Prom Mom

Although I love mysteries, I’m usually not a huge fan of thrillers/suspense novels. I think this is because in a mystery, the crime usually comes at the beginning and I haven’t developed a relationship with any of the characters, especially the victim. In a thriller, the evil act generally comes at the end, by which time I have generally come to know both the victim(s) and the perpetrator(s). I hate reading an entire book thinking that something bad may be done by or to any of the characters I’ve come to know and even like.

The three main characters, “Prom Mom” Amber, “Cad Dad” Joe, and his wife Meredith, were so well written that I liked and/or identified with all three of them at various points in the novel.The Covid-era show more setting provided just enough sympathetic detail to pull me further into the plot. So, although I was worried about the ending, about who was going to hurt whom and how—it was fine. A satisfying ending that didn’t make me cringe. And for me that is the mark of good suspense.

Highly recommended, even for hesitant readers of suspense like me!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this novel to read and review. show less

Laura Lippman is one of my go-to authors for a solid crime novel. They tend to be on the lighter side and are always set in or around Baltimore, and she manages to keep things fresh. Her latest is maybe not as strong as her last few books, but still solid escapist reading for late nights or crowded beaches.

Amber Glass was a teenager when she became news fodder for having a baby during her prom. Now an adult, she returns to Baltimore, where she opens an art gallery. She runs into the one person who knows what she went through, her prom date, and they strike up a cautious friendship. Joe's having some issues; he loves his wife and the woman he'd been having an affair with is disinclined to let him go. And he has financial problems, show more exacerbated by the pandemic. If Amber's reasons for befriending Joe are murky, Joe's motivations may be even murkier.

I kept thinking I knew where this book was going and each time I was wrong. There aren't any truly likable characters and the plot is one that left me guessing to the end. Lippman is getting a little edgier as she goes, which is fun. show less

What an interesting story - a noir tale but with a contemporary suburban setting. An unpopular high school girl becomes notorious when she falls ill at the prom and goes back to her hotel room where she gives birth alone after her date goes out partying. The baby didn't survive, and after a spate of headlines the two teens go on with their lives. Years later, their paths intersect again, with complicated consequences.

While none of the characters is terribly likeable, they are weirdly compelling even as the ... prom dad? ... in middle age digs himself deeper and deeper into a hole, yet remains certain everything will turn out fine because he's the kind of privileged male who never has to pay for any of his mistakes. In a sense, that's show more the main driver of the tension in the book. How far can he go out on a limb before it comes crashing down?

While it has the logic of noir, it's very much a novel of the present moment, pandemic and all. show less

Laura Lippmann is not timid about tackling controversial topics in her novels. Nor does she seem to be particularly inclined to make her characters wholly palatable. In Prom Mom, no one is completely honest, all motives are suspect, and the clever easily prevail over the impulsive. The reader’s first glimpse of Amber is as a panicked teen who awakens on the morning after her prom covered in blood. She has no recollection of what happened to put her in such a position, and she stumbles home in a dissociated state. After being abandoned by her date, she can only remember portions of that evening which eventually culminates in her arrest. Amber next appears 22 years later, returning to the town she escaped as a reviled outcast after the show more incident. She intends to make a quick, covert real estate transaction, but when she discovers that her old crush is still local, she decides to stay. Her story is told in two narratives, one depicting that fateful prom night in detail, and the other following the action upon her return. In addition to Amber’s point-of-view, narration is also provided by Joe—the disappearing prom date—and his wife. The juicy plot is very modern and relevant, and Prom Mom exposes the damage inflicted by our current obsession with true-crime notoriety. Lippmann also makes a statement about how women are treated after traumatic events, versus how the men involved are portrayed. Prom Mom is an absorbing read, with well-developed and believable characters, and will likely be a popular pick for summer. Since one of the storylines takes place during the COVID pandemic, the novel aptly reflects some common reactions observed during the required lockdowns. Lippmann merges the themes and two timelines seamlessly, and the denouement is surprising enough to please even the most jaded, experienced suspense fan.

Thanks to the author, William Morrow and Edelweiss for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review. show less

I'm a big fan of Lippman's so I was excited to find a book of hers that I had not read.

Lippman's characters, like Ruth Rendell's, can be straightforward, caring persons whom you would like to know in real life. Or they can be very interesting manipulators, cheats, liars. I don't always know going in which one I will encounter, and with this one I wasn't sure for a while.

Amber Glass's life has been colored by her fateful prom night, when she gave birth in a hotel room. And remembered none of it, not even how the baby ended up dead. The story was big in her hometown of Baltimore, and when she had a chance she cleared out. Made her life elsewhere. Elsewheres, actually, most recently in Louisiana.

Amber travels back to Baltimore to sell her show more stepfather's house after his death. While there, though, her memories travel back too, to that night, to the guy, Joe Simpson, who brought her to the prom. Although the night had not gone well for either of them, she still thought about him. About how nice he had been to her. Maybe he did try to get into the hotel room. Maybe he did knock and she was passed out and didn't hear anything.

She was curious. What was he like now? She knew he still lived in Baltimore, a real estate agent.

He is married to Meredith, who seems a decent, caring woman. Amber is not interested in upsetting that marriage. She has no use for marriage herself. She just wants to get to know Joe again.

And so she does get to see him again. And the two seem to hit it off as friends.

Joe has been hiding his money problems from his wife for some time now. He does not know how to get out from under an upcoming balloon payment as Covid starts to affect his commercial real estate business. As he and Amber become closer he confides in her and asks for her help.

Amber is no dummy. I did not guess how she could get what she wants from the situation. I wasn't even sure what it was she wanted, until very near the end. What a ride getting there! show less

Prom Mom by Laura Lippman is a highly recommended domestic psychological suspense novel.

Amber Glass was known as "Prom Mom," the girl who gave birth and allegedly killed her baby while her date Joe Simpson or "Cad Dad," chased after an ex-girlfriend. Even though Amber escaped from her past in Baltimore, which made the tabloids, she chose to return and stay after her stepfather passed away. She's opening an art gallery and plans to stay out of Joe's way, maybe.

Joe is still in town, a successful commercial real estate developer, and married to a plastic surgeon, Meredith, his soul mate but that doesn't stop him from having affairs. His current lover is a young realtor, Jordan Altman, but he pursues a relationship with Amber. When the show more pandemic and lockdown occur, it threatens Joe's way of life as well as his financial bottom line.

The writing and character development is phenomenal, as expected. Readers won't necessarily like any of the characters, but you will immediately know who they are and how they fit into the plot and the time period. The plot will pull you right into the story and hold your attention throughout. Prom Mom is a slow-moving novel but is worth the time to reach the end. There is a twist at the end that I didn't anticipate and appreciated quite a bit.

Parts of this narrative were very engrossing and parts made me roll my eyes. Any pandemic or lockdown plot element is an immediate negative for me. It sets the novel in a specific time period and immediately dates it. This one wasn't too pompous retelling those events, but enough to turn me off.

And if you have to write about the pandemic, give us some realistic action featuring the people who were working everyday with no time off at home to provide you care or toilet paper and frozen food. Call all of us essential but admit, at the time, we were expendable.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins via Edelweiss.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2023/07/prom-mom.html show less

I'm 3/4ths of the way through and nothing has happened. Lots of flashbacks and the non-surprise affair. Weird for Lippman who is usually more on target than this. The writing and characterizations as strong as usual, but I wish something would happen already.