The University of Iowa’s MFA program is the gold standard for graduate-level fiction writing, and since I grew up in Iowa, I was never not aware of that fact. I didn’t get my MFA there—I totally would have, except that they didn’t accept my application—but for several summers in a row I attended workshops at their Summer Writing Festival, and got to learn craft from some really fabulous teachers, like Gordon Mennenga and Sands Hall.

It was at one of those workshops (mumbletymumble years ago) that I met Robb Cadigan. Over the many years we’ve stayed in touch, our writing lives have evolved in different and wonderful ways. Not only did Robb publish the incredibly successful PHOENIXVILLE RISING, he’s now one of the owners of a wonderful independent bookshop, Reads & Company. (Speaking of Bookshop, Reads & Company now uses the Bookshop.org e-commerce platform, which you can and should use to buy allllll the books.)

The bio business: A former advertising copywriter and television executive, Robb Cadigan lives with his wife and two children in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Before becoming a full-time writer, Cadigan shucked oysters, drove a forklift, waited tables, sold clothes, edited TV Guide, and wrote advertisements for products as diverse as shoes, watches, and vacuum cleaners. For thirteen years, he was a marketing and television executive for QVC and helped develop the retailer into the world’s most profitable TV channel.

For his #read99women recommendation, Robb enthusiastically chose LADY IN THE LAKE by Laura Lippman. He says, “I first picked up a Laura Lippman novel some twenty+ years ago simply because she was writing about my hometown. With that debut (BALTIMORE BLUES) and each subsequent release, I became an unabashed Laura Lippman fanboy.

As a reader, I devour everything Laura Lippman writes — and I could not put down her latest novel, LADY IN THE LAKE.

As a writer, I marvel at the way she crafts a story, never rests on her laurels (pretty much every crime-writing award in the universe), and challenges herself with each new work.

As her student, I have been blessed by her guidance, wisdom, and mentorship.

And now, as a bookseller, there’s nothing quite like placing a novel into the right reader’s hands and saying ‘It’s Lippman—you’ll love it!’ ... and they do.

LADY IN THE LAKE is a wonder of structure and point of view and suspenseful crime writing with Laura’s characteristic sensitivity and skill. A landmark work of a singular storyteller firing on all cylinders. And one hell of a tale, exceptionally well told. A New York Times and Indie Bookstores bestseller, LADY IN THE LAKE has a featured spot on the ‘Staff Picks’ shelf here at Reads & Company. (PS: watch for Laura’s first nonfiction collection of essays, coming this summer. I’ve read MY LIFE AS A VILLAINESS and I can’t wait until you do too. ‘It’s Lippman—you’ll love it!’)”