‘Lady in the Lake’ (2019): A Book Review

Seasoned novelist and reporter Laura Lippman’s 2019 novel The Lady in the Lake is an immersive historical drama with strong themes, morally ambiguous characters, and a high level of detail. It is less successful as a suspenseful mystery, bogged down by a rigid structure, slow pacing, and a lack of suspense. So long as readers are aware of its heavy focus on character internality and realism going in, they will likely find it an enjoyable exploration of mid-century Baltimore that tackles a wide breadth of heavy themes. With Apple TV’s miniseries adaptation of the book about to drop, let’s see how the original holds up.

The Unique Structure

The novel is broken into three parts. The first two take on a unique structure, where the perspective from which the chapter is told alternates between third person present tense and first person present tense. The third person chapters always follow protagonist Madeline “Maddie” Schwartz, a Jewish housewife that has abandoned domesticity in search of a more fulfilling life. The first person chapters, however, never have the same narrator twice. They are always from the perspective of a character relevant to the preceding chapter and almost always move the plot along. It’s an innovative method that allows for a diversity of perspectives on the story and the protagonist, allowing readers to see sides of things they wouldn’t have been able to in a more conventional narrative. 

Unfortunately, the rigid adherence to this structure in the first two parts can sometimes slow the momentum of an otherwise gripping story. Characters will be discussing a murder, and then readers are subjected to seven pages of a waitress’s life story because she briefly worked alongside the victim. This seems to highlight the tension between genres present in the whole book, where it attempts to be simultaneously a mystery and an exploration of humanity. The titular “Lady in the Lake,” Eunetta “Cleo” Sherwood, is found over a hundred pages into the 337 page book, after readers see Maddie go on a whole series of divorce and newspaper-related hijinks. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with a book that takes its time, a mystery book that arrives at its primary mystery about a third in can be frustrating for readers expecting a more conventional crime novel. As a historical literary drama, however, it excels, but that element of it remains secondary in the marketing.

A Clash of Genres

Lady in the Lake’s plot is not the story of Cleo Sherwood’s murder investigation; it is the story of Maddie Schwartz’s self-discovery. Because that’s the primary focus of the novel, readers can see a carefully crafted character arc communicated through subtle, realistic changes, slowly unfurling. Her struggle is palpable, and things don’t come easily to her, which makes the victories she has throughout the novel more satisfying.

Again, though, it is billed as mystery/suspense. Characters will often insist that Maddie is digging around where she doesn’t belong, that Maddie is going to be in danger if she keeps doing certain things, and yet there’s really only one scene where there’s a significant threat to her physical safety, and, though serious, it’s also quickly resolved. The peril that is insisted upon, otherwise feels disappointingly absent.

There’s also a realism to the plot that makes it interesting if readers are there for the characters, but somewhat frustrating if they wanted a more conventional mystery experience. Though there are some twists and turns, only two of them, presented too near to the end to really shake up the majority of the plot, are incredibly impactful. There’s also an ambiguity to the end that may divide readers.