Every Secret Thing: A Novel

Throughout this book the author makes reprehensible, global generalizations related to obese women. She equates women who are overweight with low intelligence, Alice and Maven: she further marginalizes "blubbery" women (her words) by classifying them as "white trash". I was only able to read to 40% of the book when I threw it down in disgust, unable to tolerate any further reading of Lippmann's small minded bigoted writing. I have enjoyed some of her works in the past. At time when humanity is striving to come together despite race, creed, color and significant differences, why would this person, Lippman, negate these wonderful efforts? No more will I financially support her by buying her trash. Strong words, yet true.

This was definitely not worth the read! Lineman seemed to have a decent idea and then she got bored writing it. The characters were transparent and dull. Most readers want to connect with a specific character, but that didn't happen here. I didn't even hate the characters. I just didn't/couldn't care.
I'm very disappointed with Lippman.

Utter garbage. Zero story. If you've been unfortunate enough to buy this, read the first chapter and the last two or three and you'll have the whole story. The author seems to suffer under the delusion that pages upon pages of meaningless, irrelevant details about the characters constitutes a story. Unfortunately for our educational institutions, too many people agree.

“The past was worth remembering and knowing in its own right. It was not behind us, never truly behind us, but under us, holding us up, a foundation for all that was to come and everything that had ever been.”

----Laura Lippman

Laura Lippman, an American award-winning NY Times best-selling author, has penned an incredibly nail-biting as well as edgy thriller, Every Secret Thing , that was published in the year 2004 and that has won quite a lot of literary awards. The story revolves around two little girls who unfortunately became a part of a horrific and sad murder of a little baby who was left abandoned by a sitter, seven years later, the disappearance of yet another child speculates and brings back the same memory of that child and will life ever be same for those two little girls who have just served seven years in juvenile prison.

Synopsis:

From critically acclaimed, multiple-award winner Laura Lippman comes a riveting story of love and murder, guilt and innocence

Two little girls banished from a neighborhood birthday party find an abandoned stroller with an infant inside on an unfamiliar Baltimore street. What happens next is shocking and terrible, causing the irreparable devastation of three separate families.

Seven years later, Alice Manning and Ronnie Fuller, now eighteen, are released from “kid prison” to begin their lives over again. But the secrets swirling around the original crime continue to haunt the parents, the lawyers, the police, and all the adults in Alice and Ronnie’s lives. And now another child has disappeared, under freakishly similar circumstances.

Alice Manning and Ronnie Fuller two eleven year old girls are kicked out of a friend's pool party early because of their misbehavior. On their way to home, they come across an abandoned baby, named, Olivia Barnes, across a porch, whom they steal away thus resulting on their imprisonment in a juvenile prison and the case led by county detective Nancy Porter, everyone gets the justice for the baby's lucky fate of getting murdered by two little children. Seven years later, Alice and Ronnie, promised of a fresh and new life, is once again pulled down the same horrifying memory lane of trials and everything when another baby disappears in the same fashion. So it is now Nancy's duty to find out the real source and the real killer of the crime.

Honestly, why haven't I heard of this author before the movie adaption of the book, bad publicity maybe! I will definitely have to buy all her books after today, since this thriller not only left me thrilled to the very core but the book never once failed to challenge me with it's complexities, questions, innocence and twists. Yeah there is a movie and after watching it, I was completely bowled over by the nicely-woven plot and that led me to look up the author and ordering the very book online.

This story is woven with so many layers, firstly from the premise as well as from the initial chapters it feels very obvious that a bad and vulnerable as well as outspoken white girl like Ronnie and her only friend, Alice who is quite the opposite of Ronnie, together might have killed the African-American baby, Olivia, and all through out the plot, the author poses a question onto her readers' minds about which girl was the one to kill Olivia and that too occurring in a racially-charged-up neighborhood in Baltimore.

The writing is fantastic and I've rarely came across anything so brilliant yet challenging at the same time. The prose is evocative since the story sways to-and-fro seven years before prison and seven years after prison life for both Alica and Ronnie. The author's eye and keen to tiniest details are very evident while sketching out two young girls in the prologue of the story.

The story revolves on what actually happened to Olivia and to the other disappeared kid in the neighborhood through Alice and Ronnie's testimony through variously distinct characters, that are sketched with lots of depth. So the only thing that connects the readers through the point of revelation of the actual happening of the events are through testimony of various people from parents to teachers to police officers to etc. Yes, that means the plot is loosely a character-driven one, as the author takes her readers on a joy ride to let us see through the loves of these human beings and how they have accepted a crime in their lives.

The characters are all thoroughly psychologically flawed as well as they all harbor secrets deep into their souls. The adults, like Nancy, the detective who went at great lengths to bring justice to Olivia's murder, Cynthia, mother of Olivia, still seven years later yearning for vengeance while conceiving a child right after Olivia's death, Sharon Kepelmen, who can't get over the case when she was Alice's public defender, and Alice's single mother, Helen, who is also a school teacher and is still holding back her past, are vividly painted in the novel and how they are still obsessed to the very core.

The protagonists are a brilliant example of character portrayal in a character-driven crime novel, where both Alice and Ronnie are a stark contrast to each other's demeanor and which also questions us the upbringing of a child in a dysfunctional to a single-motherhood kind of families. They are bound to remain as being imprinted upon the readers minds long after reading the book.

