By a Spider's Thread [Paperback]

Laura Lippman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2004

Suspense 368 pages Advanced Readers Editions!

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Harper; 1ST edition (2004)
• ISBN-10: 0060753900
• ISBN-13: 978-0060753900
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,776,832 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Laura Lippman was a reporter for twenty years, including twelve 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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sure and steady., July 23, 2005

By 

A. J Thompson "voyagersaus" (Western Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: By a Spider's Thread (Mass Market Paperback)

Tess Monaghan doesn't like to take on the missing wife/missing husband cases. If they've left, apparently under their own steam, there must be a good reason, right? And why would you hand them over to the client, the person they were probably running away from? It doesn't occur to Mark Rubin that there was something wrong in his relationship with his young wife Natalie. He's a charming man, rich and successful to boot, but it doesn't sit easy with Tess when she takes on the case. Mark is not being entirely honest about what he knows about his wife's history. But is this out of shame, sheer ignorance, or for some more practical and sinister reason?

Young Isaac Rubin isn't sold on why he has to go on the run with his mother and the twins, his younger brother and sister. There must be a way of getting back to his father without his mother or her creepy new friend knowing. Not knowing that his father has hired a private investigator to find him, Isaac hatches his own plans about how to make contact with the parent who has always understood him most. Tess has to deal with the both the rigid faith of Mark Rubin and his blind stubbornness. For a young Russian girl to give up all of her freedom to become a Jewish wife there had to be a lot of love or a lot of hopeless submission involved. As she digs into the past of the mysterious Natalie Tess is sure her disappearance was so much more than the impulsive flight of a repressed housewife.

"By A Spider's Thread" is the eighth novel in the Tess Monaghan series. Lippman's heroine has a pragmatic and single minded approach to her work; classically gumshoe in approach as she doggedly pursues each and every lead in finding the four missing members of the Rubin family. The multi perspective is a boon to the narrative, as Lippman does a good job with the differences in adult and child viewpoints. The major plot twist is difficult to accept, but once past the revelation of this point it becomes more evident that a very human tragedy will have to occur. It lends somewhat of a dismal air to the second half of the novel even though the reader is increasingly caught up with concern in the outcome. The working relationship between Tess and her client becomes more intricate and real as time passes, and bless Monaghan for not taking that down the obvious road.

A solid crime read in a very successful series, easy to read and methodical in its approach though lacking in any real cliffhangers or breath taking suspense.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Tess Monaghan case, April 2, 2005

By 

Fred Camfield (Vicksburg, MS USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: By a Spider's Thread (Hardcover)

Tess is hired by a well-to-do Jewish furrier to find his runaway wife. The problem is that he will not give Tess all the information she needs on family matters, and even lies about some details. She must work her way through a mire of relationships and friendships to determine how to find the woman and her children.

Tess is helped by networking with other women PIs on the Internet, transmitting digital photos and other infomation. She is also helped by an insider, i.e., one of the children is trying to contact his father.

Everyone has guns and there is some collateral damage. The story is a page turner that will keep you up late to get to the end. My main complaint is that some people just seemed to walk away and fade into the sunset. There were major crimes committed, and some accessories just seem to go on their way.

Along the way, you might learn more than you want to about Jewish holidays and customs. You will also pick up a few pointers on working the system. I might add that Tess is growing apart from Crow in this novel, so we will have to wait for the next novel to see what develops.

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't miss this book, July 1, 2004

By 

Doris Ann Norris (Fostoria, OH United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: By a Spider's Thread (Hardcover)

Laura Lippman has been a favorite of mine since I read BALTIMORE BLUES and as few other writers have done, she gets better with each book. I was blown away by EVERY SECRET THING and am amazed that I felt that the latest in her Tess Monaghan series could only be described as "brilliant." Her changing POVs and the layer that unfold about the missing wife and children keep one reading with rapt attention.
Am not sure where "mctmjc" got her completely wrong information about BY A SPIDER'S THREAD being only the second book Lippman wrote by herself. But it is completely erroneous. But then many reviews..especially those that originate from online sites are.
It seems to me that "mctmjc" is not really a mystery fan, at least according to the list of books she has reviewed.
I am and KNOW Lippman has written all nine of her books by herself....unless, of course, you count her "muse."
Great characterization, great plotting and edge-of-your-seat suspense...what more can anyone ask?
Even if you have never read another Tess book, you should find this a compelling and most satisfactory book...and well worth the money. I again repeat the word, "brilliant."