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What the Dead Know

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What the Dead Know
First edition
AuthorLaura Lippman
LanguageEnglish
GenreCrime novel
PublisherWilliam Morrow
Publication date
March 13, 2007
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Hardcover)
Pages384 pages
ISBN0-06-112885-6

What the Dead Know is a crime thriller by the American writer Laura Lippman, published in 2007.[1][2] The story, set in Baltimore in 2005, is about an investigation into a woman who claims to be Heather Bethany, a girl who had gone missing thirty years before. The book was critically acclaimed and it won the 2007 Quill Award in the mystery/suspense/thriller category and 2008 Anthony Award for Best Novel.

Main characters, as first introduced

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  • The Bethany family: Dave and Miriam (née Toles); daughters Heather and Sunny
  • Penelope Jackson – registered owner of a car in a highway accident
  • Detective Kevin Infante – lead investigator
  • Harold Lenhardt – Infante's sergeant
  • Gloria Bustamante – lawyer
  • Nancy Porter – police researcher and Infante's former police partner
  • Kay Sullivan – social worker at St. Agnes Hospital; children Seth and Grace
  • Dr. Schumeier – psychiatrist at St. Agnes Hospital
  • Chester "Chet" V. Willoughby IV – retired detective
  • Stan Dunham – former Pennsylvania property owner
  • Irene – a foster mother
  • Tony Dunham – man killed in a Florida house fire
  • Roy Pincharelli – music teacher
  • Joe – art gallery owner
  • Javier – art gallery employee
  • Jeff and Thelma Baumgarten – couple in fidelity crisis
  • Ruth Leibig – Ohio school girl
  • Estelle and Herb Turner – practitioners of Fivefold Path spirituality
  • Priscilla "Syl" Browne – employee at "Swiss Colony" restaurant

Critical reception

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Reviewers saw What the Dead Know as a success both as a well-crafted mystery and as an emotionally powerful novel.[3][4] The Guardian described the novel as a "realistic and poignant detailing of emotional hide-and-seek, ... an excellent mystery and a thoughtful exploration of the nature and effects of grief and loss."[5] Kirkus Reviews praised the novel, noting that "Lippman (To the Power of Three, 2005, etc.) crafts a tale that resonates long after the last page is turned."[6] Janet Maslin of The New York Times praised What the Dead Know as "an uncommonly clever imposter story", "three-dimensional", and worthy of reading a second time — "You read it once just to move breathlessly toward the finale. Then you revisit it to marvel at how well Ms. Lippman pulled the wool over your eyes."[7]

References

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  1. ^ Laura Lippman, What the Dead Know, William Morrow, 2007. ISBN 0-06-112885-6, ISBN 978-0-06-112885-1.
  2. ^ "WHAT THE DEAD KNOW | Kirkus Reviews" – via www.kirkusreviews.com.
  3. ^ Patrick Anderson, "A Virtuoso Reappearing Act" (review of What the Dead Know), Washington Post, March 19, 2007; Page C03.
  4. ^ Janet Maslin, "Maybe She’s Reappeared; Definitely She’s a Mystery" (review of What the Dead Know), New York Times, April 5, 2007.
  5. ^ "What the Dead Know" (book review), The Guardian, July 14, 2007.
  6. ^ WHAT THE DEAD KNOW | Kirkus Reviews.
  7. ^ Maslin, Janet (2007-04-05). "Maybe She's Reappeared; Definitely She's a Mystery". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-06-08.