The best thing of this crime thriller is that there is no motive, no anger no reason no agenda to take revenge or anything that will lead to a horrifying murder of a baby, so only by depending solely on the cast of characters, the mystery cannot unfold on it's own. Surprisingly there are no main male characters in the book thus making it a women-centric story. This is a book which questions our society and the way it poses the questions feels like a cold hard slap on the face about the way we are raising our children/monsters.

There was not a moment when the book disappointed me with it's unrealistic take of the story, at every point, the author instilled a belief into my heart through this story and the climax is one of a kind and is quite alarming. In a nutshell, this book is a page-turner and like any other literary novel, enlightens a human mind as well as leaves the reader unraveled with the extent of the suspense.

Do watch the movie adaption with the same title, that is directed by Amy J. Berg, featuring, Dakota Fanning, Diane Lane, Elizabeth Banks, Danielle Macdonald, which released on 15th May.

Laura Lippman is another author recommended to me after my recent Gillian Flynn binge. She has a weighty volume of work to choose from, but I was drawn to the description of Every Secret Thing for my first .

11 year olds Ronnie and Alice are neighborhood friends unexpectedly -- and perhaps unjustly -- banished from a classmate's birthday party at the community pool. In their short walk home, a shocking crime will change both girls' lives forever. The story picks up seven years later, when both Ronnie and Alice are released from the juvenile justice system for their parts in the death of a baby girl that fateful day back in sixth grade. Both girls are deeply damaged by their experience, but trying to adjust to a new adult life and move on. However, just days after the girls move back to the neighborhood, another child disappears under ominous circumstances, and everyone involved in the old case immediately considers them suspects. To solve the new missing child case, however, they first must unravel the real story of what happened seven years ago.

I enjoyed the story, which contained some genuine surprises, but no huge mind-blowing twists. Like many books of this genre, there is a serious shortage of likeable characters, but Lippman still manages to make them interesting. However, I wish the story had not been framed within the police procedural structure. If there had been a bit less focus on the detective team, I would have been more enthusiastic, I think. I would have liked to see more through the lens of teenaged Ronnie and Alice, and maybe even more flashbacks of what happened the afternoon after the girls left the birthday party.

This book isn't among my favorite in the genre, but I'm interesting in reading more by Lippman.

Six years ago, when sort-of best friends Alice and Ronnie were eleven years old and were sent home from a birthday party in disgrace, they kidnapped an infant from someone's front yard. The baby died and the girls went to juvenile prison until they were legal adults. Now they're back and -- no surprise -- they're much different people now. That's the set-up and everything else in this tensely absorbing story builds from that premise as another infant disappears from a mall. Are one or both of the girls involved?

Lippman is very, very good at exploring the personalities of characters in extremely stressful situations, at letting them slowly reveal themselves to the reader in ways that turn the narration on its head, often several times, so that you really can't predict where the story is going. (Just like real life in that respect.) There's the mother of the victim, whose grandfather is a beloved judge and who is determined to get revenge for her daughter's death by tying Alice and Ronnie to this new crime, whether they did it or not. And there's Alice's rather puzzling mother, who insisted her daughter be held equally accountable for the first crime, because it was only fair. There's the public defender who feels she failed the girls in the original plea-bargaining and who is determined to do better this time. And, of course, there's the relationship between the two girls, both then and now, even though they haven't seen each other in six years. And will justice be served? Not much, really.

The author started out with a well-received private detective series set (like all her books) in Baltimore, but after a few years she branched out into some independent novels, of which I have now read three and greatly enjoyed them all. Actually, while the latter books each center on a different group of main characters, they're all tied together by the recurring crew of Baltimore County homicide cops from whose perspective we see much of the action. I'm a little surprised that Hollywood doesn't seem to have caught up to Lippman yet.

When I picked up "Every Secret Thing," by Laura Lippman, I expected nothing more than a formulaic novel about child abductions. Much to my surprise, this book turned out to be a deeply psychological page-turner with marvelously descriptive writing, dry humor, and intricate plotting. Now that I have finished the book, the highest compliment that I can pay to Ms. Lippman is that she reminds me of the great British novelist, Ruth Rendell. Why? Rendell has never been satisfied with the standard whodunit formula. She likes to examine the unexplored dark corners of the human psyche and the mystery is not always the centerpiece of her books. The people are.
"Every Secret Thing" begins with a tragedy. A little girl named Olivia Barnes is kidnapped and, several days later, she is murdered. Two eleven-year-old girls named Ronnie Fuller and Alice Manning are charged with the crime, and they spend seven years in juvenile detention facilities. When they are released, Ronnie and Alice are young women of eighteen. Before long, when another little girl named Brittany goes missing, Ronnie and Alice are once again under suspicion.
There are so many things to praise about this book that it is difficult to pick one, but above all else, the character development is uniformly outstanding. We get to know each major and several minor characters intimately, as if they were our own neighbors. Lippman gives us a glimpse into the minds of Ronnie and Alice, two unhappy and lonely misfits with a tenuous grip on reality. We become well acquainted with Helen Manning, Alice's narcissistic and foolish mother, Nancy Porter, the cop who found Olivia's body and has been haunted by the case ever since, and Cynthia Barnes, Olivia's bitter and grieving mother whose life is devoted to seeing Alice and Ronnie destroyed. That the two girls responsible for killing Olivia should be set free to walk the earth is simply not an option for Cynthia, who has powerful political connections and is used to getting what she wants.
As the story unfolds, a tale of psychological horror emerges that is truly chilling. When I turned the last page, I knew that I would be thinking about this book for some time to come, marveling at how Lippman mines so many themes so effectively, and how she makes us care deeply about the outcome of her story. Don't miss this unforgettable thriller.

