Life Sentences - by Laura Lippman (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

Past and present, truth and memory collide in this searing novel from the award winning, New York Times bestselling author

A successful memoirist returns home to Baltimore searching for inspiration for her next book. When she discovers an old classmate is accused of a heinous crime, she decides to braid this tragic story with reminiscences of her grade school years. To the writer's dismay, her friends--motivated by anger, perhaps jealousy--seem determined to sabotage her efforts, leaving her to persevere alone.

As she digs deeper into the tragedy surrounding her old classmate, the writer begins to see that everything she thought she knew about her life might be quite different. And if she wants to pursue the truth in this modern-day story, she may have to pay the price of living with uncomfortable truths, about her father, her past, and herself.

With her deep intelligence, unerring eye for detail, and unwavering compassion, Laura Lipmann raises difficult, illuminating questions about the nature of memory and truth. Life Sentences explores the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves, asking whether anyone can truly own any story--even their own.

From the Back Cover

Author Cassandra Fallows believes she may have found the story that could become her next bestseller. When she was a girl growing up in a racially diverse middle-class neighborhood in Baltimore, a shy, quiet, unobtrusive child named Calliope Jenkins orbited Cassandra's circle of friends. Later Calliope would be accused of an unspeakable crime and would spend seven years in prison for refusing to speak about it. But by delving too deeply into Calliope's dark secrets, Cassandra may inadvertently unearth a few of her own--forcing her to reexamine the memories she holds most precious, as the stark light of truth illuminates a mother's pain, a father's betrayal . . . and what really transpired on a terrible day that devastated not only a family but an entire country.

Review Quotes

Lippman has enriched literature as a whole. -- Chicago Sun-Times

Life Sentences is an original and intricately woven whydunnit, with characters as real as the Baltimore streets they live on.With Laura Lippman's unique storytelling and love of the genre, mystery awards will surely keep pouring in. -- Madison County Herald, Mississippi

"Lippman knows exactly what she's doing." -- Seattle Times

"Lippman, a Baltimore native, skillfully brings the racial and economic tensions of her middle-class neighborhood to life in this poignant page-turner." -- Daily News

"Theirs is a strong and vivid story, one that will intrigue many readers--especially, I suspect, women who find echoes of their own lives and friendships in this drama." -- Washington Post

"Succeeds brilliantly... Lippman is in total command of her material, weaving strands about race, family myths and self-deception into a mystery so taut the reader is nearly afraid to keep going--and simultaneously powerless to stop. -- People