Laura Lippman

Laura Lippman delivers another absorbing thriller that sucks you in with vivid characters and great plotting. Felix Brewer had it all; a beautiful wife, three wonderful daughters and money, via a successful numbers racket. But when it finally came time to face the music, in 1976, Felix ran, leaving everything and everyone behind including a host of unanswered questions, a missing fortune and another woman.

An imaginative, well-plotted mystery Sun SentinelA great read with so much excitement! WOW! 5* reader reviewWINNER OF ANTHONY AWARD FOR BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINALWINNER OF THE AGATHA AWARDNOMINATED FOR MACAVITY AWARDA TESS MONAGHAN MYSTERYIn walks Luther Beale, the notorious vigilante who, five years ago, shot a boy for vandalising his car. Just out of prison, he wants to make reparations to the kids who witnessed his crime, and he needs PI Tess Monaghan to find them.But once Tess starts snooping, the witnesses start dying. Is the Butcher of Butchers Hill at it again?One of the finest writers in America. MARK BILLINGHAMOne of my favourite Tess books so far. . . its beautiful 5* reader reviewThis one brought tears to my eyes and touched me like no other book of its kind! 5* reader reviewPRAISE FOR THE TESS MONAGHAN SERIESTess is a heroine with a nose for what she is not being told, and she is never content with half the story. These Baltimore novels are effective thrillers, because they are stories about wanting to know what happens next. Times Literary SupplementWhip smart female protagonist, gritty Baltimore setting. Loved Tess! 5* reader reviewReaders wont be able to resist Tess, who, like one of Baltimores famous crabs, sports a tough shell that hides a sweet centre. BOOKLISTDigestible, fun, tense NPRIn this series, Lippman has developed sturdy tales, wry humour, and snappy dialogue wrapped around an insiders view of Baltimore. SUN-SENTINELTess, is a ballsy, free-spirited woman who thinks on her feet and has a commanding physical presence. . . Highly recommend 5* reader reviewWhat fun! I discovered a new (to me) mystery series. Tess Monaghan is a terrific main character. 5* reader reviewI really have fallen in love with Tess Monaghan. These mystery novels well deserve the awards Lippman has won. 5* reader review

NOW A MOTION PICTURE STARRING DAKOTA FANNING AND ELIZABETH BANKSFROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF SUNBURN AND DREAM GIRLA riveting story of love and murder, guilt and innocence, adult sins and childhood secrets.Two little girls banished from a neighbourhood birthday party take a wrong turn down an unfamiliar Baltimore street-and encounter an abandoned stroller with an infant inside. What happens next is shocking and terrible, and three families are irreparably destroyed.Seven years later, Alice Manning and Ronnie Fuller, now eighteen, are released from "kid prison" to begin their lives over again. But the secrets swirling around the original crime continue to haunt the parents, the lawyers, the police-all the adults in Alice and Ronnies lives. And now another child has disappeared, under freakishly similar circumstances. . .Perfect. . . on a par with some of our finest authors of psychological suspense, including Ruth Rendell, Denise Mina, and Patricia Highsmith. 5* reader reviewQuick and exciting read. . . full of suspense! 5* reader reviewEnigmatic, unpredictable. . . dont plan on getting anything done until you turn the last page of this book. 5* reader review

A very special kind of twisted genius. SARAH HILARYA natural storyteller at the height of her powers. LEE CHILDA TESS MONAGHAN MYSTERYMeet Tess Monaghan - ex-Baltimore Star reporter and accidental PI - as she investigates cases of murder, corruption and injustice in Charm City . . .Until her newspaper, The Baltimore Star, crashed, Tess Monaghan was a first-rate reporter who knew her home town intimately - from historic Fort McHenry to the crumbling projects of Cherry Hill. Now gainfully unemployed, shes willing to do any freelance job to pay the rent - including a bit of unorthodox snooping for her rowing buddy Darryl Rock Paxton.In a city where someone is murdered almost every day, attorney Michael Abramowitzs death should be just another statistic. But the lawyers notoriety and his trysts with Rocks fiancee, make the case front page news - and make Rock the chief suspect. . .Anyone that likes mysteries, even a little bit, should read this book and the rest in the series! 5* reader reviewLoved it. Fast pace, big surprises! 5* reader reviewVery engaging. . .unpredictable. 5* reader reviewPRAISE FOR THE TESS MONAGHAN SERIESTess is a heroine with a nose for what she is not being told, and she is never content with half the story. These Baltimore novels are effective thrillers, because they are stories about wanting to know what happens next. Times Literary SupplementWhip smart female protagonist, gritty Baltimore setting. Loved Tess! 5* reader reviewReaders wont be able to resist Tess, who, like one of Baltimores famous crabs, sports a tough shell that hides a sweet centre. BOOKLISTDigestible, fun, tense NPRIn this series, Lippman has developed sturdy tales, wry humour, and snappy dialogue wrapped around an insiders view of Baltimore. SUN-SENTINELTess, is a ballsy, free-spirited woman who thinks on her feet and has a commanding physical presence. . . Highly recommend 5* reader reviewWhat fun! I discovered a new (to me) mystery series. Tess Monaghan is a terrific main character. 5* reader reviewI really have fallen in love with Tess Monaghan. These mystery novels well deserve the awards Lippman has won. 5* reader review

