Welcome to Litsy!

2nd time reading this, in audio this time and I liked it better. I forgot that it is a retelling of To Kill a Mockingbird.

1. I‘m so suburban, my area is between two cities.
2. Wilde Lake is about fifteen minutes away.
#two4tuesday

Love Laura Lippman. Did not love this. I think it was the main character. She was not likable to me. I didn't know anything about this going in. Just assumed I'd love it like all her other books. Apparently, it was inspired by To Kill A Mockingbird.

I just couldn‘t get into her recent #lake book but did enjoy this one. #savvysettings

#ReadYourSign #virgo

Prompt 7: Read a book with your gem: peridot

Would this be acceptable for peridot? It's essentially a gem with light and dark greens. I've always considered sapphire my gemstone so 🤷‍♀️

It‘s not really a lake and definitely not #wild but it‘s just up the road from me. I enjoyed the book too. #boundtogetherjune

Terrific. Set in my birth state of Maryland, it was fun to hear so many familiar details. First but def not my last Laura Lippman. Also, with it, I‘m at 52 books so far in 2019! :)

Gorgeous historical part of Ellicott City, MD, mentioned in Wilde Lake by Laura Lippman. It feels like being in France or England :)

Centennial Park, Columbia MD
Wilde Lake is set in Howard County and Columbia, MD.
I'm learning about the city's history and street names: " ... the names quickly became more fanciful and literary. Faulkner's Run, Hobbit's Glen, Longfellow."
It's funny to read a book set so close to a place that I have just moved to and explore it in real life and through the historical background provided in the novel.

Eh this book I struggled to keep interested in. The plot was just slow and there really was no build up for the ending until the last quarter of the book. This definitely was not a page turner but the ending had a few surprises so I gave it a so-so.

I think I was expecting a bit more out of this, and some of the chapters were longer then necessary, but I enjoyed the majority of it. The main character, Lu, was not the most likable character, but her faults made it all the more realistic. 3.5 stars. ⭐️

Plus, here is a picture of my sleepy reading buddy. 😻

I had a fear that this book would never get to the juicy reveal. But then it did! But then it got a little too serious about, like, “the nature of secrets” and ehhhh... pretty fun compelling read for the most part tho

Dramatic lighting for a dramatic cover.

Man-made #waterfalls drain Wilde Lake. #heatofjuly

I just couldn‘t get into this. I felt like there were too many characters and it was just really slow moving. The plot was interesting, but overall predictable and just didn‘t keep my interest.

I stated this today.

Pumpkin
Horror book
Hayride
Hot cocoa
Corn maze
Tailgating
Football - I even have my own fantasy football team

#falltimefavorites

Well I absolutely sped through this book and really enjoyed it on the whole. As others have said there was something a little bit To Kill A Mockingbird about it. Although I was underwhelmed by the ending I think I would recommend it overall.

The kids have given me one of their bugs. I feel crappy so I am cheering myself up by drinking really cold ginger ale, really hot tea and starting a book that I have wanted to read for a while. This is another podcast rec... goodness knows which one. I'm hoping it is a series I can get in to.

$1.99 on Kindle today!!

This was a good listen & I enjoyed trying to put the pieces together throughout. I loved how this takes place in MD- my state! And learning local history I didn't previously know about the state & Columbia in general. At times the current storyline took on too many ramblings about modern history and tangents that felt out of place. Good family mystery & how the past is rarely left alone. First from this author!

Listening while eating breakfast!! I love how Laura Lippman includes so much stuff about Maryland- my home! 😊😊

I wish I could rate this higher, but it didn't live up to my hopes. Instead of pleasant nostalgia, it was kind of depressing to hear that the high school where I student taught in 1983 was no longer considered academically challenging, and the neighborhood was slipping into decay. But that wouldn't have been such a big deal if the writing were better or the plotting tighter. It's a light read, but there are better written "summer reads."

"The present is swollen with self-regard for itself, but soon enough the present becomes the past."
I'm going to finish this for the nostalgia factor, but sentences like this one are driving me crazy!

I'm excited to start this one today. I did my student teaching at Wilde Lake High School in the mid eighties, so this is a total nostalgia read.

