Starts deceptively simply ... Isn’t in a hurry to pull the pin on that question, delighting instead in the slow reveal of characters who aren’t exactly what they seem ... The surprises, delivered close to Prom Mom’s final pages, are the kind that might compel you to reread the whole story again, just to find out how Lippman layered this quadrangulate tale with clues and misdirection about Joe and the women who enable him, and how she managed to make such a classic form feel so of the moment. That formidable skill makes Prom Mom one of Lippman’s most seductively mesmerizing novels, not just an homage to Cain but a powerful successor.
The timeline of Prom Mom toggles between the present and past as seen through different points of view. Readers’ sympathies shift from one character to another, as Ms. Lippman parcels out crucial information to induce gasps of surprise ... Ms. Lippman, long recognized as a master of plot and exposition, has been serving up psychologically rich slices of karma for years. Even her most demanding fans will be tempted to judge Prom Mom one of her best books yet.
This is no romance novel. As the pandemic descends and problems mount, the story picks up pace and intensity, moving into the realm of a thriller as all three become implicated in a crime caper: an insurance scam that evolves into a murder-for-hire scheme ... Lippman builds the stories of her main characters. None are especially deep — or sympathetic ... Leaves readers so distanced from her soulless characters that they may not care enough to root for any of them.
Absorbing ... Something Lippman, whose characters tend to be smart, underestimated women, often writes about. It's satisfying territory but Lippman has explored it better — with more compelling protagonists — than she does in Prom Mom.
Gripping ... Lippman works up a slow burn, gently teasing out a game of cat and mouse between Joe and Amber that comes into full focus toward the end of the novel. Readers who persevere will reach a devilishly satisfying conclusion.
As usual, Lippman creates a convincing portrait of a particular sector of Baltimore, this time well-heeled professionals in the northern part of town, and adds New Orleans to the mix as well, with a king cake and a side order of red beans working as plot points. A character study of pedestrian evil in the Wegmans-and-Peloton class, fascinating in its heartlessness.
