Customer Reviews

Baltimore Blues (Tess Monaghan Mysteries)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have to admit that I don't read very many American mystery/crime writers, and those I do tend to be overwhelmingly male (my two favorites are probably George Pelecanos and Elmore Leonard, just to give you a sense of my taste). And when I have sampled female-written series (Patricia Cornwell and Janet Evanovich are the two that spring to mind), they have utterly failed to connect with me. Nonetheless, Lippman's Tess Monaghan series came highly recommended to me, and the nearby Baltimore setting was a big draw.

This first in the series finds heroine Tess teetering on the brink of 30, and somewhat adrift following the closing down of the newspaper she worked at. She lives in a cheap apartment above her aunt's bookstore, and barely makes ends meet working as a clerk in the store and doing an odd job for an uncle. Her personal life is equally in flux, as she doesn't exactly have a slew of friends, and her love life is vacant, save for the random booty-call by her ex-boyfriend who cheats on his current girlfriend with Tess. The one constant in her life is a daily crack-of-dawn appointment with her racing shell and the Patapsco river.

This daily exercise has led to a friendship with another avid rower, Darryl Paxton. One day he hires her to check up on the activities of his type-A fiancee, and thus Tess embarks on her first session of amateur sleuthing. However, what starts as a fairly simple tailing job turns into a high profile murder case, as the fiancee's high-profile boss at a prestigious law firm has his head bashed in. Darryl is charged with the murder, and Tess is put to work by his defense lawyer as a gopher/investigator. Of course, when a lawyer is killed, one has to start digging into his past cases and soon Tess is following all kinds of threads in an attempt to clear Darryl.

The book definitely feels like a debut -- it starts sluggishly and takes far too long to pick up speed, as Lippman struggles with pacing. Many of the supporting cast are archetypes (the brassy aunt, the ambitious journalist, the patrician lawyer, the breezily confidant best friend) rather than full-figured characters, and few are colorful or engaging enough to want to spend more time with. Tess herself is somewhat generically flawed and feisty character, rather more clueless and prone to blundering than seems reasonable. However one can see glimmers of what could become a rich series character with further development.

The writing is also uneven when it comes to the various relationships. For example, Tess and Rock's easy friendship is handled quite well, however her reaction to the killing of someone close to her doesn't seem to distress her nearly as much as one might expect. The plotting is also somewhat uneven, as at times the reader will be three steps ahead of Tess and grow weary of waiting for the amateur to catch up, while near the end, events start to unfold much more rapidly and with more surprises. Many reviewers have lauded the Baltimore setting as amazing, and while I found the details all quite accurate, they never felt like much more than deliberate local color. Of course, I'm fairly familiar with Baltimore, so perhaps it's all a little more fascinating for others. In any event, it's not a great debut, but not a bad one either, and I'll probably read the next two to see if it gets better.

This novel introduces Ms Lippman's Regular series heroine ,ex journalist Tess Monaghan,who since her former newspaper closed down has found herself scratching a precarious existence working for her Aunt Kitty,a bookstore owner,and doing some supernumery work on behalf of her Uncle Donald,work that unknown to her is not really required and is paid for by her uncle from his own pocket. She is close friends with The Rock,with whom she shares a passion for rowing,he being nationally ranked and she an enthusiastic amateur.They train together and enjoy a relaxed cameraderie.
He is engaged to a young lawyer,Ava,and is afraid that she is seeing another man.He asks Tess to follow her and report on her movements.She accepts reluctantly,being unable to refuse the money on offer.She finds that the poised and unlikeable Ava is a shoplifter and is seeing Michael Abromowitz,once a prominent public defender now a partner in the firm which employs her.
Abromowitz is murdered and suspicion falls upon The Rock .His lawyer ,another rowing fanatic,named Tyner, engages Tess to dig around in the case trying to uncover facts useful to his defence.She finds that Ava has spun a yarn to the Rock about being forced to sleep with Abramowitz and thus the Rock has motive enough
Aide by her socialite friend Whitney she delves into the case uncovering information about the personalities involved.She finds herself mired in the worlds of teenage sexual abuse and murder,and industrial compensation cases both involving Abramowitz .Others have valid motives for wishing him dead.
The case is unravelled smoothly and in addition to Tess there are likeable characters in plenty--Crow ,a bookstore clerk and wannabe musician,smitten by Tess,and Whitney,flambouyant and opinionated but with personality to spare.Tess is feisty ,in the regulation female PI mode,but has a tendency to underachieve ,[professionally and personally)Her new ,accidental career as a private investigator is one that seems to suit her abilities and one that will give her more self repect and sense of integrity.She is a commitment phobe who has never quite followed through on anything in her life but withal an engaging woman
The background -Baltimore-makes a change from the NYC/LA/SF/Chicago axis and the author clearly knows and loves the place albeit in a clear eyed and unsentimental way,pointing out its racial divide and the economic decline following the collapse of manufacturing industry
The plot is a bit rushed towards the end -a common problem with tyro authors -but a major medium boiled series got underway with this enjoyable book.Lovers of Paretsky,Grafton and Barnes,take note-you will probably like this series as well

I finished Laura Lippman's Baltimore Blues last night, and I was pleased with the overall story and its characters. In brief, Tess Monaghan is a former reporter, struggling to find employment when her rowing friend asks her to check up on his fiancee. Tess reluctantly accepts because she needs the money and because she cares for her friend. Unfortunately, Tess suspects that the fiancee is having an affair with her boss, a disreputable lawyer with a reputation for defending the scum of humanity... at least, before he's murdered. The prime suspect is Tess's friend, and now she's out to uncover the real killer.

