The Summer of Fall: Gravity is a bitch, but I'm still standing

Written by Laura Lippman

Narrated by Laura Lippman

From the New York Times bestselling author of Lady in the Lake, Dream Girl, and many other noir favorites, a raw-funny personal tale of heartbreak and misfortune, and the surprisingly wonderful things they can lead to.

“Lucky! I’M LUCKY, GODDAMMIT!” So Laura Lippman keeps telling herself throughout the course of a year when she seems everything but. Her marriage crumbles; a beloved friend dies suddenly; her sister’s health fails. Everything and everyone is falling apart. The calamities reach a symbolic climax in the summer of 2022, when she and her mother both suffer bad falls. (Her mom is ninety-one; Lippman herself is merely “exceptionally clumsy.”) Still, she insists, she is lucky.

And in many ways, she is. She has a great kid and a career she loves, and she’s healthy and more or less happy. Yet even a resilient optimist like her can’t deny that life’s catastrophes are indiscriminate and seem always to hit at once.

In this wry and honest memoir of a truly lousy time, she gives an intimate look at her private life — perhaps less hair-raising than her award-winning crime thrillers, but no less engaging. And it’s relatable. Even the most fortunate experience heartache, loss, and physical breakdown of some kind. Lippman’s account of her own hard knocks reminds us that, eventually, adversity comes for everyone.

But she has a more important message: While misfortune might not be a choice, how we respond to it is. Lippman chooses to be a happy warrior. When her friend Terry Teachout, the renowned theater critic for The Wall Street Journal, dies without warning in January 2022, she finds solace in the fact that he’d recently found joy in a new romance. When two friends make the spontaneous decision to marry during a writer’s workshop in Italy, she throws herself into the role of officiant, despite the flatlining of her own marriage. When she ruins her shoulder in a fall, she refuses to swap her fun shoes for something more sensible. She won’t let sorrow and pain get the best of her. Blessings abound, godammit, and there’s still so much to celebrate.

In The Summer of Fall, one of America’s best-loved storytellers tells her own memorable story. Lippman fans will enjoy this rare sneak peek into her life, and new fans are sure to appreciate her humorous, authentic take on the universal themes of marriage, parenting, friendship, and work. As she shows us, hard times are a given, but it’s never too late for a next act.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Everand Originals
• Release date: May 2, 2023
• ISBN: 9781094460819

Laura Lippman

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.” Her books have won most of the major awards in her field and been translated into more than twenty-five languages. She lives in Baltimore and New Orleans with her teenager.

Reviews for The Summer of Fall

[Inga Dukate · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I could not understand what the book is about.. and time lapse didn't click in my head, as well as characters.. she calls her kids plural but then speaks of one child.. it's all confusing and frustrating.. didn't enjoy it at all:(

[Kaye Cannon · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

To have Laura Lippman herself read to me is a joy. I’m thankful for this brief glimpse into her life and wish her peace in the coming seasons.

[Ellen Henstrom · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Such a fun essay from one of my favorite mystery writers. Always q great balance of heart and humor

[Nneamaka M. Payne · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book and interesting take about this writer works and she is mine kind of person.

[NNEAMAKA PAYNE · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Here's the thing. Tess Monaghan is a nearly normal human being, which is rare for women characters in the mystery genre. She is unswervingly loyal to her city, Baltimore. She is somewhere between being a kid & getting close enough to see middle-age. She is a realistic weight. She occasionally fumbles something, but she never does "the stupid girl PI thing." Ok, so she gets up before dawn to row; every character has a flaw, right? So, I can't resist a Lippman book.

On top of that, this one has a fine mystery and takes pleasure in playing with its Hollywood characters. At the same time, it does illustrate an observation Lippman makes her after notes. That is, folks in television work incredibly hard, long hours. I think they don't usually have as much murder and mayhem on the set as they do here, but then, this is a mystery novel, after all.
In another way, the tenth entry in Laura Lippman’s Tess Monaghan series finds the Baltimore-native reporter-turned-private-eye rowing her way into the production of the television mini-series Mann of Steel. Tess is hired to provide security for young starlet Selene Waites (think Paris Hilton only with acting ability) due to a series of disturbing incidents plaguing the fledgling series.

At first Tess chalks Selene up to a ditzy Hollywood type, but events quickly show that Selene is cleverer than she lets on. When the series of incidents escalates into the death of one of the writing assistants, Tests’ natural curiosity is piqued, and she begins to investigate what’s really happening with the Mann of Steel production.

As the story unfolds, a number of likely suspects enter into the picture with Lippman laying out a foundation and motive for each person to be part of the plot to disrupt the production of the show. As always with Lippman’s books, the pages turn easily and the narrative shifts between several characters while staying firmly grounded with Tess. The first half of the book lays out all the characters and their potential motivations and the second half puts the pieces into place, leading up to a satisfying denouncement to multiple mysteries taking place within the novel.

Yet despite having several threads running, the novel never loses focus or the reader.

Along with Elizabeth George, Lippman writes the most satisfying, character-driven mystery novels on the market today. As with George’s Lynley and Havers series, part of the pleasure in Lippman’s Monaghan novels is the chance to “catch up” with Tess. Of course, the mystery is compelling as well or else the novels wouldn’t be worth the time or effort. But the balance of character and mystery is well navigated here. And Lippman does the near impossible task of allowing new readers into the Tess universe while satisfying long-time readers of Tess’ adventures.

[Despina Psillos · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This story is what actually happened to the author during the summer. Not really my type of book.

[Kate White · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A very funny essay memoir

Detailing one summer in Laura Lippman's life in which quite a lot of falling is involved, mostly although not exclusively by her. She also articulates the pain of leaving and grieving a long term relationship and the difficulties of caring for elderly and sick parents.

[Pamela DeBoer · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As an avid follower of LL on Twitter, I enjoyed this small glimpse into her personal world, which she manages with grace and humor. I think many of us would love the opportunity for a Laura Lippman Fellowship! Really great read and would enjoy more!

[Angela Ayers · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed the book and story. It’s true, we all have life’s ups and downs.

[Anne Schoonmaker · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved it all. So honest, vulnerable & relatable. Funny in places, sarcastic in others, just very real. Kept thinking about how much courage it took to be this open to the world. I wanted more!

[Robert Mann · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I listened almost all the way through. Thinking she is probably a good author. While tapping on my usual book of the day this short diary popped up. I'm a guy can talk to women without looking at their breasts. I see them as my peers and some my teachers. I had no connection with I'm guessing a wealthy woman's daily hardships. "Raised a Valley Girl" My heart feels for her sister with Parkinson's! Family, my mom had Parkinson's and I miss her. If I told the story with my sisters involvement of my mom's demise the FBI would probably be knocking on her door then on one of those crime shows. I wish the author well ? namaste.