Every Secret Thing: A Novel (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "They were barefoot when they were sent home, their dripping feet leaving prints that evaporated almost instantly, as if they had never been there at..." (more)
Key Phrases: laura lippman, every secret thing, night editor, Ronnie Fuller, Brittany Little, Alice Manning (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With this engrossing mystery/suspense stand-alone novel, Lippman, winner of the Edgar, Shamus and Agatha awards for her series featuring likable heroine Tess Monaghan (Baltimore Blues; Charm City; The Last Place) solidifies her position in the upper tier of today's suspense novelists. Two 11-year-old children-good girl Alice Manning and bad girl Ronnie Fuller-wander homeward in Baltimore after being kicked out of a friend's pool party. They discover a baby in an unattended carriage by the front door of a house and steal it away. The reader watches in horror, knowing what will come next. The baby dies, and Alice and Ronnie are imprisoned for seven years. The mystery involves which girl did the killing, and which was the dupe. After release from prison, their blighted lives move inexorably toward further horror and tragedy. Lippman slowly relinquishes the facts of her story, building suspense as she reveals the past. Her well-honed prose is particularly suited to descriptions that impart more than just appearances: "Holly was one of those people who seemed to be put together with higher quality parts than everyone else"; "...there was something menacing in the very fineness of his bones, as if a bigger boy had been boiled down until all that remained was this concentrated bit of rage and bile." With this book, much darker than any in her past series, Lippman shows she is an author willing to take risks in both writing and storytelling. Her deft handling of this disturbing material is sure to increase the breadth of her readership.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Lippman has won just about every mystery writing award there is--the Edgar, the Agatha, the Anthony, the Shamus, and the Nero Wolfe--for her Tess Monaghan series. This is her first stand-alone mystery, one in which the detectives are consigned to bit parts. The fact that the police here do little save go through the motions underscores the fatalistic feeling at the core of this dark domestic tragedy. Lippman writes the kind of opening that should make readers feel they're following helplessly as a nightmare slowly unfolds. Two 10-year-old girls, bounced from a birthday party for bad behavior, discover a baby in a carriage on the sidewalk and deem it necessary to "save" her. Lippman leaves the reader knowing something terrible happened but unsure what it was until the narrative progresses to seven years later, when the two girls are released from prison and return to their homes, six blocks away from the house to which they brought untold grief. The girls have to adjust to a new prison of neighborhood suspicion. Then, as the girls make somewhat of a new life, children start disappearing, and then reappearing, until one toddler is well and truly missing. Lippman doesn't write a standard whodunit here but plays with reader expectations of what should happen next. A startling page-turner. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; First Edition edition (September 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060506679
• ISBN-13: 978-0060506674
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #734,531 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Stand-Alone Mystery, September 16, 2003

By	Craig Larson (Maple Grove, MN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I just finished Laura Lippman's latest (how's that for alliteration?) and what a stunner! _Every Secret Thing_ is a stand-alone novel, not part of the Tess Monaghan series, and it's more of a "portrait of a community" sort of a book than an outright mystery, although it certainly has a strong mystery driving the plot. I'd hesitate to say "breakout book" because I think she broke out long ago, but as I read, I couldn't help but compare the experience to that of reading Dennis Lehane's _Mystic River_, which I still firmly believe is one of the best American books of the last ten years. And I do think that _Every Secret Thing_ is on par with that book.



The story is narrated from multiple viewpoints, including those of a pair of now teenage girls, just released from juvenile detention after serving seven-year sentences for their parts in the kidnapping and death of a baby, the granddaughter of a locally-famous black judge. Ronnie Fuller and Alice Manning have had their lives irrevocably changed, and when another child of mixed race disappears soon after their return home, the girls become prime suspects, after their names are leaked to the press and to the police. At first, we feel sympathetic toward poor Alice, the "good" girl whose life was ruined by the inexplicable actions of the "bad" Ronnie, but as the story goes on, our sympathies are drawn more and more to Ronnie as the secrets of what happened seven years before, and what is happening now, are revealed.



