Lady in the Lake, Week 3

Welcome to Week 3 of the Online Book Club discussion of Lady in the Lake.

Did you enjoy this section? Did you find that this section was more interesting than the last? Are you anxious to get to the end of the book to figure out all of the details of the crime? 

In all of her flashback chapters, Cleo intimates that she's upset with Maddie for investigating and finding her body. Why do you think that is? Wouldn't you think that Cleo would want justice for her death? Wouldn't she want to not just be a missing woman? At the end of this section, on page 213, she says, "You didn't care about my life, only my death. They're not the same things, you know." Do you think that's what's bugging her? The fact that Maddie is using Cleo's death to get ahead? Maddie doesn't really care about Cleo as a person--she only cares about what Cleo's death can do to her career. 

Maddie was definitely dogged in her attempts to figure out the crime. She wasn't afraid to keep investigating, even when she ran into a dead end or received negative feedback. I couldn't believe that she was even willing to go talk to Cleo's family, even when it was obvious that her questions were making them upset. Do you think Maddie deserved to be hit in the leg by one of Cleo's sons? 

Were you surprised that Maddie was allowed to see Cleo's body in the morgue? I was. I thought it would be a little harder to get access to a body that was part of an open murder case. Do you think he was so cavalier because he viewed Cleo as a throwaway person? Would it have been harder to gain access to a more important person? I was impressed that Maddie was able to view the body without passing out or getting sick. She had no prior experience with that kind of gore and violence, so I was surprised that she was able to stay so calm. 

Throughout the section, we keep hear snippets about Cleo's job at the Flamingo. The man she works for, Shell Gordon, seems like a bad man. I'm not exactly sure what all he is involved in, but several people tell Maddie that Shell is not a good man and is involved with a lot of different things. What do you think was really going on at Cleo's workplace? Do you think her boss has anything to do with her death? We also get hints that Cleo has a boyfriend who is rich. He must also be married since they are sneaking around together, and she doesn't tell anyone who he is. At one point, Cleo tells that her boyfriend gets clothes for her and tailors them himself. That has to be a very particular type of man that she's dating. Do you have any ideas? Do you think he could be involved in her death? 

At the end of this section, Ferdie and Maddie go to a baseball game together. Were you surprised that they went out in public together like that? Do you think anyone suspected that they had actually come together? What do you think would have happened if someone had figured out that they came together? I don't think people would have been very happy. I'm glad they were able to have that memory together, though. I was a little afraid someone would come up to Ferdie and harass him since he was the only African American person in that section. It was nice that he was able to come away from the game with such fond memories. 

What do you think is going to happen in the next section? Are you excited to keep reading? Do you have any ideas about who could have murdered Cleo? 

Before you go, check out the video below to learn more about the Apple TV version of the book. Do you think it looks like you thought it would? Are you interested in watching the television adaptation? 

I hope you enjoyed this section and are excited to finish the book for next week! I can't wait to hear what you thought in the comments.