is that Ms. Lippman is obsessive about placing her characters in Baltimore.  She names real streets, restaurants, landmarks and places them in historical context.  Full disclosure here - My husband is from Baltimore and so I've spent some time there.  His family still lives there and I hear a lot about the places and events that happen there.

So, as you settle in this weekend to get ready to watch the Ravens beat the 49ners, you can augment your Super Bowl experience by delving into the one of Laura Lippman's books to steep yourself in the world of Baltimore.  Snuggle up, have a beer and some cheese dip while you read and you might even be able to skip the game.