Product Description

Edgar Award-winner Laura Lippman is developing a reputation as one of the most exciting new detective fiction authors in years. Now she delivers her most suspenseful novel yet, and places Baltimore's Tess Monaghan...In Big Trouble.

First as a reporter and then as a p.i., Tess Monaghan has learned how to survive and thrive on the streets of Baltimore. But a new case will force her to confront her own past, and a man she loved and lost. It starts when she gets a newspaper photograph of her old boyfriend with a tantalizing shard of headline attached: In Big Trouble. The answers lie far from Baltimore, deep in a world of good-time music, old-fashioned ambiiton, and rich people's games. For Tess must find out what happened to a man she thought she knew, to a woman who may have changed him forever, and to the victims of a killer who dances to a different -- and deadly -- drummer.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #328068 in Books
• Published on: 1999-09-01
• Released on: 1999-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 352 pages

From Publishers Weekly
When Baltimore PI Tess Monaghan receives an envelope postmarked Boerne, Tex., containing a photo of Crow, her former musician boyfriend, and a scrap of newspaper headline reading "in big trouble," a day's outing to visit Crow's parents in Charlottesville, Tex., turns into a road trip to unknown territory. Tough and street savvy in her hometown, the former reporter feels lost in the land of the Alamo. Crow seems to have disappeared with a mysterious blonde singer, and as Tess searches for them, she encounters a wall of family secrets behind which may lie the reason for the body count rising around her. Lippman's (Charm City) colorful charactersAespecially the proprietor of Tess's temporary no-tell motel, and homicide detective Al GuzmanAadd amusement to this gripping mystery. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"Smart, sassy and wildly funny." -- The San Antonio Express-News

About the Author
Laura Lippman has been a newspaper reporter at the Baltimore Sun for the past 12 years. Her previous novels -- The Sugar House, Baltimore Blues, Charm City, Butcher's Hill, and In Big Trouble -- have won the Edgar, Agatha, Shamus, and Anthony Awards. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

Customer Reviews

Lippman Does it Again
Tess Monaghan shines in Lippman's new novel, IN BIG TROUBLE. Tess is portrayed, as always, as a completely believable and yet extremely strong female character. Finding her ex-bofriend Crow, and solving the murders that surround him, make for a very interesting and entertaining read. Lippman's writing style also lends to the enjoyment of this book. I highly recommend it; however, if you've never read Lippman you should probably start at the beginning of the "Tess" series.

Well Done
"In Big Trouble" is very well written, carefully plotted and full of good characters.
As I am reading the Tess Monaghan series in order, this is my 4th Laura Lippman read. This is easily her best mystery in the whodunit and plotting categories. Lots of red herrings and plenty of possible suspects.
It is her first one that takes place outside of Baltimore, and that was a minus for me. Having lived in Baltimore, I find her a great voice for that great city. Her books give me my Baltimore fix...so with 95% of the action Texas I was disappointed.
That said, this is a strong work and well worth reading. It truly shows how the author has grown as a mystery writer.
So, if Texas locations are what you like, this is a spectacular read.
I look forward her "The Sugar House" shortly.

The best of the series (so far!)
I love that Lippman is willing to let her characters learn from life. Maybe it's because I'm close to both Tess's age (30) and place in life (what do I do when I grow up?), but I really liked this book. As with previous books, I do think Lippman tends to throw in one too many unexpected surprises toward the end, but it doesn't keep the reader from enjoying the good story or the excellent characterizations. For those of you who read this series for Baltimore, don't let the Texas setting throw you off - Lippman's love of geography is just as evident here as in previous Tess books. A good read!