DEFINED BY THE DANGEROUS LANDSCAPE OF CHILDHOOD -- A REVIEW

The landscape of childhood is a territory that often defines who we ultimately become. And the five childhood friends in The Most Dangerous Thing do end up defined by their childhood experiences, especially those surrounding a time they all spent exploring the woods beyond the boundaries of their suburban homes.

Gwen, Mickey, and the three Halloran brothers, Tim, Sean, and Gordon (Go Go), find themselves part of a group, often led by Mickey, who is something of a tomboy and very daring. She instigates things sometimes, too, but nobody wants to be a coward, and they often push the boundaries of behavior, too. So as the events unfold in that one summer in the late seventies, perhaps the inevitability of the secrets and the pact they all took could be laid at her hands. And the centerpiece of their acts form around a secret friendship with an old man they call Chicken George. Determined to keep their secrets after one fateful night during a hurricane, they slowly disband and lose touch with one another.

But years later, when they all come together at Go Go's funeral, the layers of secrets begin to unravel. And in the months that follow, the unexpected hidden core will be revealed.

More questions than answers meet them at that funeral, though: Did Go Go drive into that concrete wall on purpose? Were the secrets of their collective past too much for him to handle? Or was there more to the story than any of them knew?

Before we come to learn any of these secrets or the ultimate deceits that bound them all, we follow their lives, and the lives of their parents, as the narrative captures first one, then another, and weaves together a multilayered story of regrets, losses, hopes, and dreams unrealized. Against this backdrop, the keeping of secrets becomes another kind of inevitability that will inform all of their lives.

As always, I loved Lippman's storytelling, with the seductive pull toward the final reveal. She unfolded events for us one morsel at a time, and then stepped back to show us still another facet to the mystery. The characters felt like real people I've known, just as they always do. Then I was pleasantly surprised at the "cameo" appearance of Tess Monaghan from that series. In this book, she reprises her role as a private detective to help sort through the mysterious secrets Go Go held. Following these mysterious, secretive, and colorful characters kept me turning pages long into the night. Five stars.