Successful fiction author Gerry Anderson finds himself in a bad way after he falls down the stairs of new apartment. All he remembers is that he received a mysterious letter right before he fell. He is stuck in a hospital bed with his personal assistant by day and nurse at night. Having recently moved from New York to Baltimore, recently losing his only relative, and being a very private person to being with, Gerry doesn't get many visitors. He becomes concerned when he starts to receive phone calls from a woman claiming to be the person that the main character was based on from the novel he wrote that made him famous. Is someone trying to extort him? Is he imagining the whole thing? Are one of his ex-wives or his ex-girlfriend behind this?

I had really high expectations for this book because I loved Lady in the Lake. While I liked this psychological thriller, it just didn't have the same appeal as Lippman's last book. It was lacking some of the depth I was expecting in the plot.

I loved this book and am always a fan of Laura Lippman. I never really knew where this book was going, but I always wanted to find out. The main character is hard to like though you are so sympathetic to his circumstances. He is both the villan and the hero of the story. The wrap up of the book took me completely by surprise, but did not disappoint. I wish I could start over and read it again.

Unlike most writers who write about writers, Lippman is too grounded to get caught in the trappings of romanticization. Her protagonist, Gerry Anderson, is your classic self-centered novelist, but that very trait is utilized to structure the story and propel the plot. Someone is out to get Gerry for something he did. The problem is that he can't remember what it could be, not because he has too many transgressions to count, but that he can't seem to connect his memories to anything beyond his own feelings. When he is incapacitated after an accident and is forced to rely on the kindness of strangers, Gerry is finally confronted with the consequences of his actions on others. With vibes of Rear Window and Misery, Dream Girl is a slow-building thriller that ends off to the left of where I expected.

What a delicious book! I seen where they compared it to "Misery" and I and see the comparison. If you like that one, you will enjoy this story. Thankful to NetGalley for allowing me to read this title.

This is my first read of Laura Lippman's work (I don't know why!) I loved the fast pace of it. Gerry's mind works a mile a minute, even though he's concerned he may be experiencing the beginning stages of dementia. He is not a loveable character, but I enjoyed his voice. I definitely felt a little frantic along with him as he tried to puzzle out how and why he was in his predicament. Definitely recommend and I look forward to reading Ms. Lippman's other novels.

This was outstanding. Great characterization, interesting plot, social commentary that wasn't painful, etc. Recommended.


Review copy provided by publisher.

I actually enjoyed this book. There were some parts were a little long winded...but the “present time” story was gripping. I enjoyed all the old time pop culture references.

I was…not enthralled by this one.

You’ll see comparisons to Stephen King’s Misery and, yes, if you squint. It shares the basic skeleton of much of the plot. What it’s lacking is…everything else.

If you take the bare bit of a suspense thriller out of it, it’s a self-indulgent character sketch of an author no one wants to know. As the main character brings us flashback after flashback, almost none of which have to do with the story, we realize: he’s kind of an officious jerk and is oh so proud of himself (gag).

The little thriller bit is contrived and leaves you grasping for any hint of logic. It’s melodramatic in parts, deadly dull in others, and you end really wondering why the ‘unattractive penis’ bit was even a thing.

Skip for me.

*ARC Provided via Net Galley

I'm a big fan of Laura Lippman and am always excited for a new release from her. This definitely wasn't her usual and at first I wasn't sure if I was going to like it, but it really surprised me! In a good way. If you're a fan, definitely give it a try!

Thanks to NetGalley and Wm Morrow for providing an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Laura Lippman is tough to beat; you never really know going in where her books are going to take you. I am a big Tess Monaghan fan, but it seems like we won't get a new Tess-centered story for a while (if ever?), which is fine, because I might like the stand-alones better anyway (and Tess does make a brief appearance in this story).

