Title: I’d Know You Anywhere
Author: Laura Lippman
Publisher: William Morrow
ISBN: 978-0-06-170655-4
Copyright: 2010
Pages: 370
Quick Review: 5 stars (out of 5)
Why I Read It: Love Laura Lippman and I eagerly await every new book she graces us with. If you have never read Laura Lippman before, this standalone novel (as she also writes the brilliant Tess Monaghan PI series) is a perfect place to start. Read her at the top of her game and then go back to enjoy the delicious backlist.
Where I Obtained the Book: I got it from my local library.
Synopsis: The acclaimed New York Times bestselling author returns with a new stand-alone novel-a powerful and utterly riveting tale that skillfully moves between past and present to explore the lasting effects of crime on a victim's life....I'd Know You Anywhere. Eliza Benedict cherishes her peaceful, ordinary suburban life with her successful husband and children, thirteen-year-old Iso and eight-year-old Albie. But her tranquility is shattered when she receives a letter from the last person she ever expects-or wants-to hear from: Walter Bowman. There was your photo, in a magazine. Of course, you are older now. Still, I'd know you anywhere. In the summer of 1985, when she was fifteen, Eliza was kidnapped by Walter and held hostage for almost six weeks. He had killed at least one girl and Eliza always suspected he had other victims as well. Now on death row in Virginia for the rape and murder of his final victim, Walter seems to be making a heartfelt act of contrition as his execution nears. Though Eliza wants nothing to do with him, she's never forgotten that Walter was most unpredictable when ignored. Desperate to shelter her children from this undisclosed trauma in her past, she cautiously makes contact with Walter. She's always wondered why Walter let her live, and perhaps now he'll tell her-and share the truth about his other victims. Yet as Walter presses her for more and deeper contact, it becomes clear that he is after something greater than forgiveness. He wants Eliza to remember what really happened that long-ago summer. He wants her to save his life. And Eliza, who has worked hard for her comfortable, cocooned life, will do anything to protect it-even if it means finally facing the events of that horrifying summer and the terrible truth she's kept buried inside. An edgy, utterly gripping tale of psychological manipulation that will leave readers racing to the final page, I'd Know You Anywhere is a virtuoso performance from acclaimed, award-winning author Laura Lippman that is sure to be her biggest hit yet.
Review: What happens to the victims of crime after the event? Lippman looks at one young girl , Eliza, who was kidnapped and eventually raped by a serial killer, Walter, as a teenager. Due to a little respect on the sociopaths end, and just a dash of Stockholm syndrome on the victims part, he chooses not to kill her. He ends up on death row and she goes on to forge a new life and identity as a wife and mother.
With the execution date rising some 20 years later and his delay tactics all spent, Walter has one last ploy. Can he convince Eliza to repay her debt? Through subtle means he worms his way back into her life and pushes her to the brink once more. Will she ever be free?
I have talked about my complaints with mainstream American crime fiction before with its over the top violence, overly intelligent criminals, and excessively Rube Goldberg machine crimes, they are anything but believable or remotely scary. Go find the latest Patterson if that is your taste. But if you want an intelligent crime book about the psychological issues dealing with the intimacy between victim and perpetrator, you can do no better than this. Just like Room (Emma Donoghue) tore apart the immediate recovery of a horrific crime, Lippman masterfully delves into the relationship forged, for better or worse, during crimes.
With a case like Elizabeth Smart’s going on out in Utah this book brings up a fascinating question. Can the victim ever be free from their victimizer? Prison and time do not seem to heal all wounds. The true change must come from within the person themselves. As the great Viktor Frankl said:
Author: Laura Lippman
Publisher: William Morrow
ISBN: 978-0-06-170655-4
Copyright: 2010
Pages: 370
Quick Review: 5 stars (out of 5)
Why I Read It: Love Laura Lippman and I eagerly await every new book she graces us with. If you have never read Laura Lippman before, this standalone novel (as she also writes the brilliant Tess Monaghan PI series) is a perfect place to start. Read her at the top of her game and then go back to enjoy the delicious backlist.
Where I Obtained the Book: I got it from my local library.
