Lady in the Lake. A Novel

NOW A SERIES FROM APPLE TV!A New York Times BestsellerThe revered New York Times bestselling author returns with a novel set in1960s Baltimore that combines modern psychological insights with elements ofclassic noir, about a middle-aged housewife turned aspiring reporter whopursues the murder of a forgotten young woman. In 1966, Baltimore is a city ofsecrets that everyone seems to know-everyone, that is, except Madeline "Maddie"Schwartz.
Last year, she was a happy, even pampered housewife. This year, she'sbolted from her marriage of almost twenty years, determined to make good on heryouthful ambitions to live a passionate, meaningful life. Maddie wants to matter, toleave her mark on a swiftly changing world. Drawing on her own secrets, shehelps Baltimore police find a murdered girl-assistance that leads to a job atthe city's afternoon newspaper, the Star.
Working at thenewspaper offers Maddie the opportunity to make her name, and she has foundjust the story to do it: Cleo Sherwood, a missing woman whose body wasdiscovered in the fountain of a city park lake. IfCleo were white, every reporter in Baltimore would be clamoring to tell herstory. Instead, her mysterious death receives only cursory mention in the dailynewspapers, and no one cares when Maddie starts poking around in a young Black woman'slife-except for Cleo's ghost, who isdetermined to keep her secrets and her dignity.
Cleo scolds the ambitiousMaddie: You're interested in my death, not my life. They're not thesame thing. Maddie's investigation brings her into contact with people thatused to be on the periphery of her life-a jewelry store clerk, a waitress, arising star on the Baltimore Orioles, a patrol cop, a hardened female reporter, a lonely man in a movie theater. But for all her ambition and drive, Maddieoften fails to see the people right in front of her.
Her inability to lookbeyond her own needs will lead to tragedy and turmoil for all sorts ofpeople-including Ferdie, the man who shares her bed, a police officer whois risking far more than Maddie can understand.