In
the mid-1970s two young sisters disappeared from a suburban
shopping mall. Their bodies were never found, and the case has
remained unsolved. There are no more leads worth following anymore,
and most of the people who were around at the time of the
disappearance have either died or moved far away. However, all this
changes in a matter of a few seconds late one cold March evening on
the outskirts of Baltimore.

Laura Lippman's newest novel, WHAT THE DEAD KNOW, is a thrilling,
nonstop mixture of crime, suspense, mystery and confusion that
slowly but accurately pieces together what happened to those girls
so many years ago. The story begins in the present day --- with a
hit-and-run car crash in the first three pages of the book --- and
never stops unfolding from that point on. The woman who causes the
accident is caught by the police and admitted to St. Agnes
Hospital, yet she refuses to give her name.

By the luck of the draw, Detective Kevin Infante is sent to
question her. The meeting turns confrontational, with the mystery
woman demanding a lawyer rather than giving away her identity. It
is only later, through a friendly hospital worker, that she reveals
her name: Heather Bethany, the elder of the two sisters who
disappeared over 30 years ago. Or is she?

While some are willing and excited to accept this woman as the
missing Heather and show compassion for the tragic events that
occurred over the years --- including the possible involvement of
one of the city's most beloved police officers, murder and sexual
abuse --- Detective Infante is not quite so enthusiastic or
believing. He keeps finding holes and dead-ends in her story. Even
using the fading memory of the girl's mother proves to be less than
valuable. So the mystery remains: What really happened to Heather
and her older sister Sunny --- and who is this woman? Is there a
connection? Through methodical and careful police work, Detective
Infante plans to find out.

Competently jumping between the events of the disappearances to the
confusions of present day, WHAT THE DEAD KNOW lays down clues
throughout the book so that readers should see the ending before it
arrives. But, as in every great mystery, they won't. With this
novel, Lippman has shown once again why she wins countless awards
for her consummate writing and satisfies eager fans with every new
release.  

WHAT THE DEAD KNOW employs a storytelling technique not far removed
from the one that famed film director Akira Kurosawa used almost 60
years ago in his masterpiece, Rashomon. In both that movie
and here, a heinous crime and the tribulations that follow are
recalled from differing points of view. The book unfolds through
the devil-may-care investigative techniques of Detective Infante,
the always-believing hospital worker, Kay Sullivan, and the bizarre
events told by the seemingly crazed woman who claims to be Heather
Bethany. It is up to the reader to piece the disjointed stories
together and accept or reject each tidbit of evidence as it is
presented.

This is a well-crafted gripper that will keep readers wondering,
thinking and looking back to see how the pieces might fit
together.