Two ten year old girls have been convicted of the murder of a baby seven years ago. Soon after their release from the facilities that housed them, another baby has disappeared. The public is unaware of the release of the girls and it is the police that is investigating the case. To solve the crime they must delve into the seven year old murder where the secret to the current kidnapping may reside.
I have had a problem in the past with the books of Laura Lippman almost entirely having to do with the pacing of her stories. In the multiaward winning Tess Monaughan series, she delves, in my opinion, way too deeply into the psyche of the characters portrayed. Is it really necessary, in a series, to know every inner thought of just about every major or minor character. To me, this serves to slow down the plot, at times, to a lethargic pace. As Laura describes a character in this, her latest novel and a standalone, " Helen's stories were always full of details like that- what she saw, what she ate, what she wore." So are Laura's. However, I will note that I have the same problem with the novels of Sara Paretsky and Sue Grafton. So Laura is in excellent company. I might be one of the few to perceive this as a problem with the Monaghan series in that mystery fans love her work as is evidenced by her legions of fans. I have not truly enjoyed or appreciated her work- until now.
EVERY SECRET THING is a psychological suspense novel in the same vein as the works of Ruth Rendall or Minette Walters. These novels are not known for their pacing. They are novels rich in character. There is an underlying sense of the unknown which heightens the suspense. (In this case, how did the baby die in the past and do the girls have anything to do with the current disappearance.) These are leisurely works that draw out this suspense by delving into every detail of the character's lives- their innermost thoughts and actions. Hence the term- psychological suspense novel. Laura's style, which I find so irritating in her series, works brilliantly in this stand alone. Every minute detail continues to prolong the suspense as the reader compusively turns the pages to the crescendo of the shattering climax. I thought nobody writes a better psychological suspense novel than the Brits. However, Laura Lippman has, with ease, managed to outdo them. Superb and a sure finalist at all the major awards next year.

Laura Lippman's complex thriller, "Every Secret Thing" is a haunting story about the loss of innocence and search for justice, told with extraordinary clarity.
Two eleven-year-old girls abduct and eventually murder a three-year-old child. After seven years in separate juvenile detention centers they return to their lives and the outside world---without a clue how to adjust to it.
When another child goes missing, suspicion again falls on the two now eighteen year olds.
The point of view shifts seamlessly among several female characters---each with her version of the truth. Most are misled by what they feel or know to be false, but need to believe is true. No one truly confronts the full consequences of their fallibilities.
While the initial crime is a given, and central to the story---it is the catalyst that defines the lives of all associated with the tragedy. How one act can affect so many---how one lie can do the same.
All the characters are incredibly well developed and 100% believable.
Ms. Lippman deftly illuminates them by keeping the plot moving backward and forward at the same time.
This dark exploration of identity (among other themes) is timely, innovative, provocative and daring---but not depressing.
The novel is so well crafted; the reader must get involved and become a participant.
A wonderfully unpredictable book that captures your complete attention until you learn "Every Secret Thing." Its impact lasts long after the final page is turned.
A masterpiece.

Laura Lippman is hardly a household name, even after seven well-received books featuring P.I. Tess Monaghan. Her latest book is likely to change that. Every Secret Thing is one of those books that publishers like to say "transcends the genre," but in this case it's true.
It has been seven years since Olivia Barnes, a baby from a prominent Baltimore African-American family, disappeared. Her killers, two 11-year-old white girls, have only recently been released from prison when children again start to disappear.
Cynthia Barnes, the slain child's mother, is certain that the pair is at it again, and the police aren't far behind. But which of the teens is responsible? Is it good girl Alice or bad girl Ronnie? Or is it another killer altogether?
Every Secret Thing deals with difficult subject matter, portraying children as both victims and perpetrators of the worst kind of violence. Lippman, however, writes with such a deft touch and with such keen insight that her story is never exploitative or crass.
Whether it is driven by Lippman's feminine sensitivity, her skills as a writer, or both, one thing is certain: Every Secret Thing will stay with you for a long time.
Reviewed by David Montgomery, Chicago Sun-Times

Two young girls, rebellious Ronnie who is always getting into trouble and passive, goody-goody Alice, who is always Ronnie's shadow during school holidays, "rescue" a baby in a stroller, left unattended on the footpath. When the body of the baby is found, four days later, the trail eventually leads to the two girls. Alice always vehemently denies even being at the scene when the baby died, while Ronnie admits killing the infant. As they are both only 11 years old at the time, they aren't tried as adults but are sent to separate juvenile prisons until they are 18. Shortly after their release, two tiny children are abducted, only to be released, unharmed, a short while later. A third child disappears but this time, she is found to bear a striking resemblance to the child who was murdered seven years previously. As the police question Alice and Ronnie who have lead separate lives since being back home with their families, secrets slowly begin to unravel and a whole new scenario unfolds. Laura Lippman is a very talented writer whose style flows easily and who has the ability to hold the readers attention until the end. I look forward to reading more of her work.

Originally posted on my blog: The Bibliophile's Corner

Cover Talk: I really don't know what it is about this cover that drew me to it. Probably the big yellow block in the middle of a blurry pool photo.

First Impressions: The only Laura Lippman book I have read it What the Dead Know and I loved it. It has been years since I have it and I have been craving a good adult mystery.

First Line: "They were barefoot when they were sen home, their dripping feet leaving prints that evaporated almost instantly, as if they had never been there at all."