Synopsis: The acclaimed New York Times bestselling author returns with a new stand-alone novel-a powerful and utterly riveting tale that skillfully moves between past and present to explore the lasting effects of crime on a victim's life....I'd Know You Anywhere. Eliza Benedict cherishes her peaceful, ordinary suburban life with her successful husband and children, thirteen-year-old Iso and eight-year-old Albie. But her tranquility is shattered when she receives a letter from the last person she ever expects-or wants-to hear from: Walter Bowman. There was your photo, in a magazine. Of course, you are older now. Still, I'd know you anywhere. In the summer of 1985, when she was fifteen, Eliza was kidnapped by Walter and held hostage for almost six weeks. He had killed at least one girl and Eliza always suspected he had other victims as well. Now on death row in Virginia for the rape and murder of his final victim, Walter seems to be making a heartfelt act of contrition as his execution nears. Though Eliza wants nothing to do with him, she's never forgotten that Walter was most unpredictable when ignored. Desperate to shelter her children from this undisclosed trauma in her past, she cautiously makes contact with Walter. She's always wondered why Walter let her live, and perhaps now he'll tell her-and share the truth about his other victims. Yet as Walter presses her for more and deeper contact, it becomes clear that he is after something greater than forgiveness. He wants Eliza to remember what really happened that long-ago summer. He wants her to save his life. And Eliza, who has worked hard for her comfortable, cocooned life, will do anything to protect it-even if it means finally facing the events of that horrifying summer and the terrible truth she's kept buried inside. An edgy, utterly gripping tale of psychological manipulation that will leave readers racing to the final page, I'd Know You Anywhere is a virtuoso performance from acclaimed, award-winning author Laura Lippman that is sure to be her biggest hit yet.
Review: What happens to the victims of crime after the event? Lippman looks at one young girl , Eliza, who was kidnapped and eventually raped by a serial killer, Walter, as a teenager. Due to a little respect on the sociopaths end, and just a dash of Stockholm syndrome on the victims part, he chooses not to kill her. He ends up on death row and she goes on to forge a new life and identity as a wife and mother.
With the execution date rising some 20 years later and his delay tactics all spent, Walter has one last ploy. Can he convince Eliza to repay her debt? Through subtle means he worms his way back into her life and pushes her to the brink once more. Will she ever be free?
I have talked about my complaints with mainstream American crime fiction before with its over the top violence, overly intelligent criminals, and excessively Rube Goldberg machine crimes, they are anything but believable or remotely scary. Go find the latest Patterson if that is your taste. But if you want an intelligent crime book about the psychological issues dealing with the intimacy between victim and perpetrator, you can do no better than this. Just like Room (Emma Donoghue) tore apart the immediate recovery of a horrific crime, Lippman masterfully delves into the relationship forged, for better or worse, during crimes.
With a case like Elizabeth Smart’s going on out in Utah this book brings up a fascinating question. Can the victim ever be free from their victimizer? Prison and time do not seem to heal all wounds. The true change must come from within the person themselves. As the great Viktor Frankl said:
Everything can be taken from a man or a woman but one thing: the last of human freedoms to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.
Granted it is easier said than done, but I always try to remember the Frankl managed to formulate his philosophy while a prisoner in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. So all things are possible, it is after all a journey that takes time. To emphasis this point we are introduced to a smaller character, the mother of Walter’s last victim. Her whole life has been on hold and shows no signs of moving forward. She is not ready to let go and as such will remain a prisoner, cut off from all enjoyment. At the end this book is the story of one sufferer’s triumph over herself; to let go of those misplaced feelings of guilt and blame. To finally sleep with the windows open.
I am curious if the name Eliza is not a tribute to Eliza Doolittle, another young girl who struggles to overcome herself and change her life. Probably not but it does work in some ways.
Author Biography: Laura Lippman grew up in Baltimore and returned to her home town in 1989 to work as a journalist. After writing seven books while still a full-time reporter, she left the Baltimore Sun to focus on fiction. She is the author of two New York Times bestsellers, What the Dead Know and Another Thing to Fall. She has won numerous awards for her work, including the Edgar, Quill, Anthony, Nero Wolfe, Agatha, Gumshoe, Barry, and Macavity. She teaches at Goucher College in Towson, Maryland, just outside of Baltimore.
Other Reviews:
Washington Post
Miami Herald
And the gold standard for crime/mystery endorsements, Sarah Weinman at Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind rated it one of the best books of 2010
FYI:
I am curious if the name Eliza is not a tribute to Eliza Doolittle, another young girl who struggles to overcome herself and change her life. Probably not but it does work in some ways.
Author Biography: Laura Lippman grew up in Baltimore and returned to her home town in 1989 to work as a journalist. After writing seven books while still a full-time reporter, she left the Baltimore Sun to focus on fiction. She is the author of two New York Times bestsellers, What the Dead Know and Another Thing to Fall. She has won numerous awards for her work, including the Edgar, Quill, Anthony, Nero Wolfe, Agatha, Gumshoe, Barry, and Macavity. She teaches at Goucher College in Towson, Maryland, just outside of Baltimore.
Other Reviews:
Washington Post
Miami Herald
And the gold standard for crime/mystery endorsements, Sarah Weinman at Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind rated it one of the best books of 2010
FYI:
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