After I'm Gone

On July 4, 1976, shady businessman Felix Brewer escapes the law by fleeing suburban Maryland, leaving behind his wife, Bambi; three daughters; and a mistress, Julie Saxony. So begins bestseller Lippman's finely wrought study of what it means to move forward without answers. When Felix met Bambi in 1959, it was love at first sight. Without telling her how, he promised they'd get rich. And they did, even if he wasn't often home to enjoy it with her and their daughters. Julie—a stripper who loved Felix, despite knowing he'd never leave Bambi—wasn't even Felix's only bit on the side. When he ran, Felix made sure, or so he thought, that all his women would be looked after. Ten years later, Julie disappears. At first, rumors swirl that Felix came back for her, but when her remains turn up in a local park in 2001, the word on the street is that he killed her. Adept as always with character nuance, Lippman (And When She Was Good) uses Roberto "Sandy" Sanchez, a consultant who used to be a Baltimore cop, to dig into Julie's cold case, and to uncover the secrets of the women Felix left in his wake. Agent: Vicky Bijur, Vicky Bijur Literary. (Feb.)