Characters: This book centers on two girls, Alice and Ronnie. Seven years have passed since they were both sent to juvenile prison for kidnapping and killing a baby. Alice was the innocent angel. Ronnie was the wild child. At eighteen, they've both changed and both are under suspicion from the moment they are let out.

As for the other characters, I really don't even want to mention them. Helen, Alice's mom, is a rather vain and purposefully unaware. Nancy, a detective with a connection to Alice and Ronnie. Sheron, Alice's attorney who feels guilt over Alice suffering in prison. And Cynthia, the mother of the child that Alice and Ronnie killed.

I felt no connection to any of these characters. I just felt like they were all full of themselves and there was just no development with any of them.

Plot: As far as the plot goes with this story, I was a little bit disappointed. I have always had a fascination with fiction and non-fiction stories about children who kill children. I know that sounds incredibly sick and twisted, but to hear motives from the mouths of children is very interesting.

As for the story. It starts off pretty strong as we see eleven year old Alice and Ronnie. They are sent home from a birthday party and end up taking a baby in a carriage that was just left on the sidewalk. Jump ahead and we see the release of Alice and Ronnie. We are given glimpses into their lives to see how each is coping with being back in society. But after the first child disappears in the grocery store (only to be found later by the pharmacy), this book started to go a little downhill for me.

I think the biggest problem with this book is that there were too many characters with not enough development. I had a very hard time connecting to anyone in this book. The only character I felt anything for was Ronnie, and that's because I just wanted to know more about her mental state.

The one redeeming factor was the end of this novel. There were quite a few revelations that I did not see coming and it did make reading the book worth it.

Final Thoughts: Overall, I did like reading this book. I wish there I could have written a better review, but I had such a hard time connecting to the characters and I really, really wanted to.

"Every Secret Thing" is Lippman's first standalone novel, a thriller dealing with children who commit crimes, the reasoning behind their criminal behavior, and the adults they ultimately become.
Alice Manning and Ronnie Fuller are convicted at the age of 11 of murdering a small child, who is the granddaughter of a powerful black judge in their community. They are incarcerated in separate juvenile facilities for seven years, then released with warnings to stay away from each other. Ronnie, who has always been looked upon as the "bad girl," tries to engage herself in as normal a life as she can have. Alice, on the other hand, always considered the "good girl" who was simply following Ronnie's lead, seems to be content to stay at home or take long, mysterious walks. Shortly after their return, small girls begin to disappear for short periods. When a young interracial girl is kidnapped, the police begin to focus their investigation on Ronnie and Alice.
With the Tess Monaghan series, Lippman has become known for her witty dialogue and realistic characters, but "Every Secret Thing" proves her ability to delve into more complex, darker characters. Her portrayal of Alice's mother is fascinating, as well as her depiction of the former, then present, mental states of Alice and Ronnie. She weaves past with present as she tells the story of what happened with the baby Alice and Ronnie are accused of murdering. A fascinating look at a dark subject and a book which proves Laura Lippman is an author who herself stands out.

I held my breath through much of this book. What a story. Two young girls (age 11) are imprisoned for killing a baby. The story takes place after they are recently released, although the story goes back and forth between time.
The story centers around a new crime. Another missing child. Apparently, there have been toddlers missing for short periods of time prior to the abduction. Did the girls have anything to do with it?
If you saw or read Dennis Lehane's Mystic River, you know the tragedy that results when young people are damaged by crime. In this book, the girls had problems when the first crime was committed. Now that they have been released, their lack of social skills and complete lack of self esteem lead them into the lair of the detective's noose.
The story focuses on several characters, including the mother of one of the girls and the detectives. It also focuses on the family of the first child who was abducted and killed.
I read this book in a day and a half. Ms. Lippman is a terrific writer. The book had me on the seat of my chair. I burned a meal reading this book. Highly recommend!!

Synopsis: Alice Manning and Ronnie Fuller, two 11-year-old Baltimore girls, were on their way home from a birthday party when their lives were changed forever. The girls spot a child, unattended in a baby carriage. Deciding to help, the girls take the baby and try to care for it. But the baby dies, and Alice and Ronnie are sent away for 7 years.

At the age of 18, the two girls are released and instructed to have no contact with one another. Each girl is to try to build a new life for herself. But when babies start to disappear in situations startlingly similar to Alice and Ronnie's crime, people begin to wonder whether the two girls should have been released and what really happened to the baby the girls were charged with murdering.

Review: The premise of this novel is very intriguing. Two 11-year-old girls kill an infant, serve time in jail, are released, and then similar crimes begin to occur. I think, especially given the unfortunate events that occur in our society, children committing murder does hold a bit of fascination for the reader.

With that being said, I wasn't blown away by this novel. I enjoyed it, particularly the first half of the novel, but it ended up being one of those books that are more exciting in the dust jacket description than in execution.

The characters were well written. The plot was good. The writing style was very easy to fall into. This book was also a very quick read. There was just something lacking for me, though. It was missing that extra bit of oomph that would have pushed me from lukewarm to on fire.

If you are looking for a decent mystery novel with an unusual plot, definitely check this book out. I wouldn't steer anyone away from this book, but I might not guide them toward it either.