Look what was waiting for me when I got home from work! The Lippmann is for me, but the Silverstein is for my daughter who lost all her books when Hurricane Matthew flooded her house. It was a particular favorite from her childhood so of course it's one of the first ones to be replaced. #bookhaul #bookmail

🤓📖🎙📚🌟❣#BookFestival #GBF #AuthorTalk #AuthorsAreMyRockstars

Notes fr the weekend:
She was the best- & a local! Needles to say, there was a big crowd for her & she didn't disappoint. Witty, self deprecating, & hilarious!
- She's already finished her book for 2018 & is currently working on another one!
- She won't let her hubby (creator of 'The Wire) edit her drafts anymore after he went to town with a red pen the one time she did ask him.😄

I think this was supposed to be a mystery/thriller? But there was no mystery and everything wrapped up so cleanly and just step by step. In the first half of the book she goes from modern third person view to past first person view, but then just stops writing like that and then ends in another view. Probably one of the most boring and tedious mysteries I've read.

I only have 50 pages left and I have honestly no idea what this book is about.

Love this book so much! And Laura is the best. #maybookflowers #bodyofwater

My favorite #localauthor and a book full of local color. This is THE Wilde Lake. #aprilbookshowers

With a distinct To Kill a Mockingbird feel, Laura Lippman‘s Wilde Lake tells a story of family and community, secrets and mystery, coming-of-age and disillusionment. Wholly interesting and surprising, with a cast of vivid and flawed characters, this book provides quite the read. (I received a free copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.)

15 hours down of #24in48! Would never have made it without this great audiobook. Even got to make cookies while I'm reading! #24in48 #readathon #audiobooks #2017reads

Ok, so I wasn't blown away and had slightly higher expectations than what I actually encountered, but overall, it was worth it! A fast page turner, but possibly trying to do a bit too much with all of the interwoven storylines...? I did enjoy it and you will too, if you're a Law and Order fan/Dateline fanatic like me :)

Squee!! Bookish mail is the best. I'm looking forward to reading this one very soon!!

On to the next one! ☝️ I'm planning on exclusively listening to the #audiobook version of this one, since I normally have a hard copy of the book as well, it'll be a bit different. I usually refer back to the book in case I miss something while listening, but so far it doesn't seem like that will be an issue. 🎧 #overdrive

This book is so #setinmycity that I used to frequent the diner where the murder victim worked. (It's closed in the meantime, much to my chagrin, but it would have been open at the time the story took place, so it's not an error!) Not only have I posted her books two days in a row, but I'm also reading another at the moment. (Not liking it that much so far, but we'll see how it goes.) #readjanuary @RealLifeReading

A great story with developed, relatable characters. My only criticism is the freedom an 8-year old child was given. In my opinion, a child of privilege wouldn't be left to fend for herself both privately and publicly- in recent decades anyway. This felt like a stretch. In addition, the final choice made by a main character was inconsistent with his personality. It helped to end the story but I felt cheated.

Superficially, this novel seems like a solid legal thriller, narrated by an intelligent, if somewhat bristly female States Attorney. What sets it apart though, is the deeper analysis of the human mind and our relationships. The crime in this novel is a vehicle for discussion of the lies we tell each other, and convince ourselves of and why. Very well executed.

Getting back on the crime buzz and loving this so far

There were moments where I didn't really like this book but overall it was really good.

I'm currently reading Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie, but I thought I'd try a mini poll for what I should read next. Gives me a chance to play with the new beta version of Litsy. So should I read A. Miss Mayhem-the 2nd book in the Rebel Belle series. B. Wilde Lake- a murder mystery by Laura Lippman. Or. C. The Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie - Miss Flavia de Luce's first story. #minipoll #betterthanclosingyoureyesandpointing

Really good in parts but just fell a little short for me.

The book and the lake! I'm waiting patiently for the next in the Tess Monaghan series, but I enjoyed this standalone too. Good story with deep family drama just under the surface. Interesting structure and characters. Great local color.

I've heard great things about this one. I've enjoyed Laura Lippman's books in the past and I'm looking forward to reading more of this tonight!

Loved this book so much! Laura Lippman at Bouchercon today. Picture taken by Donna Andrews. Two old pals of mine.

Reading now.

Another Ebook deal today--it looks pretty good and has a lot of good reviews on Goodreads. Offer expires 8/14.

Touted as a modern day version of To Kill a Mocking Bird, Wilde Lake, is a story of family and its secrets. Without rehashing the plot, the story takes place in Maryland and involves the prominent Brant family. I liked the way the story showed how very different our childhood memories can be from reality. Unfortunately, the main charcter, Lu annoyed me and in that case marred my overall enjoyment of this one. The audio version is well done.