WINNER OF THE eDUNNIT AWARDIntriguing premise, stunning reveal, irresistible read. VAL McDERMIDA satisfying mystery ALEX MARWOODEngrossing, suspenseful and substantial. SCOTT TUROWIn an acclaimed modern twist on To Kill a Mockingbird, Laura Lippman once again proves herself to be one of crime writings most thrilling reads.Luisa Brant has just been elected States Attorney, a job her revered father once held, and is prosecuting her first murder, by a homeless man on a woman to whom he had seemingly no connection. However, as Luisa investigates, she is startled to learn that this murder might have its roots in a violent event in the past involving her own family. And that maybe no one - her precious father, her brother, her late mother - is quite who she thought. ..

Luisa ''Lu'' Brant is the newly elected - and first female - state''s attorney of Howard County, Maryland, a job in which her revered father famously served. Fiercely intelligent and ambitious, she sees an opportunity to make her name by trying a mentally disturbed drifter accused of beating a woman to death in her home. It''s not the kind of case that makes headlines, but peaceful Howard County doesn''t see many homicides.As Lu prepares for the trial, the case dredges up painful memories, reminding her small but tight-knit family of the night when her brother, AJ, saved his best friend at the cost of another man''s life. Only eighteen, AJ was cleared by a grand jury. Now, Lu wonders if the events of 1980 happened as she remembers them. What details might have been withheld from her when she was a child?The more she learns about the case, the more questions arise. What does it mean to be a man or woman of one''s times? Why do we ask our heroes of the past to conform to the present''s standards? Is that fair? Is it right? Propelled into the past, she discovers that the legal system, the bedrock of her entire life, does not have all the answers. Lu realises that even if she could learn the whole truth, she probably wouldn''t want to.

Echoes Dennis Lehanes SHUTTER ISLAND and Alice Sebolds THE LOVELY BONES ... but surpasses themWashington PostA woman causes an accident on a major highway, flees the scene and is later picked up wandering on the shoulder of the Interstate. The accident occurs just a mile from the former home of the Bethany family. Thirty years before, twelve-year-old Heather persuaded her older sister Sunny to let her tag along on a visit to the mall. Neither of the girls has been seen since.Now, the woman on the Beltway claims to be Heather Bethany. Today she has a different name; a different identity. What has prompted this woman to announce her true - if it is true - identity at this moment? As the layers of Heathers past are revealed, secrets are discovered about her parents, sister, friends, teachers, and the detective who handled the case - until finally the shocking truth is uncovered about what really happened to Heather and Sunny on that long ago afternoon.

Hay preguntas que sólo los muertos podrían responder...En 1975, dos hermanas, de once y quince años, des- aparecieron en un centro comercial. Nunca fueron encontradas, y cientos de preguntas quedaron sin respuesta: ¿como pudieron secuestrar a dos niñas?, ¿quien o que consiguio atraerlas fuera del centro sin dejar rastro? Treinta años despues, una extraña mujer que se ha visto envuelta en un accidente de tra co asegura ser una de las niñas. Pero su confesion y las posteriores evasivas con que responde a los investigadores solo profundizan el misterio. ¿Donde ha estado todos estos años?

La detective Tess Monaghan es contratada por Mark Rubin, un rico e influyente judío ortodoxo, para que encuentre a su mujer y a sus hijos, que han desaparecido. El primer problema es que la desaparición parece voluntaria, por lo que la policía no se hace cargo. Y el segundo es que, a medida que la investigación avanza, Tess comienza a toparse con los prejuicios y secretos de la hermética comunidad judía, y con una turbia historia de traiciones, venganzas y dinero negro... Una verdadera tela de araña, en la que cualquier paso en falso puede resultar fatal...

