Every Secret Thing: A Novel (2004 original; edició 2011)

One of the more disturbing stories Lippman has to offer. It focuses on two girls who were sent to juvenile detention centers for killing a baby. We meet Nancy, a young detective with something to prove. We also meet the mother of the baby who was kidnapped, then killed. We meet the mothers of the girls, along with other peripheral characters.

The two girls, Alice and Ronnie, are released from detention on their eighteenth birthdays, seven years after being sent away. Both return to their homes in the same community. Alice has gained weight, is now large and resentful. After all, she did not actually kill the baby, she has continually pointed out. Ronnie is the one with the temper, the "bad girl" who started it all. Alice's defense lawyer suggests walking as a form of exercise that might help Alice with her weight. She takes the hint and spends hours on the streets every day. Meanwhile, Ronnie finds a job at a donut shop, where nobody knows her. In fact, few people know who the girls are because privacy laws protected their identities.

Then the unthinkable happens. A three-year-old child is kidnapped. It is the third or fourth "disappearance" since the two came home, but the others had all been found within hours. This time the child is not found. The mother of the baby who was killed insists that the police focus on the two girls. She points out that the three-year-old looks remarkably like her own second child. Do the girls have it in for her?

Is anything as it seems? Perhaps not. I was pretty much on the edge of my seat reading this, hoping for a resolution that did not involve the girls, hoping for answers that absolved them at last. I won't tell you if my hopes were dashed or not. Wouldn't be fair, would it? ( )

can't rate this one - didn't finish it. It's just a personal issue, I guess... can't take that much death and threat towards children.

strange plot, but nothing super original. I've seen or read several similar tales. what struck me the most is how nasty and manipulative the women were to one another. lots and lots of body shaming. ( )

It was a good read. Her books usually are. I didn't agree with ending, though. Alice got away with everything while Ronnie suffered. ( )

Enjoyed the mysteries this book held until the end! She always kept you on the verge but still guessing. Will be looking to read more of her books. ( )