In Baltimore, fifth graders Alice Manning and Ronnie Fuller were sent home after the latter had misbehaved at a classmate's birthday party. Walking together, they come across a baby carriage with no adult apparently nearby. Ronnie insists "we have to take care of this baby", but Alice has doubts feeling they are too young. Later the adults question Alice as to the word accented and emphasized by Ronnie when she said they needed to care for the infant as the child died under their tutelage. Neither confessed to killing the nine month old infant that they snatched.
Seven years later the two teens are freed from the State of Maryland's control, as the law has to let go these juvenile killers. Though the state is forced to forget and perhaps even forgive, people, especially those close to the dead baby like the mom, are not willing to turn the other cheek. Just after the release of Alice and Ronnie, the disappearance of little Brittany occurs that seems eerily similar to what the two girls once did.
This is as dark a thriller as readers will find yet Laura Lippman keeps her audience fascinated from start to finish in this one sitting suspense in spite of the size of the novel. The story line is a combination of a police procedural inside a character study as fans slowly learn who killed the infant among other revelations. With a deep cast and a powerful plot, EVERY SECRET THING will not remain secret to the reading public that will seek other fine (but not as dark) works by Ms. Lippmann.
Harriet Klausner

The concept was good, but there were too many descriptions of insignificant characters such as the lawyers and newspaper reporters. I had a hard time keeping track of who was who. The movie had it right by leaving them out of it.

I just finished, "After I'm Gone." Though I didn't love it (plodding, with needlessly quirky characters and occasionally numbing backstory) I want to love Laura Lippmann, so I thought I would work my way forward through her stand-alone novels.

Other reviewers have summarized the plot and explored the clues which go nowhere, the vast overpopulation of unnecessary and unlikable characters, and the disappointment of the end.

I'm left with a question. Did Cynthia and Warren adopt Alice's baby? If not, wouldn't the book have been a whole lot better if they had?

I just finished Laura Lippman's latest (how's that for alliteration?) and what a stunner! _Every Secret Thing_ is a stand-alone novel, not part of the Tess Monaghan series, and it's more of a "portrait of a community" sort of a book than an outright mystery, although it certainly has a strong mystery driving the plot. I'd hesitate to say "breakout book" because I think she broke out long ago, but as I read, I couldn't help but compare the experience to that of reading Dennis Lehane's _Mystic River_, which I still firmly believe is one of the best American books of the last ten years. And I do think that _Every Secret Thing_ is on par with that book.

The story is narrated from multiple viewpoints, including those of a pair of now teenage girls, just released from juvenile detention after serving seven-year sentences for their parts in the kidnapping and death of a baby, the granddaughter of a locally-famous black judge. Ronnie Fuller and Alice Manning have had their lives irrevocably changed, and when another child of mixed race disappears soon after their return home, the girls become prime suspects, after their names are leaked to the press and to the police. At first, we feel sympathetic toward poor Alice, the "good" girl whose life was ruined by the inexplicable actions of the "bad" Ronnie, but as the story goes on, our sympathies are drawn more and more to Ronnie as the secrets of what happened seven years before, and what is happening now, are revealed.

Set in Baltimore, the story is as much about developing character studies of the girls, their families, the police, the press, and so forth, as it is about solving the mystery. The book also presents a portrait of the racism and divisions inherent in society, not just black vs. white, but rich vs. poor, and so on. There are great passages about the struggles faced by homicide detective Nancy Porter, who found the dead baby many years ago and who is now assigned to the new investigation, that are worthy of _Homicide: Life on the Street_ or _The Wire_. Lippman draws deft portraits of both Sharon Kerpelman, the public defender who feels she failed Alice in the earlier case, and Mira Jenkins, the reporter who sees this story as her chance to "move downtown." And Cynthia Barnes, the mother of the murdered baby, is a fully-shaded character who sees the possibility to get some sort of revenge on the girls, who she feels should have been tried as adults.

This is a gripping story, full of tension and emotion. It has moments of sadness and moments of humor. It's a great book by a great writer and I'd be surprised if it isn't nominated for the major awards in the field this year. Very highly recommended.

Lippman's story involves two girls implicated in the disappearance and death of a newborn. Because no one can every seem to ferret out which girl actually killed the baby and which girl was the lesser involved patsy, both girls are sentenced to a juvenile prison facility for seven years. When the girls are released, now 18 years old, the psychopath of the pair tries to frame the other for a similar crime.

This is a well thought out mystery, and Lippman never lets the story drag. Her writing and pacing are quite skilled, and her characters, especially Alice's mother, are intriguing and believable. I didn't finish this and think "I've GOT to find every mystery Lippman has ever written and devour it" but I would consider reading another in the future.

more elaborate version of a typical Jodi Picoult story; appealing to an older audience maybe. her presenttaion style is the same as Picoult -with flashbacks and tiny clues (minus the legal details). there wasnt such a shock element for me at any point.
but something kept me reading so i will definately read other books by her; clearly these are great for summer / travel.

I picked up this book without knowing who the author was and in CVS so I didn't really have high hopes for it, I just wanted something to read while I had to wait in line at the hospital. I finished the book before I even really decided if I liked it. It was really amazing once I thought over it. My friends saw me reading it and they were saying, didn't you just get that book yesterday, you almost done, it must be good. I just shrugged because I honestly couldn't say. Once it was done and all the pieces were in place I fully appericated this book. It's a great read and I've lent it to several of my friends all whom have loved it. Because of this book I've started reading some of this authors older works. Just goes to show you that you can buy a good book anywhere.

Well written characters, good plot. It was easy to read, hard to put down. But if you had to, say to go to work or do life chores and not read straight through for 5 hours or so, then you can pick it back up and not be lost. This was my third Lippman book in a week. I think I've got a new addiction.

