It’s a wondrous feeling when you read the first pages of a new book and can instantly tell you’re in the hands of a master storyteller. Not because of any grab-you-by-the-throat incident or hashtaggable setup that’s going to drive a page-turning tale, but because of the pure quality of the writing, the voice.

In Lady in the Lake, a marvelous new standalone from Laura Lippman, we’re first enticed deep into 1960s Baltimore by the voice of Cleo Sherwood, a poor young black woman recalling the first time she saw a particular white woman who’d go on to cause much trouble for many people. Cleo spots Madeline “Maddie” Schwartz, a finely dressed Jewish housewife, supporting her grieving husband at a funeral—the type of fancy farewell that won’t be afforded to Cleo when her body emerges from the fountain further into the tale.

Lady in the Lake is a story of two mothers shackled by differing prejudices, both who wanted more for their lives. Unlike Cleo, Maddie gets a chance to be more. Lady in the Lake follows a pivotal year in Maddie’s life as she bolts her marriage, and trades affluence for independence, stability for passion. Searching for meaning, Maddie helps police find a missing white girl whose story was all over the papers, before turning her attention to Cleo, a black woman whose story was left untold. Intercut with rich vignettes and first-person perspectives from a variety of people Maddie encounters along the way, Lady in the Lake is a striking portrait of both a time and place, and the people living in it. Cleo lingers as a contemptful specter as Maddie throws stones into several ponds, oblivious to the dangerous ripples.

Lippman has forged a sublime, suspenseful tale that flows along so wonderfully that it perhaps obscures its own genius. It’s like witnessing a brilliant musician onstage, making complex arrangements look so very easy as we’re entranced and enveloped by their sound. A stylish tale from one of the genre’s very best.