After I'm Gone by Laura Lippman
Publisher: William Morrow
Pages: 352
Format: ARC
Buy the Book: Amazon
Goodreads: When Felix Brewer meets nineteen-year-old Bernadette "Bambi" Gottschalk at a Valentine's Dance in 1959, he charms her with wild promises, some of which he actually keeps. Thanks to his lucrative-if not all legal-businesses, she and their three little girls live in luxury. But on the Fourth of July, 1976, Bambi's comfortable world implodes when Felix, newly convicted and facing prison, mysteriously vanishes.
Though Bambi has no idea where her husband-or all of his money-might be, she suspects one woman does: his devoted young mistress, Julie. When Julie disappears ten years to the day that Felix went on the lam, everyone assumes she's left to join her old lover-until her remains are eventually found in a secluded wooded park.
Now, twenty-six years after Julie went missing, Roberto "Sandy" Sanchez, a retired Baltimore detective working cold cases for some extra cash, is investigating her murder. What he discovers is a tangled web of bitterness, jealously, resentment, greed, and longing stretching over three decades that connects five intriguing women: a faithful wife, a dead mistress, and three very different daughters. And at the center is the man who, though long gone, has never been forgotten by the five women who loved him: the enigmatic Felix Brewer.
Somewhere between the secrets and lies connecting past and present, Sandy will find the truth. And when he does, no one will ever be the same.
Kritters Thoughts: Three sisters, a wife and a mistress are left behind by a man who flees before justice can be served and he may serve time. This book takes a look at not only these five women and what they must go through when left behind, but his friends as well and how his cowardliness affects everyone.
Presented in a different way with alternating chapters - one chapter would be in the past while the next would be current as the Detective Sandy is undergoing his investigation into the cold case. It was obvious as to what time it was and who was the center of the chapter, I loved reading about Sandy's discoveries and then the story behind the piece of evidence next.
I haven't read that many by Laura Lippman, but this one felt different for some reason. This was the first time where I felt like the solution to the crime/situation took awhile to get to and I think I wanted it or at least a piece of it to have come earlier. I still loved it and would definitely recommend it to any reader who loves the mystery/thriller genre.
Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one copy of this book free of charge from Harper Collins. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.
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