A woman causes an accident on the Baltimore Beltway, flees the scene and is later picked up wandering on the shoulder of the Interstate. The accident occurs just a mile from the former home of the Bethany family, Dave and Miriam and their daughters Sunny and Heather. Thirty years before, twelve-year-old Heather persuaded her older sister Sunny to let her tag along on a visit to the mall. Neither of the girls has been seen since. Now, the woman on the Beltway claims to be Heather Bethany. Today she has a different name; a different identity. What has prompted this woman to announce her true - if it is true - identity at this moment? Laura Lippman deftly unpeels the layers of Heather's past: revealing her parents, sister, friends, teachers, and the detective who handled the case, until the truth about what happened to Heather and Sunny on that long ago afternoon is finally uncovered.

La detective Tess Monoghan abre al fin su propia agencia de investigación, y lo hace en Butchers Hill. Quizás no sea la mejor zona de Baltimore, pero en algún sitio hay que empezar. Un hombre anciano que acaba de salir de la carcel contratara sus servicios. Acaba de cumplir condena por el asesinato de un ado-lescente, al que mato por destrozar su coche. Ha tenido tiempo de reflexionar en la sombra, y lo que ahora desea es indemnizar a los chicos que presenciaron el crimen, de manera que Tess habra de localizarlos. Y quizas sea tarde; los chicos aparecen muertos.Tess se vera envuelta en un rastro de dinero y mentiras, que conducen a calles desconocidas, a los rincones menos agradables de Butchers Hill.Laura Lippman parte de un caso real, nos brinda una serie de reflexiones sobre los bajos fondos, la adopcion y los centros de acogida. Sus novelas han sido ganadoras de los premios Edgar, Agatha, Shamus, Anthony y Nero.

No one is quite who he or she seems. Hush Hush is the story of Melisandre - rich, beautiful, possibly insane - who has to live with the knowledge of a devastating event in her past. She has not seen her two daughters, now aged fifteen and seventeen, in the ten years since the notorious family tragedy. And her husband has moved on, married now to his personal trainer, and seemingly happy. As Melisandre returns to Baltimore from South Africa, however, there are suddenly more mysterious deaths. And quite what did happen all that time ago has never been clear - what role had each of the members of this unhappy family played? And is anyone telling the truth? Tess Monaghan, now the mother of a young girl herself, makes a return as the investigator who gets snared in the case. A hugely powerful and emotive novel about parents and children - about destructive parents who think they love their children and good parents whose children are the centre of their lives - it is also a superbly plotted mystery novel, one which will keep you hooked until the very final page.

FROM THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR WINNER OF THE CRIMEFEST eDUNNIT AWARD FOR BEST ePUB CRIME NOVELLippman is an absolute master of plot and timing, and I would follow her anywhere - even to the prom.EMMA STRAUBIts deranged and dark and surprising at times. A perfect psychological thriller. 5* reader reviewWhen I was seventeen, I gave birth to a baby in a hotel bathroom while attending the prom.Two decades ago, Amber Glasss life changed forever. No-one had even known she was pregnant - including Joe, her date.Afterwards, she left town for good - and hasnt seen Joe since. But she knows he hasnt left, that hes working for his fathers real estate company, married to a cosmetic surgeon. Child free.Now Amber is back, and as the two of them tentatively start to renew their once unlikely relationship, will their secrets and motivations finally destroy everyone around them?Inspired by a true story, this guessing game of a novel explodes with feeling and menace.I read this acid-dipped beauty in two desperate sittings ... it moves so fast and so skillfully, you dont fully grasp what its really saying (about men, women, desire) until its final stunning pages. MEGAN ABBOTTShe is simply a brilliant novelist. GILLIAN FLYNNA very special kind of twisted genius.SARAH HILARYOne of the best crime novelists writing today.PAULA HAWKINSLippmann is fast creating a new genre-busting category full of remarkable writing and dazzling plot lines.Daily MailLaura Lippman is one of my favourite writers.MINDY KALINGWhat readers are saying: ***** Its deranged and dark and surprising at times. A perfect psychological thriller. ***** Prom Mom is a fantastically clever meditation on privilege and power. ***** Cleverly plotted with brilliantly plausible characters and a fantastic twist you will not see coming. ***** What a fantastic read! So many layers and twists, in fact, the ending twist blew me away. ***** A pitch perfect, ice cold thriller, Prom Mom is utterly devoid of cliche.

