After I'm Gone by Laura Lippman

In 1976, criminal Felix Brewer disappears in order to avoid a prison term. He abandons his wife, Bambi, and three daughters--Linda, Rachel, and Michelle. He leaves them no money and they're clueless as to whether he's still alive. His mistress, Julie Saxony, helps him escape. In return, he buys her a coffee shop to run. Then, ten years later, Julie vanishes. Has she joined Felix or did something more sinister happen? When her body is found in 2001, there are no good leads and it becomes a cold case. Now in 2012, Sandy Sanchez, who works for the city of Baltimore, decides to look into Julie's death again. In doing so, the reader sees, through the characters' eyes, how the absence of Felix has affected them and how they've grown from girls to women. We also are privy to the speculation about what happened to Felix and Julie and the family's financial struggles. In the end, Sandy's reopening of Julie's case will finally reveal what occurred all those years ago. After I'm Gone will be published in February.