Lippman’s ‘Most Dangerous Thing’ suspenseful

Back in the late ’70s, life was a lot less dangerous, or so it seemed. Kids had more freedom to roam, to explore and to get into trouble.

This was especially true for five kids from the suburbs of Baltimore who used to play together in the woods at the end of their street. The three Halloran brothers, Sean, Tim and Gordon, who everyone called Go-Go, and best friends Gwen and Mickey all used the woods as their personal playground.

In her latest novel, “The Most Dangerous Thing,” best-selling author Laura Lippman takes readers on a semiautobiographical journey back to her childhood, mixing memories of the neighborhood of her youth with a fictional story.

Gwen is the typical pretty girl, with a father who is a doctor and a stay-at-home mother. The boys' father jumps from job to job because of his hot temper and their mother tries to run the home with little help. Sean is the smart, cautious one; Tim is jealous of Sean; and Go-Go is hyperactive and a daredevil. Mickey doesn't have as much money as the others or a stable family life. Her mother's boyfriend acts as her step-father, becoming a source of anger and resentment.

Family situations lead the group to seek adventure in the woods and eventually become the root of the secrets that would haunt them the rest of their lives.

Now as adults dealing with the untimely and perplexing death of Gordon, the four surviving members of the group must face the questions that have hovered around their families for the past 30 years.

Lippman’s well-loved Tess Monaghan character makes a brief appearance as the private investigator trying to solve this mystery, but all in all this novel is a stand-alone work. Lippman includes all the emotion and intrigue that she is so well-known for and the suspense will keep readers engaged in this memorable story.