Set in Baltimore, the story is as much about developing character studies of the girls, their families, the police, the press, and so forth, as it is about solving the mystery. The book also presents a portrait of the racism and divisions inherent in society, not just black vs. white, but rich vs. poor, and so on. There are great passages about the struggles faced by homicide detective Nancy Porter, who found the dead baby many years ago and who is now assigned to the new investigation, that are worthy of _Homicide: Life on the Street_ or _The Wire_. Lippman draws deft portraits of both Sharon Kerpelman, the public defender who feels she failed Alice in the earlier case, and Mira Jenkins, the reporter who sees this story as her chance to "move downtown." And Cynthia Barnes, the mother of the murdered baby, is a fully-shaded character who sees the possibility to get some sort of revenge on the girls, who she feels should have been tried as adults.



This is a gripping story, full of tension and emotion. It has moments of sadness and moments of humor. It's a great book by a great writer and I'd be surprised if it isn't nominated for the major awards in the field this year. Very highly recommended.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Totally blown away, September 4, 2003

By	Avid Mystery Reader (Ohio) - See all my reviews

The Last Place knocked my socks off as the best Lippman book yet. In comparison to Every Secret Thing, it's Lippman's second best book (and best Tess). Every Secret Thing is a whole new level of writing for Lippman. Every Secret Thing is dark, exploring, questioning, and powerful. Some Tess fans may be disappointed by the tone of this book -- it may be darker than they prefer -- but they won't be disappointed by the quality of writing or the story. It's not Tess, *and* it is still very, very good. I thought about this book for a long time after I read it.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AN ASTONISHING STORY TOLD WITH GRACE AND SKILL, October 23, 2003

By	Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

Ace novelist Laura Lippman brings 20 years of experience as a reporter to every mystery she pens. Readers applauded "Last Place," "Baltimore Blues," and others for the author's compelling accuracy and to attention to detail. Her series starring the unsinkable Tess Monaghan won legions of enthusiastic fans as well as numerous literary prizes - the Anthony, Edgar, Shamus, Agatha, and Nero Wolfe awards.

Not only do Ms. Lippman's novel chill with compelling authenticity but she excels in creating accessible, unforgettable female characters. Her characterizations soar in "Every Secret Thing," an astonishing story of children and crime.

They are eleven-year-olds, fifth graders at St. William of York, and they are as different as night and day. Alice Manning is an obedient youngster, usually acquiescing to parental restraints. On the other hand, Ronnie Fuller, is an uneasy youngster, prone to angry outbursts. As an opener we read: "They were bare foot when they were sent home, their dripping feet leaving prints that evaporated almost instantly, as if they had never been there at all." The girls had been banished from a birthday party.

As they meander toward their homes the pair see a baby carriage left unattended on a porch. Inside the buggy is a black baby. Dressed in pink the infant is all innocence, sleeping soundly, and the girls take the baby away.

Now, segue to seven years later when Alice is released "by the State of Maryland for her part in the death of Olivia Barnes." How could such a serene July afternoon have ended in murder, much less the killing of a child by those who were children themselves? Who actually committed the crime; who was the bystander? And, that is the crux of Ms. Lippman's disturbing yet compulsively readable story.

The lives of Ronnie and Alice have, in effect, been ruined yet there is more to come. Another child is abducted and eyes turn toward the pair who were found guilty of the earlier crime.

Ms. Lippman has courageously taken on a difficult subject, one that the majority of our society would prefer not to acknowledge. She gave as her reason for tackling this issue: "I decided to give it my best shot, to shake people out of the smug complacency that says, `It can't happen here, it can't touch my family,' because anything can happen anywhere, to anyone."

Her `Best shot" has resulted in a shocking tale told with grace and skill.

- Gail Cooke