Both entertaining and unexpectedly touching. More Please. Baltimore SunA natural storyteller at the height of her powers. LEE CHILDA TESS MONAGHAN MYSTERYAs a practised reporter until her newspaper went to that great pressroom in the sky, PI Tess Monaghan knows and loves every inch of her native Baltimore. Its a quirky city where baseball reigns, but lately homicide seems to be the second most popular local sport.Business tycoon Wink Wynkowski is trying to change all that by bringing pro basketball back to town, and everybodys rooting for him - until a devastating expose of his lurid past appears on the front page of the Baltimore Beacon-Light Its a surprise even to the newspapers editors, who thought theyd killed the piece. Instead, the piece killed Wink, whos found in his garage with the car running.Tess is hired to find the unknown computer hacker who planted the lethal story - but it doesnt take long for her to discover deeper, darker secrets. . .Exciting and complex. I read it in one day because I just couldnt stop. 5* reader reviewI thoroughly enjoy Lippmans writing style. . . it was a fun, wonderful time 5* reader reviewFun and suspense-filled. . . I highly enjoyed it! 5* reader reviewPRAISE FOR THE TESS MONAGHAN SERIESTess is a heroine with a nose for what she is not being told, and she is never content with half the story. These Baltimore novels are effective thrillers, because they are stories about wanting to know what happens next. Times Literary SupplementWhip smart female protagonist, gritty Baltimore setting. Loved Tess! 5* reader reviewReaders wont be able to resist Tess, who, like one of Baltimores famous crabs, sports a tough shell that hides a sweet centre. BOOKLISTDigestible, fun, tense NPRIn this series, Lippman has developed sturdy tales, wry humour, and snappy dialogue wrapped around an insiders view of Baltimore. SUN-SENTINELTess, is a ballsy, free-spirited woman who thinks on her feet and has a commanding physical presence. . . Highly recommend 5* reader reviewWhat fun! I discovered a new (to me) mystery series. Tess Monaghan is a terrific main character. 5* reader reviewI really have fallen in love with Tess Monaghan. These mystery novels well deserve the awards Lippman has won. 5* reader review

[Lippman] only seems to be getting better.Entertainment WeeklyA first-rate collection.BooklistFROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF SUNBURN AND DREAM GIRLThe award-winning master of psychological suspense is in top form in this collection of diverse and diabolically clever stories.A married couple - longing for that old romantic spark - creates a playful diversion that comes with unexpected consequences. A husbands secret cell phone proves to be a dicey temptation for a suspicious wife. Lippmans beloved Baltimore PI Tess Monaghan keeps a watchful eye on a criminally resourceful single father.In eleven brilliantly crafted stories of deception, murder, dangerous games, and love gone wrong, Laura Lippmans sharp and acerbic stories explore the contemporary world and the female experience through the prism of classic crime, where the stakes are always deadly.Readers love Seasonal Work:***** These stories are the best Ive ever read. I want to read everything this woman has written.***** Such a unique collection of short stories. All excellent. I couldnt wait to finish each one.***** Fantastic Stories!!! Her short stories blew me away!***** Phenomenal. . . proof that you dont need 250 pages to write a killer story!

La detective Tess Monoghan abre al fin su propia agenciade investigación, y lo hace en Butchers Hill. Quizás no sea la mejor zona de Baltimore, pero en algún sitio hay que empezar. Unhombre anciano que acaba de salir de la carcel contratara sus servicios. Acaba de cumplir condena por el asesinato de un ado-lescente, al que mato por destrozar su coche. Ha tenido tiempo de reflexionar en la sombra, y lo que ahora desea es indemnizar alos chicos que presenciaron el crimen, de manera que Tess habra de localizarlos. Y quizas sea tarde; los chicos aparecen muertos.Tess se vera envuelta en un rastro de dinero y mentiras, que conducen a calles desconocidas, a los rincones menos agradables de Butchers Hill.

