Lady in the Lake

The interconnectedness of the characters in Lady in the Lake, which prompts the many collisions between them, dictate and propel the novel’s plot. In 1965, Baltimore was a city of 1.5 million people. Yet, as depicted by Laura Lippman, the city functions more like a small town. The structure of the novel emphasizes the interconnectedness of humanity in cities by creating the sense that every person is, at once, anonymous and always under observation. This reality complicates and undermines the characters’ efforts to hide or misrepresent their many secrets.

Part of the sense of connection in the novel derives from the characters’ interwoven pasts. Their connections could be as subtle as a sighting or as intimate as a shared history, but regardless, connections are consistently emerging. The novel opens with Cleo noticing Maddie long before Maddie knew Cleo existed. Though this moment had little effect on Maddie, Cleo is struck by the poise and attractiveness of Milton Schwartz’s wife. Cleo knew Milton as well, recalling him as a cruel college student whose family lived in and operated a grocery store in the neighborhood. Shortly after, Maddie’s character arc is triggered by the random reappearance of high school acquaintance Wally Weiss, now calling himself Wallace Wright.