Butchers Hill (Tess Monaghan Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "Tess Monaghan's blotter-size appointment calendar was the largest, whitest space she had ever contemplated..." (more)
Key Phrases: flying rabbit, crab feast, chubby one, Luther Beale, Mary Browne, Willa Mott (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Tess Monaghan, newspaperwoman turned sleuth, makes it official with a new business as a PI in a run-down section of Baltimore, Butchers Hill. Her first clientsAan elderly man known as the Butcher of Butchers Hill and a highly successful female professional fund-raiserApresent the first dilemma. Tess needs a cover, reluctantly supplied by Client 2, in order to get access to information on the ghetto for Client 1. The process of finding diverse missing persons starts Monaghan and her two black clients on sometimes prickly discourse involving race. As in Baltimore Blues and Charm City, dialogue is on the mark, accompanied by lively observations about female entrepreneurship, adoption, foster home rackets, and quirky Baltimore natives and neighborhoods. A bittersweet, perfectly plausible ending winds things up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

Tess Monaghan has finally made the move and hung out her shingle as a p.i.-for-hire, complete with an office in Butchers Hill. Maybe it's not the best address in Baltimore, but you gotta start somewhere, and Tess's greyhound Esskay has no trouble taking marathon naps anywhere there's a roof. Then in walks Luther Beale, the notorious vigilante who five years ago shot a boy for vandalizing his car. Just out of prison, he says he wants to make reparations to the kids who witnessed his crime, so he needs Tess to find them. But once she starts snooping, the witnesses start dying. Is the "Butcher of Butchers Hill" at it again? Like it or not, Tess is embroiled in a case that encompasses the powers that-be, a heartless system that has destroyed the lives of children, and a nasty trail of money and lies leading all the way back to Butchers Hill.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Avon (July 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380798468
• ISBN-13: 978-0380798469
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #377,401 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 3 in The Tess Monaghan Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tess is an imperfect protagonist, but she's improving., April 30, 1999

By	Henry (Elkton, MD) - See all my reviews

This is the third of the Tess Monaghan books. Mysteries are often filled with cardboard characters and one or two well developed characters. Laura Lippman doesn't work that way. All her characters are imperfect, but then, so are real people. The characters in this, and the other two novels in this series are interesting and have twists and turns in their characteristics that are as amusing as are the twists and turns of the plots. Normally, I don't identify with female protagonists, but Tess is such an interesting person that even a straight guy such as myself enjoys her point of view.

I recently had the opportunity to meet Laura Lippman when she came around to the local library to talk to her fans. She's also an interesting character.

13 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Each novel gets stronger, November 21, 1998

By A Customer

Butchers Hill is the best of the series. There are many surprising twists. And well-constructed: I quickly got trapped in the dream of the novel, switching focus as the author placed different lenses of perspective on the "facts" presented to Tess. I also like that Tess herself puts together incorrect suppositions. It's real to life -- unlike, say, Mickey Spillane. Though mystery aficionados might find Tess' humanity a nuisance.

Nice touch with the convict's dictionary-derived pedantry; I wish it had been carried further (in Charm City Laura did a similar thing with Spike's assistant's forming statements as questions).

One caveat for the author: the heroine's family/friend environment is starting to resemble a Tom Clancylike picture of social palatability, albeit with an NPR-approved, nineties urbanite twist. Sigh. I mean, what's next? Kitty becomes a lesbian and finally can enjoy a meaningful relationship? There might be more dimension in revealing the humanity of one who is politically anathema to the author. Readers should check out NYC journalist Sparkle Hayter's wacky mysteries. Though I prefer Baltimore!

15 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another strong outing for Laura and for Tess!, December 24, 1998

By	Kate Flora, [e-mail] (Concord, MA) - See all my reviews

I read a series mystery for character, and a character is not interesting if she doesn't grow. With Butcher's Hill, Lippman takes us, and her character, inside the seedy side of Baltimore and adoption politics, and Lippman is a mistress of both. You always feel Baltimore when you read her books. More important, she takes you along with Tess. I love Tess. Lippman's protagonist is delightfully human. Like your little sister, the one you are frustrated with, hope the best for, love, admire, and wish she'd straighten up and find someone decent to love, Tess bumbles and fumbles her way through a life that's wonderfully rich, complex and authentic. Welcome to Baltimore. Welcome to Tess's world. And welcome another Lippman success. I can't wait for the next one!