Ponder: What the Dead Know

As the saying goes, "You can't judge a book by its cover." Well I am learning you can't judge a book by its author, either. I read my first book by Laura Lippman Wilde Lake ©2016 three years ago and thought it was excellent. I reviewed it in my post dated 6/7/16 and looked forward to reading another work by her. Laura Lippman is a New York Times bestselling author. Per the Laura Lippman page in Amazon

Since her debut in 1997, New York Times bestseller Laura Lippman has been recognized as one of the most gifted and versatile crime novelists working today. Her series novels, stand-alones and short stories have all won major awards, including the Edgar and the Anthony, and her work is published in more than 20 countries

I just completed Lippman's novel What the Dead Know ©2007 and found it sorely lacking. The basic plot line is that thirty years ago two sisters disappear from a mall. Their bodies was never found nor was the perpetrator of the crime. As a result of a random traffic accident, one of the sisters shows up and the cold case is reopened. What the dead now know is to not read this book because the dead probably died of boredom. 

I liked none of the characters. The two sisters are constantly bickering and barely tolerate each other. Their father is into some transcendental meditation routine. Their mother has little love and respect for the father. A twice divorced police detective assigned to the cold case has a jaded view of life. A retired police detective, the original on the case, hails from a wealthy family and consequently never quite fit in with his peers on the force. A social worker is rather spineless. I stuck with the book only because I wanted to see the resolution. There were so many red herrings introduced and the timeline jumped around so much it was hard to keep track. My husband completed it so I thought it was worth a try. Several times when I groused, he offered to tell me the ending but I stubbornly refused. I should have taken him up on his offer. Do not waste your time on this book. I rate it one star, which for me translates as Awful but I read most or maybe even all of it.