Love the Tess Monighan series so decided to give Every Secret Thing a try. Interesting twists and turns. Would have liked to have seen a couple of the characters developed a little more. What the author did accurately and succinctly describe with a wonderful style, are the nuances of Baltimore ... from the City to the County. While not a native of Baltimore but having lived in the area for some time it is always great fun to know the settings and "personalities" of the settings. Would recommend.

Every Secret Thing By Laura Lippman is a murder mystery about two eleven year old girls who are sent to juvie for killing an infant. Seven years later after their stint in juvie is over, a little girl goes missing in the same neighborhood of their first crime, the two girls Ronnie Fuller and Alice Manning are the prime suspects because the disappearance of this child is eerily similar to that of the child they went to juvie for killing.
Overall I liked this book, I love murder mysteries and it was the preferred length of a book I enjoy. Alice and Helen were my favorite characters. Alice and Ronnie both go to juvie for the killing of nine month old Olivia Barnes. Alice insists she was an innocent, caught up in the rapture of crazy Ronnie Fuller. Ronnie was always angry and poised for a fight so it wasn’t inconceivable for her to kill a child that was sitting in a stroller, unattended on porch. Alice also claims that she wasn’t even there when Ronnie killed the poor baby, she had an alibi. She was reading with her mother Helen. Helen, good old crazy Helen. When reading this book, Helen always struck me as crazy. Not eccentric as Alice made her mother out to be, but flat out crazy, and it turns out I was right. Helen knew her daughter was unstable, she knew that her daughter was the master mind of killing little Olivia Barnes, and she said nothing to the police, nothing to Oliva Barnes’ mother Cynthia.
Helen lied to her daughter repeatedly, telling Alice her father was dead. Lied by omission to the police about her daughter orchestrating the death of Oliva. Lying to the police about where her daughter goes when she takes those “long walks” throughout the day. Lastly, the biggest lie of all telling Alice that her daughter resembled Oliva Barnes’s younger sister Rosalind, saying there was a heart shaped birthmark on her shoulder, when in actuality there was a closed adoption of Alice’s baby and she has no idea what the child even looks like. Those pack of lies Helen made up, coupled with the instability of Alice’s mind caused a world of agony for Cynthia Barnes and Maveen Little; the two mothers of kidnapped little girls. In the world of fiction, I always root for the villains, I find their motives disturbingly delicious to read, thus making them my favorite characters of the book
My least favorite characters of the book are Cynthia Barnes and Detective Nancy Porter. I found Cynthia more angry than mournful, always searching for justice while ignoring the precious gift of another child, Roaslind. Her first born was murdered, before even a year old, it’s heartbreaking of course, but she was always pointing the blame at Alice and Ronnie when in actuality she should be pointing a bit of the blame at herself. Cynthia was the one who hired that horrible baby sitter who left Olivia OUTSIDE ON THE PORCH! Where was her outrage for the babysitter? As the daughter of a judge why didn’t she want to press charges against the baby sitter for child neglect, or the endangerment of a child? Where were those charges? If her child was not left for the wolves on the porch, she would still have little Olivia, but no; very little was mentioned of the babysitter. That seemed a little unrealistic to me. If Cynthia wanted such justice for her slain child, why not go after everyone involved instead of the two suspect killers? If I had a child, I would want everyone involved to pay.
Detective Nancy Porter was a huge thorn in my side! I couldn’t stand the way we knew all the details of her life, she was polish, she comes from a long line of cops, her husband was in law school, blah blah blah; all of it meaningless. I don’t care about all of that. I care about how good of a detective she is, not that she’s trying not to eat at New York Fried Chicken because she’s on a diet! Nancy was so self-involved, she thought everything was about her. Oh the Sargent only put me on the case to test me. Omg what will the other detectives think of me? Who cares! Just do your job, and do it well. I think Nancy was only good at finding little itty bitty clues like Brittany Little’s earing (which really had no significance) because she is a crumb snatcher. Nancy looks for any little crumb so that she can be noticed, so that she can receive a pat on the back, a gold star; so that she can have some attention. A spotlight focused only on her, I found that a disturbing quality in a detective.
A part of the book that really dazzled and excited me was the setting. The book is set in Baltimore, and I know that was where the HBO series The Wire was set, but I never seen The Wire. (I know, the only person on earth.) The reason it dazzled me was because of the podcast Serial. Serial is about the murder of Hae Min Lee, and the man accused of doing it, Adnan Syed. Hae’s body was found in Leakin Park, which is in Baltimore. Leakin Park is an area notorious for the dumping of dead bodies, and the fact that Laura Lippman referenced it more than once, made my Serial senses tingle.
Lastly, the end of the book was kind of disappointing for me. Usually the end of the book is always my favorite part because you get to see how creative the author is at tying up loose ends, this is where you can also tell if the author rushed to finish the book or took their time. The ending didn’t feel rushed, but I was disappointed that nothing really happened outside of Ronnie’s suicide. Alice got a slap on the wrist with probation, Helen had no repercussions for feeding her daughter the lies that caused a kidnapping, and Ronnie killed herself. Ronnie thought that Alice was going to blame her again, and she would go to real prison this time. I think Ronnie was just tired of fighting the hand that was dealt to her. She had a not so hot home life (which included being molested by her own brother) and she didn’t have goals for herself. I wanted Ronnie to be stronger, I wanted her to expose Alice for the sociopath she was.
Overall, this was a very good book. I would highly recommend. This book has also been adapted to a film of the same name starring Elizabeth Banks, Dakota Fanning, Diane Lane and Common.
*A golden nugget I stumbled across is that Laura Lippman and Serial host Sarah Koenig both wrote for the Baltimore Sun newspaper.

