Wilde Lake: A Novel

About this book

A Best Novel nominee for the 2017 Anthony Award! An African-American man accused of rape by a humiliated girl. A vengeful father. A courageous attorney. A worshipful daughter. Think you know this story? Think again. Laura Lippman the extravagantly gifted (Chicago Tribune) New York Times bestselling author delivers one of her best novels (Washington Post)a modern twist on To Kill a Mockingbird. Scott Turow writes in the New York Times Wilde Lake is a real success. Luisa Lu Brant is the newly elected states attorney representing suburban Marylandincluding the famous planned community of Columbia created to be a utopia of racial and economic equality. Prosecuting a controversial case involving a disturbed drifter accused of beating a woman to death the fiercely ambitious Lu is determined to avoid the traps that have destroyed other competitive successful women. Shes going to play it smart to win this caseand win bigcementing her political future. But her intensive preparation for trial unexpectedly dredges up painful recollections of another crimethe night when her brother AJ saved his best friend at the cost of another mans life. Only eighteen AJ was cleared by a grand jury. Justice was done. Or was it? Did the events of 1980 happen as she remembers them? She was only a child then. What details didnt she know? As she plunges deeper into the past Lu is forced to face a troubling reality. The legal system the bedrock of her entire life does not have all the answers. But what happens when she realizes that for the first time she doesnt want to know the whole truth?