seven books about “accidental PI” Tess Monaghan before leaving daily journalism in 2001.Her work has been awarded the Edgar ®, the Anthony, the Agatha, the Shamus, the Nero Wolfe, Gumshoe and Barry awards.
Lippman applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, Lady in the Lake, and reported the following:
I was happy when I opened Lady in the Lake to Page 69 and discovered that it was one of what I call the-off chapters: Throughout the book, the dominant view of Maddie alternates with people she has just met and, Maddie being Maddie, pretty much ignored. Well, she doesn't ignore them per se, but the conceit of the book is that she is so focused on one story that she never stops to consider that Baltimore is teeming with stories. There's a reason the chapters appear under bland descriptions -- The Classmate, The Clerk, The Waitress, The Suspect.Visit Laura Lippman's website.
On Page 69, we are in the middle of the section that belongs to "The Patrolman." We will see him one more time in the novel, passing quickly through a scene. But, as it turns out, this is a pivotal chapter. The patrolman, a sanctimonious man, will end up making quite a bit of trouble for some of the characters in the book.
Oh and if you're paying very, very, very close attention, you might realize that he's the father of Nancy Porter, the female detective who makes appearances in Every Secret Thing, To the Power of Three and What the Dead Know.
(I really doubt anyone is paying that much attention, but it -- and the other Easter Eggs here -- were a source of fun for me.)
The Page 69 Test: Another Thing to Fall.
The Page 69 Test: What the Dead Know.
The Page 69 Test/Page 99 Test: Life Sentences.
The Page 69 Test: I'd Know You Anywhere.
The Page 69 Test: The Most Dangerous Thing.
The Page 69 Test: Hush Hush.
The Page 69 Test: Wilde Lake.
The Page 69 Test: Sunburn.
--Marshal Zeringue
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