Saturday, January 11, 2014

Review: After I'm Gone: A Novel by Laura Lippman




  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • Print Length: 352 pages
  • Publisher: William Morrow (Feb. 11 2014)
  • Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers CA
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B00DB2YMTY

Book Description

When Felix Brewer meets nineteen-year-old Bernadette "Bambi" Gottschalk at a Valentine's Dance in 1959, he charms her with wild promises, some of which he actually keeps. Thanks to his lucrative-if not all legal-businesses, she and their three little girls live in luxury. But on the Fourth of July, 1976, Bambi's comfortable world implodes when Felix, newly convicted and facing prison, mysteriously vanishes.

Though Bambi has no idea where her husband-or all of his money-might be, she suspects one woman does: his devoted young mistress, Julie. When Julie disappears ten years to the day that Felix went on the lam, everyone assumes she's left to join her old lover-until her remains are eventually found in a secluded wooded park.

Now, twenty-six years after Julie went missing, Roberto "Sandy" Sanchez, a retired Baltimore detective working cold cases for some extra cash, is investigating her murder. What he discovers is a tangled web of bitterness, jealously, resentment, greed, and longing stretching over three decades that connects five intriguing women: a faithful wife, a dead mistress, and three very different daughters. And at the center is the man who, though long gone, has never been forgotten by the five women who loved him: the enigmatic Felix Brewer.

Somewhere between the secrets and lies connecting past and present, Sandy will find the truth. And when he does, no one will ever be the same.


About the Author

Since her debut in 1997, Laura Lippman has been heralded for her thoughtful, timely crime novels set in her beloved hometown of Baltimore. She is the author of twenty works of fiction, including eleven Tess Monaghan mysteries. She lives in Baltimore, New Orleans, and New York City with her family.

My Review

I was thrilled to be granted an early review copy of After I'm Gone which is written by one of my favorite authors: Laura Lippman. From the first pages I couldn't put this book down. Lippman is an amazing storyteller.

The story revolves around five women: Felix Brewer's wife, his three daughters and his mistress. When Felix, who was facing criminal charges, fled the country, he left those five women's lives in an uproar. Ten years after Felix disappeared, his mistress Julie also disappeared. But then her body is found but the murder goes unsolved. Twenty-six years later retired detective Sandy Sanchez takes up the cold case and the pieces start to come together.





Lippman brings all these women to life in such a way that you don't want anything bad to happen to any of them. This book is full of interesting twists to kept the reader enthralled to the last page. Lippman's writing style is superb. The ending wraps up the story perfectly.

I think we may see more of Sandy in the future...and that's all I'm going to say.

Awesome book! If you are a Lippman fan then you know it is going to be amazing before you even read it. If you haven't discovered Laura Lippman yet then it is time you did. After I'm Gone will be released on February 11th.





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