Patricia Highsmith. Mary Higgins Clark. Sue Grafton. They are as foreign to me as their literary forte – the crime novel. I read James Patterson once (Kiss The Girls), but once was enough for me to realize that it just wasn’t for me, being a lover of literary fiction first and foremost. So imagine my surprise when I picked up this work by detective fiction writer Laura Lippman and found it to be one of the better books I’ve read within its genre, namely the psychological thriller.
“Still, I’d know you anywhere.” They are the words contained within a brief yet salient letter suburban housewife Eliza Benedict receives one day, words that serve to remind her that her face and identity (formerly Elizabeth Lerner) have been burned into the memory banks of a killer. They are penned by one Walter Bowman, a man who kidnapped and raped her when she was fifteen years old and now sits on death row. Though the day of his execution looms large, Eliza is unnerved that he has found her and begins to relive the simultaneous curiosity and terror she felt in his presence, those feelings manifested throughout detailed recollections of the 39 days she spent with him. All the while he pushes for more communication, exercising a calm and complimentary comportment to serve ulterior motives. Eliza must contend with him as well as others with whom he has formidable connections, eventually gaining the resolve she sought and failed to attain all those years ago.
I dare to use a phrase other critics have for various works, and call this book compulsively readable. There is one small hump to get over at the start – Lippman overdoses a little on the mundanity of the protagonist’s life but once Eliza receives the letter that sets everything in motion, that opens a locked door to her past, the reader will find themselves turning page after page and marvel as they realize they have been reading for a few hours and they are already in the middle of the story (If I’d had the time, I would’ve read it in one sitting).
Lippman’s pacing is taut, her writing to the point and her characters interesting, if not gripping. Eliza is a simple woman, perfectly content to “let life happen to her” and can come off somewhat dull and devoid of a personality. The strongest female characters within the story are Barbara Lafortuny, a victim of a knife attack who tirelessly campaigns to keep Walter alive and Trudy Tackett, the mother of one of Walter’s victims, consistently blaming Eliza’s failure to act as the reason for her daughter’s death. Walter is not a frightening portrayal of a serial murderer – rather, he is somewhat meek with a bit of an inferiority complex, Eliza remarking that he is diminutive in size and ego, terribly misinformed about women and matters in general, and even naïve. However, Walter becomes much more menacing when he employs humility and kindness in his manipulation, thinking Eliza weak and using her desire to believe in the good of people to bring her closer.
The reader is kept at attention with the consistent switching of perspectives and time (the novel moves between 1985 and present day). Chapters are short, encouraging just a few more minutes of reading each time one reaches the end. At 370 pages, it is longer than the average novel but there are likely to be few complaints about its length when the degree of absorption is so high.
Bottom line: Though Lippman primarily writes in a genre that isn’t my cup of tea, “I’d Know You Anywhere” has me interested in her other work. I consider this book a bridge from one genre to another, one that doesn’t follow strict guidelines and manages to blend the drama of literature with the straightforward storytelling of crime thrillers/detective fiction. It is an excellent book about one woman learning to conquer many old fears.
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