The story is pretty straightforward with a fairly likable cast of supporting players. What really makes this book successful, however, is not the story or the characters, but rather the setting -- Baltimore, which becomes a character in it of itself. Lippman, a reporter for the Baltimore Sun and long-time resident of Charm City, clearly knows her territory, making full use of various known landmarks as well as unknown neighborhoods and traditions. It's a richly layered guide to Baltimore that only touches on the wealth that the city offers.

Ultimately, what really nagged me, though, was my own proximity to Baltimore. When I read other mysteries and the author takes great care bringing location into the story, I'm often impressed with the detail and character of those settings. As a writer, part of me often speculates -- are these real places or did the author make them up? Now, having read Baltimore Blues and dabbling in local color, I must confess that it's rather strange to read about places I've been to, or could get to within a half hour's drive. When Lippman actually mentions my own county, including a town not far from where I live, I had to pause and remind myself that Baltimore Blue was just fiction.

This book is well written - the characterizations are original, the description of Baltimore is interesting but not overdone, and the "whodunit" ending is suprising but believable. I agree with the reader who said it took the plot a bit of time to really get rolling, but considering this is both a first novel and the first in the series, this slight flaw is easily excusable. I've already started on book 2, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Tess to fans of Kinsey Milhone and Stephanie Plum.

This is a great introduction to what promises to be a great series. Tess Monahan is an ex-reporter who was dumped from her job when the newspaper she was working for went under and she was made redundant. For two years she has struggled to make ends meet by working part time at her aunts' book shop, scratching at the irritation of her boredom by rowing, her exercise of choice. Her rowing buddy, Rock, asks her to follow his girl friend Ava, who is behaving strangely, and to find out whether or not she is seeing someone else. Ava has several meetings with notorious lawyer, Michael Abramowich and when the lawyer is murdered, the blame falls immediately on Rock. Tess now begins to raelise her true vocation and future livelihood is that of being an investigator for a legal firm, and embarks on an involved course of action to clear Rocks' name. There's plenty of action and many twists and turns in this novel and, of course, I can't wait to get the next in the series.

The worst part about this book is it made me nostalgic for home. Having grown up in Baltimore, but now gone for 30 years, Lippman's descriptions of neighborhoods, downtown, accents, and Ft. McHenry (home of the Star Spangled Banner--as Tess repeatedly notes), brought back great memories.

Tess is an unemployed reporter, living with her aging hippie aunt, having an affair with a still employed reporter, and pouring her heart into rowing (it is nice to see a detective type who stays in shape doing something other than running or lifting weights!). She agrees to help a friend, by snooping on his fiancée to see if she's cheating on him. But, of course, things get complicated, and Tess ends up in the middle of a three ring murder mysteries (two, actually), which implicate some of the most powerful families in the City.

All this, while keeping up her exercise, having a second affair, delving into far too many people's lives for her own good, a visit to Maryland's death row, at least two attempts on her own life, and seeing her lover killed before her very eyes.

Lippman keeps us moving along, has great twists and turns, and yet keeps us laughing all the way. I can't wait to read the whole series--but I may just have to work in a trip back "home" to Baltimore!

I am new to the Tess Monaghan series and the first book is BALTIMORE BLUES. I enjoyed it very much. Tess Monaghan an out of work newpaper woman is dragged in to investigate a friends arrest. In effect she becomes a private eye. I enjoyed the story, the great humor in the book and what I hope will be reoccuring characters in the books to come. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I first found Laura Lippman on Facebook. After reading her book summaries, I decided to pick up her first novel, "Baltimore Blues." While the book was well written, I found it to be a little dull. It's more of a detective fiction novel, something similar to Sue Grafon's Alphabet Series' detective, Kinsey Millhone. Compared to Kinsey, however, I found Tess to be immature, lazy, and unorganized. I would compare her to Janet Evanovich's character, Stephanie Plum. Tess seems to be floating through life, leaning on family and friends for support.

But I've read reviews of Lippman's other books and I will continue to read her books. From previous reviews I have read, it sounds like her character, Tess, grows and develops into an admirable character, and the stories keep getting better. I admired Lippman's writing style as well as her talent for description.

The Last Saint

Baltimore lives in the capable hands of this author. Another in her fine series about a budding P.I. with a host of well-limned, quirky, friends and family, and ex racing greyhound, Esskay. Hired to shadow the fiancee of a friend, Tess decides to manipulate the outcome and thereby meddles where more experienced wouldn't tread. Pandemonium and murder result. Fun, interesting and well worth the price.

If you like a mystery with an intriguing protagonist, read Laura Lippman. Her heroine is deliciously flawed, smart, unself-aware, brave and fun, and comes surrounded by an ensemble of equally interesting pals, relatives and enemies. What is the book about? Rowing and rivalry and rage. About ability and disability and personal bests. About the poison of secrets. The real star of the book, though, is Baltimore. The book has such a strong and varied sense of place that I can't wait to go there, and I know that when I arrive, it will seem like an old friend. I'll read anything Laura will write, and only regret she doesn't publish two books a year.