Issue Date: November 23, 2003

BOOKS

Murder, she writes

Myster writer Laura Lippman is a 21st-century Agatha Christie

Red-hot author and ex-reporter Laura Lippman, 44, has won every major crime-writing honor for her popular detective Tess Monaghan series (No. 8 is due in 2004). But Tess is absent from Lippman's latest book, "Every Secret Thing" (William Morrow, $24.95), about two girls who commit a murder. Lippman lives in Baltimore, where, she says, "I'm never going to lack for material." We spoke with her:

What was the first mystery you solved?
When I was 11 or 12, I assigned myself an important literary mystery: Why was "Lolita" considered a dirty book? I read it from cover to cover several times, and I couldn't find anything remotely like "The Valley of the Dolls" -- my benchmark at that point.

You were a reporter. How does fiction differ from true crime-solving?
Real-life detectives aren't concerned with motive. They rely more on eyewitnesses and physical evidence. In a novel, look for motives and secrets.

What mystery of life haven't you solved?
How to have true empathy for everyone, even the people I don't like. [Sighs.] Especially the people I don't like!

Do real people inspire your characters?
I modeled the mother of one of the girls who kill in the novel on a couple of women I've known. They're intelligent, charming ... but [needy] vampires. They suck the juice out of everyone.

Writer's revenge, eh?
I'm running out of grudges, so I've had to start concocting my own villains!

What makes for a good mystery?
Murder helps, and beautiful women never hurt, but you still need great writing and great storytelling. Oh, and a fervent belief in justice as an impossible ideal that's nevertheless worth pursuing.

-- Kathleen Conroy