Sunday, February 13, 2011

The Girl In The Green Raincoat: A Tess Monaghan Novel by Laura Lippman

Recently, while my mom was in the hospital and sleeping most of the day, I was looking for something to read while I was sitting with her. I picked up "The Girl In The Green Raincoat" by Laura Lippman from the top of my TBR pile, and I am certainly glad I did!




About The Book:

In the third trimester of her pregnancy, Baltimore private investigator Tess Monaghan is under doctor's orders to remain immobile. Bored and restless, reduced to watching the world go by outside her window, she takes small comfort in the mundane events she observes . . . like the young woman in a green raincoat who walks her dog at the same time every day.
 
Then one day the dog is running free and its owner is nowhere to be seen. Certain that something is terribly wrong, and incapable of leaving well enough alone, Tess is determined to get to the bottom of the dog walker's abrupt disappearance, even if she must do so from her own bedroom. But her inquisitiveness is about to fling open a dangerous Pandora's box of past crimes and troubling deaths . . . and she's not only putting her own life in jeopardy but also her unborn child's.

Previously serialized in the New York Times, and now published in book form for the very first time, The Girl in the Green Raincoat is a masterful Hitchcockian thriller from one of the very best in the business: multiple award-winner Laura Lippman.

My Thoughts:

I had not read any of Lippman's previous Tess Monaghan stories, but I immediately fell in love with the sassy, strong-minded Irish gal as she attempts to solve the strange going-ons of a mysterious woman with a fondness for green! Lippman gives plenty of back-story as far as characters and their histories go, so first-time readers can enjoy the camaraderie and "lip" they give each other throughout the story!

This fast-paced, but light mystery was just what the "doctor" ordered as far as a quick read that helped to pass the time.  I'm now determined to go back and pick up on the "Tess Monaghan" stories and see what other adventures this lively private investigator was previously embroiled in!



About The Author:

Laura Lippman was a reporter for 20 years, including 12 years at The (Baltimore) Sun. She began writing novels while working fulltime and published seven books about "accidental PI" Tess Monaghan before leaving daily journalism in 2001. Her work has been awarded the Edgar, the Anthony, the Agatha, the Shamus, the Nero Wolfe, Gumshoe, and Barry awards. She also has been nominated for other prizes in the crime fiction field, including the Hammett and the Macavity. She was the first-ever recipient of the Mayor's Prize for Literary Excellence and the first genre writer recognized as Author of the Year by the Maryland Library Association.
 
Ms. Lippman grew up in Baltimore and attended city schools through ninth grade. After graduating from Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, Md., Ms. Lippman attended Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Her other newspaper jobs included the Waco Tribune-Herald and the San Antonio Light. Ms. Lippman returned to Baltimore in 1989 and has lived there since.

Check out her website at http://www.lauralippman.com/ for more information on her books and upcoming projects.

My thanks to William Morrow Books for the review copy of this book. I was not compensated for my opinions.


CHALLENGE FULFILLMENT: 100+ Books; Where Are You Reading?; Mystery/Suspense Challenge