Laura Lippman is a favorite writer of mine, ever since the Tess Monaghan series was first published. I’ve read most of her other novels along the way and this is one of my favorites. I promise that you do not have to be familiar with Baltimore to appreciate it as a character all its own when Lippman uses her her hometown as the backdrop to a novel. She makes you want to do a Lippman tour of Baltimore. And my favorite museum ever places a small role in this (The American Visionary Arts Museum, AVAM). But I digress… In Prom Mom, Amber Glass goes to the Towson High School prom with Joe Simpson, a guy she tutored in French. At his house. Often when his parents were not home. Joe has spent all of senior year mourning being dumped by his girlfriend, Katilyn. Things take an unexpected turn when Amber, who becomes violently ill at prom, goes to her hotel room and gives birth to a baby who dies. She is accused of killing the baby. Joe is a “cad” for not checking on her before he took off with his ex and Prom Mom and Cad Dad go as viral as you could get before the Internet took off. (Think tabloids). Now, of course, their past can be found easily when you google them.
Now, over 20 years later Amber has returned to Baltimore from her home in New Orleans, where she works in a gallery, to settle her stepfather’s estate. She’s curious about Joe but not sure whether she wants to meet him. She has taken an interest in “outsider art,” collecting and selling it on Etsy. Much of her collection is by prison inmates. She decides to stay in Baltimore awhile and to open a gallery in an odd place, a strip mall near her childhood home. We also meet Joe, also back in Baltimore, with his plastic surgeon wife Meredith. The are, from their own accounts, happily married, intentionally childless and living in a veritable mansion because Joe got it for a bargain at an auction. I cannot give more information on the plot because of spoilers, but I will mention how much fun Lippmann’s take on people during COVID-19 shutdowns was. She captures the mood of the six foot social distancing, the avoidance of restaurants, the playing tennis in cold weather, the paper goods wars, vaccination frenzy. Good characters, if not super likable in a few cases. Joe Simpson is morally flawed and beloved by many. He spends lots of time thinking about how great he is and making excuses for himself and how he really needs to do better, but…, there’s always a but. Amber Glass is smart, creative, somewhat vulnerable and interesting. Meredith is kind of two dimensional but on purpose, so she’s also a great character. A side character in Louisiana, Amber’s boss/friend Miss Margaret is fun.
Now, over 20 years later Amber has returned to Baltimore from her home in New Orleans, where she works in a gallery, to settle her stepfather’s estate. She’s curious about Joe but not sure whether she wants to meet him. She has taken an interest in “outsider art,” collecting and selling it on Etsy. Much of her collection is by prison inmates. She decides to stay in Baltimore awhile and to open a gallery in an odd place, a strip mall near her childhood home. We also meet Joe, also back in Baltimore, with his plastic surgeon wife Meredith. The are, from their own accounts, happily married, intentionally childless and living in a veritable mansion because Joe got it for a bargain at an auction. I cannot give more information on the plot because of spoilers, but I will mention how much fun Lippmann’s take on people during COVID-19 shutdowns was. She captures the mood of the six foot social distancing, the avoidance of restaurants, the playing tennis in cold weather, the paper goods wars, vaccination frenzy. Good characters, if not super likable in a few cases. Joe Simpson is morally flawed and beloved by many. He spends lots of time thinking about how great he is and making excuses for himself and how he really needs to do better, but…, there’s always a but. Amber Glass is smart, creative, somewhat vulnerable and interesting. Meredith is kind of two dimensional but on purpose, so she’s also a great character. A side character in Louisiana, Amber’s boss/friend Miss Margaret is fun.
Now, over 20 years later Amber has returned to Baltimore from her home in New Orleans, where she works in a gallery, to settle her stepfather’s estate. She’s curious about Joe but not sure whether she wants to meet him. She has taken an interest in “outsider art,” collecting and selling it on Etsy. Much of her collection is by prison inmates. She decides to stay in Baltimore awhile and to open a gallery in an odd place, a strip mall near her childhood home. We also meet Joe, also back in Baltimore, with his plastic surgeon wife Meredith. The are, from their own accounts, happily married, intentionally childless and living in a veritable mansion because Joe got it for a bargain at an auction. I cannot give more information on the plot because of spoilers, but I will mention how much fun Lippmann’s take on people during COVID-19 shutdowns was. She captures the mood of the six foot social distancing, the avoidance of restaurants, the playing tennis in cold weather, the paper goods wars, vaccination frenzy. Good characters, if not super likable in a few cases. Joe Simpson is morally flawed and beloved by many. He spends lots of time thinking about how great he is and making excuses for himself and how he really needs to do better, but…, there’s always a but. Amber Glass is smart, creative, somewhat vulnerable and interesting. Meredith is kind of two dimensional but on purpose, so she’s also a great character. A side character in Louisiana, Amber’s boss/friend Miss Margaret is fun. I thoroughly enjoyed Prom Mom from start to finish. Highly recommend.
They Called me Bookworm 