I think Baltimore suffers from nostalgia and it keeps us from being honest in talking about what really happened here. A place doesn't have to be perfect to be beloved, and I love this city and I love it better for seeing its flaws.

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.