This book tells the story of an accomplished writer, Gerry Andersen, recently moved back to Baltimore from his high-flying New York famous author life, to help his aged mother who is dying. Unfortunately (?) for Gerry, his mother dies surprisingly quickly, and then he is stuck in his fancy, new Penthouse apartment. Also unfortunately for Gerry, he soon meets with an accident in that Penthouse apartment and breaks some bones in a way that requires him to convalesce at home in traction.

Whilst all this is happening, Gerry ponders over moments in his past, many of which revolve around his romantic entanglements, and showing us that, even though Gerry seems to be a nice enough guy, he's very much a product of his time when it comes to feminism, and maybe hasn't valued the women who have crossed his path, particularly if they didn't provide visual or other forms of stimulation. We also learn about Gerry's childhood, which features a father who had a second family that Gerry's mom might have known about and decided to ignore ...

Gerry's masterwork is a novel called Dream Girl, and throughout his career, everyone has wanted to know who this character is based on - who is the Dream Girl in real life? Gerry insists that there was no one girl he based the character on, but now, while Gerry is laid up in bed, he starts to get calls and a letter from a woman claiming to be the real dream girl, and she wants to be compensated. Gerry's assistant and nurse are not able to find a record of these correspondences. Is Gerry losing it? Gerry's memories push the narrative forward until things reach a fever pitch, and the story culminates in an explosive ending that I can practically guarantee you won't see coming.

Another winner from Laura Lippman. This is a provocative thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat until the last page. I literally read it in a couple of hours. Realistic characters and completely believable plot.

I have read many books by this author and I was not expecting, as she calls it, a horror novel. It was fairly interesting, but some chapters were better than others. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

What I liked about this book: the writing, Ms Lippman’s ability to create this unlikeable character with a lot of detail and even humor. And the ending really made up for some of the slow moments. The meta fiction quality is really cool.

What I didn’t like: It really does drag. I started skimming through the past timeline chapters to figure out when exactly something was going to happen to Gerry. I appreciate a good character driven novel, but in this case, our character is literally lying in bed thinking. Still all in all a great book!

I love Laura Lippman and have read all of her prior books (Tess is one of my favorite characters). Sadly, I just didn't like this one as well as her other books. After about 50%, I found myself skimming until the end. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

Laura Lippman has been one of my favorite authors for many years. As a former Baltimorean, I have always deeply appreciated how Lippman describes and centers the city in her work. This was in some ways a departure from her typical story, confirmed in the author's note, with Lippman affirming it's her first dip into the horror genre. I think she did it quite well. For longtime fans, there's a nice Tess Monaghan cameo, and her writing is as good as ever.

I love Lippman’s books and always wait for a new one with much anticipation. Sadly, for me this one wasn’t up to her usual standards. Maybe because of its similarity to Misery, or what I found to be a very disappointing ending, this one just didn’t do it for me.

I have not done well with Laura Lippman lately. The last two books synopsis have read really well, but I personally could not get into either one. It is a well written mystery just something did not appeal to me. I will recommend to customers who enjoy mystery fiction though.

Laura Lippman, much like Tana French, never disappoints me! And though Dream Girl is something of a departure for her, it is hugely entertaining, brilliantly plotted and really a lot of fun. To reveal the intricacies of the plot is to spoil, but suffice it to say Lippman has some ideas about masculinity, the #metoo movement, and the worlds of academia and publishing. Her characters are spot on, all too believable and I particularly love the references to popular books and movie that are sprinkled in the storytelling. Still set in her beloved Baltimore, Dream Girl is definitely a lighter work than her previous novels, though Lippman herself describes it as her first horror novel. If it represents Lippman taking a different road, I hope she continues down it for some time.

Though this book is very well written, it is just too slow moving for me and I didn't find the subject matter that interesting. I kept falling asleep, so I decided to abandon it after I got a quarter of the way. I'm sure other more patient readers will enjoy it though.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Oof. I did not like this. Nothing much happened and even when things started to happen, it was predictable and boring. Whoever compared this to Stephen King’s Misery was soooo off.