Laura Lippman’s THE LADY IN THE LAKE is more than a good read, it offers a truly timely commentary
I wrote about this for the Arts Fuse:
When President Trump wanted to take down Representative Elijah E. Cummings (D- MD) last week, he did so by deriding Baltimore, which is in Cummings’ majority-black district, as a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.” In the days since then, the debate has moved onto the prejudice (or lack thereof) behind those tweets, using their veracity (or lack thereof) as evidence. The truth of course, is more complicated than any 140 (or 280) character volley can encapsulate.
To understand the complex tapestry of race and poverty in Baltimore – as in any American city – it helps to look at its roots. Luckily, a Baltimore writer has done just that, with an improbably well-timed release that, while fictional, may do a better job of illuminating the multifaceted Maryland metropolis’s story than either the angry outbursts or the reactions they provoke…. read more here