This book was... okay at best. I was captivated by the characters, but the storyline puttered along and ultimately stalled, going nowhere. I often times read books wanting to escape or to explore the motivations of a character entirely opposite to me. A good author will be able to exemplify and explain the motivations but I never felt like I really understood any of the main characters: the incessant draw to that which is not good for you, the desire to continue to inflict wreckage over another person's life, and returning to the scene of the crime, for lack of a better phrase.

I really wanted to like this one and had really high hopes but found it to be ultimately disappointing. On the flip side, I do think it's important to note that the book was compulsive enough that I couldn't put it down in hopes of seeing where the storyline goes. I just wanted more exhilarating thrill!

Honestly was a little disappointed. I wished it would have had better characters development. I wish there would have been more to story. It was a slow build. I liked the ending.

This was just an okay read for me. The twists and turns just didn't seem realistic or to match the characters.

Amber Glass's journey is a poignant exploration of the lengths we go to escape our mistakes and rebuild our lives. Lippman skillfully delves into Amber's complex psyche, painting a vivid picture of her struggles to shed the identity of "Prom Mom." The shame, guilt, and longing that Amber experiences are palpable, making her a relatable and empathetic protagonist.

The backdrop of Baltimore adds a layer of familiarity and authenticity to the narrative. Lippman's descriptive prose brings the city to life, imbuing it with a sense of history and a rich tapestry of emotions. As Amber navigates the city's streets, readers are transported into her world, feeling her every triumph and setback.

Laura Lippman weaves a tale of raw emotion, redemption, and the power of human connection. The narrative's rich tapestry of characters, emotions, and ethical dilemmas will resonate with readers on a profound level. Lippman's masterful storytelling, combined with her insightful exploration of the human condition, cements this book as a must-read for fans of evocative and thought-provoking fiction.

Laura Lippman's latest thriller builds off the provocative premise implied by the title. Amber Glass has lived her life defined by her worst moment, the tabloid-ready scandal of giving birth in a hotel room on the night of her prom, the baby mysteriously dying. Circumstances force Amber to return to her hometown of Baltimore, where she is pulled - or forces herself - into the orbit of her prom night date Joe, his plastic surgeon wife Meredith, and their seemingly perfect marriage. Lippman takes the set-up seriously while writing the characters with tremendous empathy; when they do selfish things, which is frequently, you understand why. Joe is a particularly sharply-drawn portrait of white male privilege, the kind of friendly guy who believes the best of himself and tries to do good while remaining willfully oblivious to his own neediness, his short-sighted decisions, and the wreckage left in their wake. The revelations come a little too thick in the book's closing pages given the expertly-paced tightening of the screws that comes before, but the final effect, augmented by Lippman's recreation of the early months of the pandemic, is potent.

Man, "Prom Mom" is a tough one to review. The story is interesting and compelling but it's a covid book, which for some people is a non-starter. I think this story will be better received when we are further removed from the pandemic. There are also a LOT of Peloton references - which as a Peloton user I liked - and I can see how that would be annoying. Not my favorite book of the year but still an entertaining read.

These twists come upon you fast. I had to read the ending twice, as every sentence counted. This was a fun book to read.
The plot will pull you right into the story and hold your attention throughout. Prom Mom is a slow-moving novel but is worth the time to reach the end.

Amber Glass was infamous for birthing and killing her baby during prom. After prison she attempted to live a normal life. Her Mother and Stepfather’s death brought her back home. After returning home she ran into Joe known then as Cad Dad. Joe lived a wonderful life unscathed by the incident, wealthy and happily married. Everything that Amber couldn’t have. Amber and Joe’s lives become intertwined again and again even higher stakes.

Laura Lippman does it again! I could not put this one down. The characters are so dynamic and the plot went places I never expected. This is the first fiction I’ve read that addresses the pandemic and realistically what it was like. It gave the plot an even more of an ominous feeling.

An out-of-the-blue twist that doesn't really land and a lot of zeitgeist-y stuff jammed in. No one wants to read about COVID or the 2016 election.

I had a bit of trouble with this one. The ending brought my rating up immensely. Such a great twist!

I just couldn't like the main characters. They all were rather self-centered. I was rooting for Amber, the Prom Mom in the title who had a baby in the hotel room bathroom at her prom and supposedly killed the newborn, until she started it up with Cad Dad, the father of the baby and just an all round douchebag. He and his wife both thought they were above everyone else. Oh but what a tangled web we weave.....

The ending will give you chills and that ended up making the whole story for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow for a copy of this book for review.

Readers of Ruth Ware’s It Girl or Karin Slaughter’s The Good Daughter will love Prom Mom by Laura Lippman.

Amber and Joe will forever be connected by their Prom night. Joe and Amber met in high school while she was tutoring him in French. The two begin sleeping together and when Joe breaks up with his girlfriend, Amber convinces him to take her to the prom. On prom night, Amber goes into premature labor giving birth and allegedly murdering their baby. Hoping to escape the scandal and after serving her time in juvenile detention, Amber leaves her hometown of Baltimore to begin her adult life. Joe stays in Baltimore and is now a commercial real estate developer married to Meredith, a successful plastic surgeon. But Joe and Amber are drawn together again when she returns to her hometown to open an art gallery.

Spanning the 1990s through the surreal years of 2020 and 2021, this slow building thriller leads to a shocking ending. The flawed characters have a codependent relationship while the plot builds and intensifies with each chapter. The result is a gripping novel full of secrets and surprises.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel.

This book has gotten a lot of praise, but I think I was not the right audience. I didn't find anything exciting or twisty about it. It was fairly boring and I was just ready for it to be over.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

Laura Lippman never disappoints. I enjoyed this book and will be ordering several copies for my library.

I am a huge fan of her books and this one is definitely up there. It is a slow burn mystery that starts and ends with stunners. In the beginning we learn the meaning behind the book’s name, Amber becomes knows as ‘Prom Mom’ when she gives birth to an infant that subsequently dies on prom night, and there are many questions surrounding that night that are unresolved.

This is told in multiple POVs and dual timelines, that fateful night and current day, and I thought it was done well this way. I listened to this in one sitting as I was so curious where all of this was going to go, especially as things begin to spiral out of control, and then holy cow the ending. It snuck up on me and just left me stunned in a good way. The audio for this is wonderful and I was glad I listened to it for sure. As an FYI, I will note this is set during COVID which some may not be ready for. I do recommend it though, I loved this one and enjoyed it very much.

Thank you to William Morrow Books and NetGalley for the digital copy to review.

My Review:
Enjoyed!!!! I was looking for something different to read and boy this book was it. I have read this author before and she never disappointed so far so I thought why not try this one. Let me start off by saying these characters were something else. At times I really didn’t know what to make of them. They had a past trauma that connected them but also affected them in different ways later on in their life. None of them could really let it go and move on which is totally understandable but maybe they should have. If they did their lives may have been very different and not stuck. Ok next up is the blurb. The plot is always the driving force on why I choose a book. If the plot is not appealing to me I won’t read it or give it a second glance. This book had exactly what I was looking for when I was looking for it. I tend to be a mood reader so that book has to be what I want when I read it. Last but not least the ending. It definitely shocked the heck out of me. I didn’t expect that at all. I thought it was going to go one way but it went in the opposite direction in such a good way. The only criticism I would give this book is that at times I felt it veered off the path it was taking and I found myself saying why did the author add this or why did the author put this here. It was all over the place at times and wasn’t as cohesive as I would have liked it but otherwise I really liked this one. I would definitely recommend it.

In conclusion, the plot, the characters and all the twists in this book made this book an enjoyable read. I would definitely recommend it and happily give it 4 Hearts❤️❤️❤️❤️

Ooh. The slow build, the multiple POV’s, the manipulation. I really enjoyed this. I wouldn’t categorize this as a thriller or suspense, but it was definitely engaging. I sometimes got confused with who was speaking or the time frame, but overall really good. I will say that the nod to pandemic life was eerie. 2020 still feels like a fever dream. Lol

I always enjoy Laura Lippman’s books because each one is always so unique and you never know what you’re gonna get. Reading the description, I thought this one was going to be more like horror/thriller-ish but this book took a different turn. It was slower paced and described the characters relationships and thoughts very well, and dang the end got me! So many little twists at the end. I loved this book!

While this was not my favorite story (I don't think I am ready for stories in COVID times yet) I thought it was a great idea and well written.

