The Most Dangerous Thing

Goodreads Book Description- One of the most acclaimed novelists in America today, Laura Lippman has greatly expanded the boundaries of mystery fiction and psychological suspense. Set once again in the well-wrought environs of Lippman's beloved Baltimore, it is the shadowy tale of a group of onetime friends forced to confront a dark past they've each tried to bury following the death of one of their number. Rich in the compassion and insight into flawed human nature that has become a Lippman trademark while telling an absolutely gripping story, The Most Dangerous Thing will not be confined by genre restrictions, reaching out instead to captive a wide, diverse audience, from Harlan Coben and Kate Atkinson fans to readers of Jodi Picoult and Kathryn Stockett.Brothers Tim, Sean and Gordon Halloran played ball in a field near Gwen Robison's house on the outskirts of Baltimore. When Gwen and her friend Mickey see them, Mickey tells them they can't play there unless they let the girls join in. Soon, the five of them are exploring the nearby woods, something that would not be allowed today.Fast-forward to the present-day. Gordon, the youngest of the five, stumbles out of a bar. Certain that he's not drunk, he gets in the car and heads home. Then he makes a detour to a dead-end stretch of highway where they used to drag race, and drives into the barrier wall at the end.The remaining four friends, who haven't been close since their early teens, meet for the first time in years at Gordon's funeral. Someone wonders why they stopped hanging around together, and that's when the memories of Chicken George, the strange man who lives in a run down cabin in the woods, begin to resurface. Although they all vowed, at the time, to never speak of the events of the night of the hurricane, Go-Go's death has brought more questions to the surface. What really happened that night in the woods and who is truly responsible?Laura Lippman has created another fascinating tale of human nature and its foibles. The narrative alternates between the group's childhood in the late 1970s and the present-day (which requires that the reader pay attention to the chapter headings). As is common in Lippman's novels, the city of Baltimore is almost a character itself. Tess Monaghan even makes a brief appearance after the death of Go-Go.Lippman uses an unusual technique when chronicling the group's youthful adventures. The narrative is written in first-person plural, referring to the five as "we", but never in the first-person singular. It does provide a feeling of immediacy to events, but unfortunately pulled this reviewer abruptly out of the story. Still, it's a gripping story, and difficult for the reader to put down once begun. 4 stars!

The POV in this book is MIA. The narrator knows way more than s/he could know as a character. You can’t tell what to trust a dad a result, you stop caring about the kids and story. Instead of fixing that issue, they tack on an explanation at the end that’s both too little too late AND too much. I’d give this a pass.

I found myself hesitating to assign a star rating to this book. There was much I liked, but there is also a large measure of disappointment. The book tells the story of five Baltimore kids - three brothers and two girls - who roam a park near their homes in the summer of 1979. They are not supposed to go deep into the park but their daily trips further and further into the park yield surprises and secret treasures. Eventually they come upon "Chicken George" - an itinerant black man living in an abandoned shack. An incident involving Chicken George and two of the children shape the lives of these five characters.The book is told in the present and flashbacks - chapters narrated by different members of the group. There are veiled references to what happened "that summer".The book is hard to characterize - it is a character study wrapped around a mystery. Lippman's prose is sometimes achingly poignant about childhood, adolescence and the scars we carry into adulthood. The ending was not as awful as the build up leads you to believe. At times the book seem to plod and it was longer than it needed to be. But the story is telling about what we value and how we see ourselves. Not the mystery/thriller I was anticipating but worth the time.

I usually really like Laura Lippman, but this one doesn't do anything for me except bore me. There is not one likeable character, the plot takes forever to get going, and then goes nowhere. And the most puzzling thing about it is not the "mystery", but the fact that there is an unknown narrator. There are five young people who become friends, but none of them narrate the story. I never did figure out who does. Don't waste your time and money!

Like Lippman, I was born and raised in Baltimore and love my city! This book was my least favorite so far. The book is way too long and no suspense. All her books take place in Baltimore which draws me to read. She mentions cafes, parks, streets, etc that I know and love. I will continue to read her books because I'm a huge Baltimore fan. Baltimore was named "the city that reads" ...........but I have renamed it the city that bleeds. So Baltimore lets get back to the books!

I am not sure if this is really a five star book or if I am just really getting this novelist. This is the second book of hers that I have read and I can't wait to start the third. She has a great way of making you know so many characters and how they fit into intreaguing events. Ultimately, the characters themselves stay with the reader even more than the uncovered mysteries of the story.

I have read several of Laura Lipman's book which have been great mysteries. This book, whoever is not. It seems she wanted to write something autobiographical, mystery included, but the result is a cumbersome, too detailed and boring story.Her worst book. Disjointed; with a plot that is lost among the excessive datails of the lives of secondary characters.Ms. Lippman stepped into a genre that is not her stronghold: the human nature.When I bought the book I expected her great mystery work.I hope she goes back to it.

I read. It's my addiction. I read across the spectrum and came to Lippman's work through her Tess mysteries when our teen attended Johns Hopkins University as an undergraduate. I have always enjoyed quirky Baltimore but became delighted and sometimes horrified by the city during the four years it was our kid's stomping ground. No wonder Lipmann keeps returning to this setting for her novels. As her skills as a novelist progress and refine, I amgrateful to travel with her. In this tale, the narrative addresses its title. Five stars without any qualification.