Review: I'd Know You Anywhere

Title: I’d Know You Anywhere
Author: Laura Lippman

Publisher: Harper Collins, Inc.
Publication Date:  September 17, 2010

Reviewer: Ethan

Review: After seeing this book on Stephen King's Best of 2010 list for EW, I became curious about this novel. Most reviews I read prior to beginning this story were mixed at best, so I really wanted to read this and form my own opinion.

In the mid 80's, an insecure young man named Walter abducts young Elizabeth. Unlike his previous victims, who were quickly raped and killed, Elizabeth travels with Walter for nearly forty days, and is only raped once. While traveling with Walter, Elizabeth witnesses the abduction and murder of another girl.

Now, many years later, Elizabeth (now called Eliza) is a seemingly normal wife and mother, helping her family deal with their recent move back to the US from London. With the arrival of a letter from Walter, who is awaiting execution on death row, Eliza is forced to face her past and reveal secrets to her family and herself.

In this mesmerizing novel, Laura Lippman twists what could have been a straight forward thriller into an introspective narrative about a woman's unwillingness to accept her past, and the ways in which previous events shaped her into the person she has become. Readers will delight in the steady pacing and wonderfully drawn characters in this must read novel.

-Ethan