"dark thriller"
In Baltimore, fifth graders Alice Manning and Ronnie Fuller
were sent home after the latter had misbehaved at a
classmate's birthday party. Walking together, they come
across a baby carriage with no adult apparently nearby.
Ronnie insists "we have to take care of this baby", but
Alice has doubts feeling they are too young. Later the
adults question Alice as to the word accented and
emphasized by Ronnie when she said they needed to care for
the infant as the child died under their tutelage. Neither
confessed to killing the nine month old infant that they
snatched. Seven years later the two teens are freed from the State of
Maryland's control, as the law has to let go these juvenile
killers. Though the state is forced to forget and perhaps
even forgive, people, especially those close to the dead
baby like the mom, are not willing to turn the other
cheek. Just after the release of Alice and Ronnie, the
disappearance of little Brittany occurs that seems eerily
similar to what the two girls once did. This is as dark a thriller as readers will find yet Laura
Lippman keeps her audience fascinated from start to finish
in this one sitting suspense in spite of the size of the
novel. The story line is a combination of a police
procedural inside a character study as fans slowly learn
who killed the infant among other revelations. With a deep
cast and a powerful plot, EVERY SECRET THING will not
remain secret to the reading public that will seek other
fine (but not as dark) works by Ms. Lippmann. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted August 8, 2003
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