After building her glittering career with a long-running, multi-award-winning series starring Baltimore private eye Tess Monaghan, Laura Lippman has in recent years spread her wings with a number of outstanding, very different, stand-alone thrillers. From the multi-layered tale of family and justice in Wilde Lake to the James M Cain-esque Sunburn to exploring various prejudices in Lady in the Lake, Lippman is masterful.

Following the multiple narrators and broad scope of her last novel, Lippman flips the script in Dream Girl with an intensely claustrophobic tale that largely takes place within the four walls of novelist Gerry Anderson’s new condo. And inside his mind. After a freak accident, bed-bound Gerry only has a nurse and PA for company, so when he starts receiving phone calls from Aubrey, a character from his most famous novel, he doesn’t know what’s real or fantasy. Is he losing his mind, or is he in danger? Who can he trust?

Put simply, this is a dreamy, brilliant novel. A slow burn creeping suspense that wears its homage to the likes of Misery well, while being its own original thing. Lippman has a wonderful way with words, lulling readers while setting many hooks, and seasoning the journey with plenty of wit and humour. An incisive and unpredictable novel from one of the finest exponents of the crime genre, anywhere.

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson