I think I'm part of a generation of crime writers all of whom woke up independently and recoiled with horror at the fact that we'd chosen this very conservative genre.

In addition to writing Laura Lippman teaches at Goucher College in Towson Maryland just outside of Baltimore. Her 2007 release What the Dead Know was the first of her books to make the New York Times bestseller list and was shortlisted for the Crime Writer's Association Dagger Award (see side box for more awards). C.