Prom Mom: 'Mesmerising' Irish Times

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Afterwards, she left town for good – and hasn’t seen Joe since. But she knows he hasn’t left, that he’s working for his father’s real estate company, married to a cosmetic surgeon. Child free. Despite what its title might suggest, there is little of the lurid or cheap in Lippman’s latest, Prom Mom. Lippman drew inspiration from the real-life episode that made headlines in 1997 when the New Jersey teen Melissa Wexler gave birth to a 28-week-old baby who was found dead in the bathroom during her high school prom.

The story is told over two timelines - 1997 when the 'Prom Mom' tragedy occurs, and twenty years later when Amber reappears in Joe's life - and is told from the points of view of Joe, Amber and Meredith. Prom Mom centers on a teen ager with an unwanted pregnancy, which makes it one of your more political novels to date. PROM MOM is a slow build up with mostly unlikable characters, especially Joe, and a plot that makes you wonder where this story line is going. Amber and Joe reconnect. She opens Amber Glass Gallery. Amber is more sophisticated than in high school (and more calculating). Joe is on the verge of losing his wife, house, and reputation. What comes next is mind-blowing! We discover more about Amber and the people surrounding her as the outline fills. Several voices are depicted with one person especially nuanced as casual entitlement gives way to a deeper understanding. A fascinating journey.ABOUT 'PROM MOM': When I was seventeen, I gave birth to a baby in a hotel bathroom while attending the prom...'

This book is unique, with a concept that alternates between the 1997 tragedy and the COVID era (2019-2021). Your blood runs cold as you read about the tragic death of a baby at a high school prom and the tarnished reputation of the "prom mom" Amber Glass and her date/presumed father of the baby, "cad dad" Joe Simpson. The pains were labor pains. Amber delivered the baby and then ended up killing it....something she didn't remember.THE AUTHOR: Since Laura Lippman’s debut, she has been recognized as a distinctive voice in mystery fiction and named one of the “essential” crime writers of the last 100 years. Stephen King called her “special, even extraordinary,” and Gillian Flynn wrote, “She is simply a brilliant novelist.” This is what I can share about the plot without getting into spoiler territory: On prom night in 1997, 16-year-old Amber gives birth in her date, Joe's hotel room, and kills the baby. Amber and Joe become media sensations known as Prom Mom and Cad Dad. What makes this slow burn story different than other mystery/thrillers is the author’s razor-sharp writing, characterizations, and plotting. The tension is palpable and I could not stop listening, finishing it in one day. Cleverly plotted with brilliantly plausible characters and a fantastic twist you will not see coming.’

The effects of COVID, the adjustment to the new normal, and the political climate are skillfully woven into the mystery, making it even more thrilling.

The last ten percent of the book was the most interesting and had a big surprise, but not enough to rate the book higher. 3/5 The Guardian spoke with Lippman a week before Prom Mom’s publication. The interview has been edited and condensed. Prom Mom, the latest novel from prolific US writer Laura Lippman, was inspired by a podcast episode of “You’re Wrong About” called Prom Mom.