Though I was interested enough to finish the audiobook, this narrator's inability to do different voices was distracting and unpleasant. Every voice sounded like a shrieky church lady. The only differential was whether or not characters had southern accents (bad, sharp ones). A Baltimore accent sounded like a comedian's bad imitation of a Brooklyn accent. IT would have been much better if the narrator had just read the story without differentiating voices, she actually had good pacing and tone for the narrative parts of the book.

As for the story, it was not on a par with Ruth Rendell or mystery authors whose psychological studies are much more complex and gripping. On the other hand, I have to wonder if I would have found the book more satisfying with a better narrator.

I almost didn't read this book because I generally like my detective novelists to stick with what they know or rather who they know. I'm glad I took a chance on this one. Laura Lippman's got character development down. These characters are real. You like them in one chapter and you don't like them in the next. You sympathize with them on one page and then you'd like to tell them where to get off the next. And, she never plays the reader for a fool by solving her mysteries with out-of-left-field suspects or bizarre circumstances. She's too honest a writer for that.

This is a super-entertaining, unorthodox crime thriller. Unafraid to pursue a plot line that a lot of people would object to (the murder of a three year old by two 11-year-old girls), Lippman not only starts out with a tantalyzing plot device, but keeps things moving well. The result is a novel that is both entertaining for its twists, but its characters as well, for the people that inhabit it are well-drawn. It's a thrill ride that offers a quick read because it's definitely a high-octane page-turner. Don't be fooled though; there's real substance here.

EVERY SECRET THING is a mesmerizing tale about two eleven-year-old girls who are sent to prison for kidnapping and killing a baby. Not long after Alice and Ronnie are released at the age of eighteen, another baby goes missing.

The way the author constructed this story is a real testament to her talent. Told from multiple points of view, the novel gives us a peek into the minds of flawed, yet compelling characters: the first victim's mother, Alice and Ronnie (both as girls and as young women), Alice's mother, the attorney, a police detective, and a reporter. The truth about Alice and Ronnie, when it's finally revealed, is chilling.

I decided to try "Every Secret Thing" after reading the promotional blurb and customer reviews on the store. It also got great reviews from the literary press. After reading it, am I thoroughly befuddled as to why. There was no suspense in this "novel of suspense" (as the front cover bills it). There's no mystery, either. Well, I take that back partially--while there is a weak psychological mystery at the heart of the story, of why the girls killed baby Olivia Barnes seven years ago, it is so tediously told that it lacks any of the "whodunit" narrative compulsion of a good mystery novel. "Every Secret Thing" is also billed as a psychological thriller, but Lippman's attempts to incorporate the psychological elements are very amateurish and trite. Her characters spend way too much time pontificating on minutiae that have no relation to the story, like a "Seinfeld" episode without the humor. This may be Lippman's attempt to develop her characters, but it's clunky, distracting, and ultimately unsuccessful.

Perhaps Lippman's serial novels are better-written, but "Every Secret Thing" did not deliver on its promise. I stuck with it to the end hoping that some ingenious twist would redeem it, but it never got better. In the words of Simon Cowell, this book is "utterly forgettable."

I could see something wrong with the setup from the start of the novel so maybe that soured it a bit for me. There were a few twists with the Mom, but Alice was too good. Some good twists at the end, but the storyline wasn't that interesting to me with the racist thing going on, in your face, spelling out who's this color, who's that color, who's mixed, defining everyone rich, poor, shoving them into a socioeconomic class as if that makes the book more interesting. For me, it didn't. I was so disappointed because this author's mysteries were highly recommended. If I hadn't been in the emergency room waiting for someone and with nothing to do but read, I am not certain I'd have finished EVERY SECRET THING at all. But I am glad I did, just not delighted with the journey.

This book kept me interested throughout but I was disappointed in the ending. I found the characters to be well developed and the story compelling.

The majority of the book is about the two girls reintroduction into society after their incarceration for the killing of the baby they kidnapped. And of course they find themselves the suspects of a new child disappearance.

I think the author got a little to cute in manufacturing an ending when just sticking to the story of what happened when the girls were 11 would have been more interesting.

If you like psychological mysteries you will enjoy this.

Every Secret thing, by Laura Lippman is Full of surprises An Intense and vivid tale that will keep Laura Lippman on top of the bestseller lists for a long time. Her incredible writing of human emotions and ability to thrust those feelings home. will have readers cheering and longing for more.

In reading Laura Lippman in the order of her published books, one of the things that's stood out is the difficulty she was still having as of 2003 in finding her own voice. Her Tess Monaghan stories, a bit better than average as detective fiction goes, have nonetheless read too much like Philip Marlow TV knock-offs with a young female character. I take Every Secret Thing as an attempt to try a new tact. Unfortunately, and I mean that in the sense of this reader's frustration, she fails with Every Secret Thing.

This is the sort of book that will appeal to many, just like many Hollywood movies that tug on familiar news topics with emotional strings do. Narrowing that a bit, there's a generational angle to that tug, with the book organized around individual's social and psychological stories weaving in and out of narrative focus; a child or two's kidnapping; a couple of police detectives, one female, bumbling along, in the end succeeding in spite of themselves though absent any logic for doing so; a kniving reporter; and a major dose of victim's rights, treated cynically for well over 300 pages until achieving vindication and a touch of celebration in the end. Those who recognize much of this as embodying post-Vietnam 'Me Generation' themes and styles will do well to look elsewhere for their next read. The main story line is thin and preposterous, the chapters 75% filled with detail that's extraneous to the story and not particularly interesting in itself (380 pages could have been 180 or less), many of the characters' thinking and actions don't make much sense or are inadequately explained or justified, etc.. Just as in the Tess Monaghan series, Lippman takes narrative short cuts and can help her own literaty self-indulgences, but in this case without the air of substantive legitimacy that those typically aspire to. Readable, but not recommended.

As you probably already know , this not a part of the Tess Monaghan series and it stands very easily by itself. Ms. Lippman has done an excellent job of developing both of her main characters. The girl's personalities ring true. The psychological motivations behind the drama are well thought out and multi layered. It was not the page turner I was hoping for but an EXCELLENT READ no the less.

Every Secret thing, by Laura Lippman is Full of surprises An Intense and vivid tale that will keep Laura Lippman on top of the bestseller lists for a long time. Her incredible writing of human emotions and ability to thrust those feelings home. will have readers cheering and longing for more.

In reading Laura Lippman in the order of her published books, one of the things that's stood out is the difficulty she was still having as of 2003 in finding her own voice. Her Tess Monaghan stories, a bit better than average as detective fiction goes, have nonetheless read too much like Philip Marlow TV knock-offs with a young female character. I take Every Secret Thing as an attempt to try a new tact. Unfortunately, and I mean that in the sense of this reader's frustration, she fails with Every Secret Thing.

This is the sort of book that will appeal to many, just like many Hollywood movies that tug on familiar news topics with emotional strings do. Narrowing that a bit, there's a generational angle to that tug, with the book organized around individual's social and psychological stories weaving in and out of narrative focus; a child or two's kidnapping; a couple of police detectives, one female, bumbling along, in the end succeeding in spite of themselves though absent any logic for doing so; a kniving reporter; and a major dose of victim's rights, treated cynically for well over 300 pages until achieving vindication and a touch of celebration in the end. Those who recognize much of this as embodying post-Vietnam 'Me Generation' themes and styles will do well to look elsewhere for their next read. The main story line is thin and preposterous, the chapters 75% filled with detail that's extraneous to the story and not particularly interesting in itself (380 pages could have been 180 or less), many of the characters' thinking and actions don't make much sense or are inadequately explained or justified, etc.. Just as in the Tess Monaghan series, Lippman takes narrative short cuts and can help her own literaty self-indulgences, but in this case without the air of substantive legitimacy that those typically aspire to. Readable, but not recommended.

As you probably already know , this not a part of the Tess Monaghan series and it stands very easily by itself. Ms. Lippman has done an excellent job of developing both of her main characters. The girl's personalities ring true. The psychological motivations behind the drama are well thought out and multi layered. It was not the page turner I was hoping for but an EXCELLENT READ no the less.

I always enjoy reading Laura Lippman. This book was no exception. You don't have to be from Baltimore to appreciate her books, but it does add to the enjoyment. I am looking forward to seeing how the movie version compares to the book.

Laura Lippman always comes through with well thought out plots with lots of questions left up in the air until the end. Her descriptions are always very interesting and one can immediately relate to them. I love that her plots always take place in Baltimore. I'm always going to Google Maps to look up the place names. Gives me a sense of actually being there.

After reading the many positivive reviews of this book, I decided to read it. Unfortunately I wasn't impressed. The pace is slow and the author's writing style just couldn't keep me engaged. I like reading books that are so brilliantly written that you don't even feel like you are reading. In this book, however, the author starts a chapter and, half way through, I kept thinking 'Why is she wasting time with this? Can we get to the point please?'.

If you like stand alone mystery books with brilliant plots and that you won't be able to put down until you reach the last page, then read Harlan Coben's novels (Tell No One, Gone For Good, No Second Chance, Just One Look, and The Innocent, which will come out in April 2005). His plots are amazing and his characters seem real. Another author that I have recently discovered is Mo Hayder from the UK. Her last novel, Tokyo, is espectacular. However, you will have to order it from the store.co.uk because it was not published in the U.S. yet.

I just finished reading Every Secret Thing for the second time. It's a story that stands up to re-reading. The characters are believable and engaging, and the plot reveals itself in unexpected ways.

I enjoy all of Laura Lippman's books, and I think that this one is my favorite.

I found Every Secret Thing to be pretty fascinating. It was one of those novels that I found myself hurrying through daily tasks to read. The topic is dark, so I was a little concerned it would be too much for me to handle. Laura Lippmann, however, handled it deftly and with tact. The only real complaint I have is that I felt the ending was a bit rushed. I would have liked Ronnie and Alice's relationship to have been delved into deeper. I walked away with several questions, but that's not always a bad thing.

While the story line is not profound and there is no political or historic intrigue in the novel, the characters are well developed and border on complex if you are willing to accept game-changing facts to be introduced periodically throughout the book. Because the book read so fast, I found that acceptable, rather than an overly deliberate way to create suspense.

Ms. Lippman is a talented writer that is capable of taking you along for a ride.

I appreciate a good plot twist as much as anyone, but when this novel ended I felt like I had been duped. (I am not the type that necessarily tries to solve the mystery as I am reading, so yes, it is possible to suck me in.)

It seems that Ms. Lippman used her talent to play on the reader's sympathies. I walked away from this book feeling like I had rooted for the wrong team.

While I won't deny the author's skills as a novelist, this was not a feel-good experience.

On a constructive note, I would suggest Lippman's "What the Dead Know". While WTDK is not entirely uplifting, it is a twisting novel that succeeds in creating some sense of resolution and reconciliation in the end.