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

Dark Road to Darjeeling: A Lady Julia Grey Novel by Deanna Raybourne

About The Book:
 
After eight idyllic months in the Mediterranean, Lady Julia Grey and her detective husband are ready to put their investigative talents to work once more. At the urging of Julia's eccentric family, they hurry to India to aid an old friend, the newly widowed Jane Cavendish. Living on the Cavendish tea plantation with the remnants of her husband's family, Jane is consumed with the impending birth of her child—and with discovering the truth about her husband's death. Was he murdered for his estate? And if he was, could Jane and her unborn child be next?
 
Amid the lush foothills of the Himalayas, dark deeds are buried and malicious thoughts flourish. The Brisbanes uncover secrets and scandal, illicit affairs and twisted legacies. In this remote and exotic place, exploration is perilous and discovery, deadly. The danger is palpable and, if they are not careful, Julia and Nicholas will not live to celebrate their first anniversary.

My Thoughts:

I came into this series with this book (which is #4) and at first was a little confused with all the characters and their relationships, but by about the 3rd chapter I was in the swing of things and could follow along quite nicely.

What impressed me the most about this novel was author Deanna Raybourne's gift for transporting her reader right into the midst of exotic India with her detailed descriptions. I also enjoyed her ability to mix romance with intrigue and suspense along with a generous dose of humor that kept this story moving along quite nicely.

I would recommend a first-time reader to go back and pick up the first three books in this series ("Silent In The Grave," "Silent In The Sanctuary," and "Silent On The Moors") in order to fully appreciate how far the characters have come, and the adventures they have undertaken before.

About the Author:

After many years of struggling to break into the romance novel market, native Texan Deanna Raybourn has finally struck gold by switching gears and writing a finely detailed, impressively authentic, and utterly mesmerizing historical mystery titled Silent in the Grave. Now that Raybourn has published her debut critically acclaimed novel, she ensures her new readership that there she has plenty more mystery in store for them. Check out her website at http://www.deannaraybourne.com/


My thanks to the publisher for this review copy. I was not compensated for my opinion.

Challenge Fulfillment:
100+ Books
Where Are You Reading?: - Darjeeling, India
Mystery/Suspense

Drowning in Christmas by Judith Ivie

About The Book:

Christmas has never been Kate Lawrence's favorite time of year, but when a body turns up at Hartford's venerable Wadsworth Atheneum, she knows the holidays are really going to be murder this year. In the long-awaited fourth installment of this popular mystery series, Kate's realty business is on hiatus due to the down economy, friends and family are falling victim to the flu, and daughter Emma has a loathsome new beau. To top off the merriment, Kate's ex-husband has persuaded her to host an at-home wedding for their nephew. And then a murderer strikes during Hartford's famous Festival of Trees & Traditions. Ho ho ho. Kate's positively drowning in Christmas. Can pals Strutter and Margo come to her rescue before she goes down for the third time?

My Thoughts:

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this mystery. Author Judith Ivie has created a fascinating character in Kate Lawrence, a fiesty forty-something gal who is bold, brash and funny and not afraid to take a few chances in life and certainly not afraid to knock a few heads if necessary. Her friendships with former co-worker Margo and Strutter are strong, the kind of female friends who support you and get in the trenches with you when necessary!

 "Drowning in Christmas" is the 4th book in the Kate Lawrence Mystery series. For more information on author Judith Ivie and her books, check out her website at http://www.judithivie.com/

Book Blog Tour: The University by Jeffrey Leever

Today, I'm featuring a new book by an up and coming young author Jeffrey Lever. "The Univeristy" is a riveting tell of suspense, tragedy and intrigue that will keep mystery lovers entralled until the very last page!

About The Book:

Ah, college life at Tremont University. A place for learning. Partying and dating. And murder.

When investigative journalist Kevin Gibson lets his cousin, a former cop, talk him into looking into a student's disappearance at Tremont University, he gets more than he bargained for. A former student — injured in a brutal attack two years ago and in a coma — may hold a critical piece of information that can solve the mystery.

Meanwhile, an attractive coed continues to hide a very dark secret.Tremont junior Brett Duncan is determined to find out what happened to his best friend, who's gone missing. Along with his girlfriend Ciera Kindle, Brett is drawn into a cunning world few know exist -- a conspiracy involving faculty, students, and some well-connected people in high places.

Beneath the campus’ Hallmark-card exterior lie many secrets, and a pulse-racing mystery with plenty of chills along the way.

About The Author:

Jeffrey Leever is the author of the mystery/suspense novels The University (Capital Crime Press, 2009) and Dark Friday (Capital Crime Press, 2007).

He is a former PR staff member for Colorado Governor Bill Owens, as well as former senior editor for a nonprofit organization. He now lives in Blue Springs, Missouri.A Nebraska native, he wrote a college football column, the Scarlet Commentary, for several years. He holds a degree in English with a writing emphasis and is perpetually at work on his next suspense/mystery novel.

To learn more about the author and the book, visit his website at JeffreyLeever.com.

Many thanks to Omnimystery for providing the review copy of "The University." I was not compensated for this review.

For a chance to win a signed copy of "The University," go to http://jeffrey-leever.omnimystery.com/ for more information.