I HATED JOE, was suspicious of Meredith and wasn't sure what Amber was up to... which is all part of what makes a great book. I love when I have strong feelings about the characters and can picture them in my head.

ᴀs ᴀ ᴛʀᴜᴇ ᴄʀɪᴍᴇ ғᴀɴ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏʜ ʀᴇsɪᴅᴇɴᴛ - ᴛʜɪs ʙᴏᴏᴋ ʀᴇᴍɪɴᴅᴇᴅ ᴍᴇ sᴏ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴀsᴇ ᴏғ ʙʀᴏᴏᴋᴇ sᴋʏʟᴀʀ ʀɪᴄʜᴀʀᴅsᴏɴ. ᴛʜɪs ɪs ᴀ sʟᴏᴡ ʙᴜʀɴ ғᴏʀ sᴜʀᴇ. ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴏғ ᴀ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴍᴏʀᴀʟɪᴛʏ ɪssᴜᴇs, ʙᴜᴛ ɪᴛ ᴀʟʟ ᴘᴀʏs ᴏғғ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɴᴅ. ɪ ʜᴀᴛᴇᴅ ᴊᴏᴇ ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ɪ ᴀᴍ sᴜʀᴇ ᴡᴀs ɪɴᴛᴇɴᴅᴇᴅ. ɪ ᴀʟsᴏ ғᴇʟᴛ ᴇxᴛʀᴇᴍᴇ ᴇᴍᴘᴀᴛʜʏ ғᴏʀ ᴀᴍʙᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀs ʀᴏᴏᴛɪɴɢ ғᴏʀ ʜᴇʀ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴡʜᴇɴ sʜᴇ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ᴍɪsᴛᴀᴋᴇs. ᴛʜɪs ʙᴏᴏᴋ ɪsɴ’ᴛ ᴀs sᴜsᴘᴇɴsᴇғᴜʟ ᴀs ɪᴛ ᴜɴғᴏʟᴅs, ʙᴜᴛ ɪ ᴜʀɢᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏ ɢᴇᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ғɪɴɪsʜ ʟɪɴᴇ. ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɴᴅɪɴɢ ᴡᴀs ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴛʜɪɴɢ.

ɪ ᴀʟsᴏ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴇғᴇʀᴇɴᴄᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴄɪʀᴄᴇ ᴀs ɪ ᴡᴀs ᴀ ʙɪɢ ғᴀɴ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴏɴᴇ! ɪ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴅᴏɴᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴏᴠɪᴅ ᴘʟᴏᴛ ᴘᴏɪɴᴛs, ʙᴜᴛ ᴜɴᴅᴇʀsᴛᴀɴᴅ ɪᴛs ʀᴇʟᴇᴠᴀɴᴄᴇ.

📖 ʜᴜɢᴇ ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏ @williammorrowbooks @customhousebooks ᴀɴᴅ @netgalley ғᴏʀ ᴛʜɪs ᴀʀᴄ ᴄᴏᴘʏ ɪɴ ᴇxᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇ ғᴏʀ ᴀɴ ʜᴏɴᴇsᴛ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ 📖

Thank you William Morrow for the review copy of Prom Mom; I also received a physical copy from the publisher via Bibliolifestyle book tours (the cover is truly amazing).

Prom Mom is a slow burn examination of how you can try to be done with the past but the past indeed isn't done with you. Amber, the Prom Mom, had a lot taken away from her after a prom night tragedy but has made a life for herself... but it's a pathway setting herself up to be back in her prom date's path. Joe, less impacted by the tragedy, leads a privileged life but one that's about the shatter. Is Amber back to help him... because he might be about to make a big ask.

I am a fan of Laura Lippman and enjoyed this examination of fairly toxic people who are on a kind of collision path, whether they know it or not, and this is the kind of book you can read to see how it all comes together (and read quickly at less than 300 pages, which really works for a satisfying slow burn as the plot doesn't lose focus). There are some twists and turns but it's the end that brings it all together.

My one note is that, as much as I liked the character driven story, I really found I wanted the end and how it came together to be more developed, almost making that the starting point or midpoint of the story so I got more time to savor the way the plot unfolded.

Recommended for fans of the author and readers who like a slow burn kind of revenge plot.