Lady in the Lake, Week 2

Welcome to Week 2 of the Online Book Club discussion of Lady in the Lake.

Did you enjoy reading the beginning of the book? It feels like this book is very different from other books I've read. It was different that there were chapters told by so many different people. Did you like having that different perspective? Did you think it made the story more confusing to have the story split up in that way? I thought we got more information by hearing from a lot of different characters, but I did feel like the narrative was split up a little bit with this format. Did you wish you had more time with any of the different characters? 

Mostly, the story follows Maddie Schwartz. I didn't find her to be an especially likeable character in these beginning chapters. I understood her need to have a more purposeful and meaningful life, but it seemed like she didn't really care all that much about the people in her life. And then, she steals the money from her ring by filing that false police report. I just felt like there wasn't much about her that I was interested in in the first part of the book. I was curious to see what she was going to do, but I wasn't rooting for her to become a big success. 

What did you think of Cleo? We don't really know much about her yet except that she is dead, and Maddie is the one to find her. Cleo mentions both of those facts, along with her media nickname, the Lady in the Lake, in her very first little chapter. She seems to be very different from Maddie, and in some ways, it seems like she is jealous of the life that Maddie had and left behind. It's interesting that Cleo knows who Maddie is, but Maddie has no idea who Cleo is. Do you have any idea what might have happened to Cleo? Are you anxious to figure out the details of her death? 

Maddie has two big breaks in this first section. First, she's the one who ends up finding Tessie Fine's body. Second, she writes to Tessie Fine's accused murderer in prison and ends up getting responses from him. I felt like her finding Tessie Fine was just a lucky accident, so I thought it was fair that she didn't really get any career traction from the experience. But, writing to Mr. Corwin took a lot of guts and daring, so I thought it was appropriate that she got a job out of the deal. I don't think she is going to be very happy at the "Helpline" job. She definitely wants a lot more than what that job can offer her. At the end of this section, we get the perspective of Don Heath who runs the "Helpline" desk. What did you think of him? He wasn't a very likeable character, either. I wonder how the two of them will get along as the story progresses. I don't think he has any interest in helping Maddie become a full-fledged journalist. I don't think he will be able to show her how to do much either. He seems to be really struggling. 

Throughout this first section, Maddie has a relationship with Ferdie, and he offers her inside knowledge of things happening at the police department. Do you think Maddie really cares for him, or does she like how different he is and how he can offer her information and maybe advancement? Do you think their relationship has any chance of lasting long-term? 

What do you think is going to happen in the next section? Do you think Maddie is going to get a different job at the paper? Will we find out more about Cleo? 

Before you go, check out the interview below with author, Laura Lippman. What did you think was the most interesting part of the video? 

Thanks for following along this week! Make sure to read through page 219 before checking back again. I can't wait to hear from you in the comments!