What happens when we’re forced to look closely at the myths and stories that shape our families? In Wilde Lake, Laura Lippman takes on the frailty of memory and the way that ever-evolving standards can create villains where heroes once stood. Luisa “Lu” Brant is the newly elected state’s attorney of Howard County, Maryland. Fiercely intelligent and ambitious, she sees an opportunity to burnish her reputation by trying a homeless man accused of beating a woman to death in her home. As Lu prepares for the trial, the case dredges up painful memories, reminding her family of the night when her brother, AJ, saved his best friend at the cost of another man’s life. Now, Lu wonders if the events of 1980 happened as she remembers them. The more she learns about her new case, the more questions arise about the past. Why was her brother’s friend attacked? Who was the true victim? If there is such a thing as the whole truth, Lu realizes—possibly too late—that she would be better off not knowing what it is.