A first-class mystery.Daily Mail[Laura Lippman] is a very special kind of twisted genius. SARAH HILARYOne of Lippmans finest novelsChicago TribuneA TESS MONAGHAN MYSTERYNo one is quite who they seem.Melisandre - rich, beautiful, possibly insane - is haunted by the deadly family tragedy a decade earlier. Her husband and teenage daughters have moved on, and are seemingly happy. When she returns from South Africa to Baltimore, there are suddenly more mysterious deaths. The mysteries of Melisandres devastating past are unearthed: what role did her family really play? Is anyone telling the truth?PI Tess Monaghan gets ensnared in the story of this wealthy, complex family. Now the mother of a young girl herself, Tess makes a return as an investigator to solve the case.A hugely powerful and emotive novel about children and destructive, overbearing parents, Hush Hushis a superbly plotted mystery that will keep you hooked until the final page.Cleverly told. . . Its refreshing how chaotic and ordinary Lippman allows Monaghan to be, without ever making her boring. John OConnell, GuardianAn engaging read. . . I thoroughly enjoy staying caught up on the adventures of Tess and family. 5* reader reviewAnother extraordinary Tess Monaghan book. . . smooth and seductive 5* reader reviewI love this series, I loved the storyline, and how it all came together at the end! 5* reader reviewPRAISE FOR THE TESS MONAGHAN SERIESTess is a heroine with a nose for what she is not being told, and she is never content with half the story. These Baltimore novels are effective thrillers, because they are stories about wanting to know what happens next.Times Literary SupplementWhip smart female protagonist, gritty Baltimore setting. Loved Tess! 5* reader reviewReaders wont be able to resist Tess, who, like one of Baltimores famous crabs, sports a tough shell that hides a sweet centre. BOOKLISTDigestible, fun, tenseNPRIn this series, Lippman has developed sturdy tales, wry humour, and snappy dialogue wrapped around an insiders view of Baltimore.SUN-SENTINELTess, is a ballsy, free-spirited woman who thinks on her feet and has a commanding physical presence. . . Highly recommend 5* reader review What fun! I discovered a new (to me) mystery series. Tess Monaghan is a terrific main character. 5* reader reviewI really have fallen in love with Tess Monaghan. These mystery novels well deserve the awards Lippman has won. 5* reader review

A woman causes an accident on the Baltimore Beltway, flees the scene and is later picked up wandering on the shoulder of the Interstate. The accident occurs just a mile from the former home of the Bethany family, Dave and Miriam and their daughters Sunny and Heather. Thirty years before, twelve-year-old Heather persuaded her older sister Sunny to let her tag along on a visit to the mall. Neither of the girls has been seen since. Now, the woman on the Beltway claims to be Heather Bethany. Today she has a different name; a different identity. What has prompted this woman to announce her true - if it is true - identity at this moment? Laura Lippman deftly unpeels the layers of Heather''s past: revealing her parents, sister, friends, teachers, and the detective who handled the case, until the truth about what happened to Heather and Sunny on that long ago afternoon is finally uncovered.

Laura LippmanWhen private eye Tess Monaghan finds herself literally on a collision course with the makers of a TV series being shot in her native Baltimore, it's not only her introduction to the surreal world of television drama, but also the beginning of a case that only a crazed scriptwriter could have dreamed up for her. Selene Waites, the glamorous but brittle young star of the show, has been the victim of a twisted stalker, and executive producer thinks Tess would be just the person to bodyguard her during filming. At first, Selene seems like a spoiled kook out of central casting and the babysitting job a PR sham, but as Tess gets sucked deeper into the show's labyrinthine web of deceptions and betrayals, she soon finds she's unwittingly become the main feature in a storyline featuring murder, kidnapping and sickening obsession...

When Felix Brewer meets nineteen-year-old Bernadette 'Bambi' Gottschalk at a dance in 1959, he charms her with wild promises. But on the Fourth of July, 1976, Bambi's world implodes when Felix, newly convicted and facing prison, mysteriously vanishes. Though Bambi has no idea where her husband - or his money - might be, she suspects one woman does: his devoted young mistress, Julie. When Julie herself disappears ten years to the day that Felix went on the lam, everyone assumes she's left to join her -old lover - until her remains are found in a secluded wooded park. Now, twenty-six years after Julie went missing, Roberto 'Sandy' Sanchez, a retired Baltimore detective working cold cases for some extra cash, is investigating her murder. What he discovers is a tangled web of bitterness, jealously, resentment and greed stretching over the three decades and three generations that connect these five very different women. And at the center of every woman's story is the man who, though long gone, has never been forgotten: the enigmatic Felix Brewer.