The Most Dangerous Thing: A Gripping Mystery of Childhood Friends, Flawed People, and Secrets in Baltimore

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!

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 am grateful to travel with her. In this tale, the narrative addresses its title. Five stars without any qualification.

3.5 stars. After I finished I WOULD KNOW YOU ANYWHERE and loved it, I was eager to purchase Laura Lippman's latest THE MOST DANGEROUS THING. The book is very well written and explores childhood friendships and childhood secrets. The story goes back and forth from the late 70's to current time. Every chapter is narrated by a different character which is fine, but sometimes I found it hard to figure out who was talking at the time. The story flows very smoothly but I almost want to say there is "much ado about nothing". I was expecting something horrific, terrible and completely different than what actually happens. When I finished the book I said "what"? That's it? I guess my feelings stemmed from the whole book leading up to this secret lie or cover up which I just didnt think was so horrible. (bad, mind you, but not horrible to cause the feelings and depths everyone took to hide it) Loved her characters and their development but just felt let down after it was finished. I will say I am glad I bought it because I was entertained but just let down by the ending. Ps. This is a very personal book for her as she is writing some of the characters and the setting from her actual childhood, maybe that had something to do with it.

I must say, I loved reading this book. It kept my attention and was so well written, as are all Laura Lippman's books. I really enjoyed that the story was told from the perspective of the kids as well as the parents. I was not happy with the ending. But that is just my personal opinion, not meant to really be a reflection of the book. I felt she set up a scenario in which something really bad was to have happened to Go-Go, and it did, but I don't think she resolved it well. Rather than outrage the others just showed ambivilance. I thought outrage was warranted.

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.

As with all of Lippman's books I've read, I was sucked in from the start. Each night, I felt compelled to read "just one more chapter" after I knew I should turn out the light. Lippman's ability to hint at things little by little through the whole book always gets me. After all that anticipation, though, I was a little disappointed in how quickly story was resolved, almost like Lippman was in a hurry to wrap it up.

Wow, I really enjoyed this book. You don't find out just what "the most dangerous thing" is till the very end and then you are really surprised. The book is well written the charcters grew up in the 50's and 60's when I did so there is a lot to relate to. Back then you could disappear with your friends for the whole day and you parents didn't worry...or should they have?

Writer John Harvey recommended The Innocents in a list of crime novels he put on his blog. You can see why. This is a superior example of storytelling from Laura Lippman, with interesting characters, well-told backstories, and a real sense of how the past shapes the present and future. The ease with which Lippman pulls all this together is reminiscent of Stephen King - it's the story of people affected by something that happened in childhood, and the ripples of this being felt years later. In an interesting afterword, Lippman reveals that The Innocents is quite autobiographical in content, and she also outlines her approach to some of the more unusual aspects of the narrative and the approach she took. The relationship between the author and the reader is also explored - clearly this is a very thoughtful author at work. If the finale of the book disappoints a little bit, that's almost to be expected due to the extraordinary standards being set earlier in this powerful, riveting novel. More from Lippman is certainly worth checking out.

Laura Lippman has written a novel centred around five children within three families. Doris and Tim Halloran have three sons, 'crass Tim, Serious Sean and wild Go-Go'. Clem and Tally Robinson have three children, son Miller, and daughters Fiona (Fee), and 7 years their junior Gwen. Rita has a daughter Mickey and a younger son Joey. The author focuses on 5 of the children, Mickey, Gwen,Sean, Tim and the youngest Go-Go (Gordon) and their parents. The chapters swing between the late 1970's to the present day and are delivered in the first person plural by the children or a parent. Mickey and Gwen become friends in their early teens and later force themselves into the Halloran boys' set to become close, solid friends (on the surface), likening themselves to the arms of a starfish. They are gregarious, explorers of the nearby sweeping extensive Leaken Park that holds secrets and potential dangers, seemingly oblivious to these and equally diregardful of their parents' declaring it a no-go area. Mickey knows the woods best and her tomboy cavalier attitude to life at this stage inevitably has a profound effect on the narrative. They stumble upon a shack occupied by by a blackman, surrounded by chickens whose prize possession is a guitar. They are all teenagers except Go-Go, and befriend the man they call Chicken George. On a fateful night when a hurricane hits the area, mysterious George is found dead outside his dwelling. The circumstances surrounding this become central to the story. The 5 drift apart after a few summers and go their own way. They are re-united at the funeral of the zany but likeable Go-Go. He had lapsed after 2 years sobriety, got drunk and died in his car after hitting a wall at speed. Accident or suicide? Another conundrum. At this point and subseqently, the families and their offspring reflect on whether life could have been different and happier. Secrets, deceit, regrets, infidelity, resentment,jealousy and broken or unhappy marriages are largely introspectively examined, but sometimes openly with honesty or bitterness. The past is always carried with us into the future as a law of nature. True personalities and motivation from earlier years with missed opportunities lead to some hands on heart confessions, some unpleasant and surprising. Early parental deaths (plus Go-Go's) have a profound effect on top of the layers of guilt,falsehood and often unhappiness of the protagonists. The unspoken secret of the woods is revealed in the closing pages. The truth will oust inevitably. Go-Go's demise is a matter of unresolved conjecture. Laura Lippman has written a powerful novel concerning the compexities of personal and interpersonal development of children into adults, where major or seemingly small changes in circumstances or within families can have monumental consequences. There is much in this book to ponder over. Titled 'The Most Dangerous Thing' in the USA. The danger is not in the woods, it is within humanity. This is the mystery.Forgiveness, understanding and openness may have been helpful but that as we read, is easier said than done.

Had high expectations for this based on reviews but felt it a bit slow to get going and ultimately didn't live up to expectations. All the main characters will very unlikeable and quite annoying and I very easily guessed the ending and was hoping for one final twist that would make getting it through it worthwhile. Sadly disappointing.

I chose a 5 star eating as I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was expecting Father Andrew being brought to justice for raping Go-Go and wouldn't of thought it was Mickey! I'd recommend the book to anyone who enjoys a suspense novel.

I'm still reading this as it took a while to get into it. A novel in the vein of Donna Tartt's "A Secret History", but with a mysterious narrator... written in the first-person plural but doesn't seem to be one of the 5 principal characters...