Eliza Benedict cherishes her peaceful, ordinary suburban life. She is happily married to her successful husband Peter, and the couple have two precocious children - thirteen-year-old Iso and eight-year-old Albie. Yet Eliza's tranquility is suddenly and inexplicably shattered when she receives a letter from the one person from her past she never thought she would hear from again. He is, in fact, the last person she ever expects - or even wants - to hear from: Walter Bowman.
With his simple statement: "There was your photo, in a magazine. Of course, you are older now. Still, I'd know you anywhere." - Walter Bowman has the disturbing ability to turn strong, self-assured thirty-eight-year-old Eliza Benedict, back into a desperate, frightened teenager named Elizabeth Lerner. In the summer of 1985, when she was fifteen, Eliza was kidnapped by Walter and held hostage for almost six weeks. He had already killed at least one girl by the time he took Eliza, and she always suspected that he had other victims as well.
Now sitting on death row in Virginia for the rape and murder of his final victim - a thirteen-year-old girl - Walter seems to be making a heartfelt act of contrition as his execution nears. Although Eliza wants absolutely nothing to do with him, she has also never forgotten that Walter was always the most unpredictable when he was ignored. Desperate to shield her children from the undisclosed trauma in her past, she cautiously makes contact with Walter. She's actually always wondered why Walter let her live; perhaps now he'll tell her. And finally reveal the truth about his other victims.
Yet, as Walter continues to press Eliza for more frequent contact and a deeper connection, it quickly becomes evident that he has ulterior motives. He wants Eliza to remember what actually happened to her during that long-ago summer. He is after something far greater than forgiveness. He wants her to save his life.
And Eliza, who has worked so hard for her comfortable, cocooned life, will do absolutely anything to protect it...to maintain her hard-won serenity - even if it means finally facing the events of that horrifying summer and the terrible truth she's kept buried deep inside. I'd Know You Anywhere is an edgy, gripping tale of psychological manipulation that will leave readers breathless. This is a tremendous novel about fear, intimidation and survival from the acclaimed, award-winning author Laura Lippman.
I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was an incredibly vivid portrayal of the psychological scars that are left behind by a single traumatic experience. Laura Lippman is a new author for me and this is the first of her books that I've ever read, but I will certainly keep her name on top of my wishlist. I give this book a definite A+!
First Line: "Iso, time for---"
After living in England for six years, 38-year-old married mother of two Eliza Benedict has returned with her family to Bethesda, Maryland. In their affluent neighborhood having lived in England has a great deal of cachet. Her teenage daughter, Isobel, is turning into an angry, snobbish stranger while her young son, Albie, is still a lovable little boy who's eager to please. The last thing Eliza ever expected was a letter from Walter Bowman waiting in the mailbox for her.
Back in 1985 when Eliza was fifteen, she was kidnapped and kept for weeks by Walter Bowman as he made a endless road trip through a tri-state area. She is there when Walter abducts and murders another teenage girl, but fortunately is rescued and returned to her parents and sister shortly thereafter. Naturally this experience has had repercussions on Eliza's life and relationships ever since.
Walter is now on death row and ostensibly wants to make amends before his execution. He uses as go-between an advocate for prisoners, Barbara LaFortuny. Eliza knows he has a different agenda-- as she has her own. Lippman alternates chapters between the present and Eliza's nightmare back in 1985, and what unfolds is a masterful novel about fear, manipulation and survival.
After such a horrendous experience, everyone has had the tendency to close ranks around Eliza to protect her. Who wouldn't? But Eliza learns that one of the consequences of this protection is that she's given up a lot of control over her own life.
I love the way Lippman holds each character up to the light like a prism, and moves that prism a bit at a time, uncovering nuances of behavior and thought that had previously been unseen. It's the major reason why opinions about characters can change the further one progresses into the book. The more one sees the character, the more one thinks, and a more reliable opinion is formed. Lippman even had me wavering over Walter Bowman's character until she'd twisted that prism around a few more times.
If you like reading a novel that worms its way into your mind with brilliant plotting and nuanced characterization, I'd Know You Anywhere is a book for you.
Sometimes the writing in a book is so detailed that I feel like I have to absorb every word. This book fits that description well. Unfortunately, that made this book a bit of a chore to finish. I definitely liked the story line, but it dragged out at times, and I found myself getting bored quickly. I could only read a few pages at a time so it took me weeks to finally finish this one.
I wanted to know how it would end though, especially knowing it was based off of a true story. It intrigues me to hear what happened in real life that inspired this book, but I felt a bit cheated that the author wouldn't give away the details of the actual crime. I felt like that was a bit strange. Why was that information so secretive?
One of my biggest issues with this book was that I felt like it included random information that wasn't actually important. For instance, there were references to the main character's daughter having issues in school, but I felt like that added nothing to the overall plot. It left me questioning why it was mentioned at all.
Overall, I would give this 2.5 stars. I liked the idea of the book and felt it was fairly well written, but it was very dry and slow moving so I almost lost interest along the way.
