Baltimore Blues: A Tess Monaghan Novel Hardcover – December 26, 2006

I started out reading Ms. Lippman's stand alone novels, and am now turning to the Tess Monaghan series, of which this book is the first.First, I must say that I enjoyed the book immensely. Tess is 29 years old, a Baltimore native (where these books are set), who is trying to get out of the rut she has been in ever since the newspaper she was working for folded two years previous. A friend offers to pay her if Tess will follow his fiancé, who may or may not be having an affair. Tess agrees, as she needs the money, and when the lawyer that the fiancé has been seen with winds up dead after Tess' friend Rock assaults him, things look bad for Rock.This book was set in 1993, and reading it now, it is strange to think that things like cell phones were a novelty. Also, there was no Google or Siri or Alexa at this time, and Ms. Lippman really impresses with her ability to explain how searches are done for many different things, such as researching a charity or how and where documents are filed in the State of Maryland. It was much harder to get information about people before the internet. I am constantly amazed when I read books from this period (just prior to the internet) even though I was there and did research myself at that time. I keep thinking "She could just Google that ", and then I remember...I am very much looking forward to the next book, as I really enjoy this character. She has my dream living space- over a bookstore, and has a nutty family that is in many ways similar to mine. This book is a mystery, but it also shows a good bit of humor.

"Baltimore Blues" is a decent first effort at a mystery novel by author Laura Lippman. It is fairly clearly written as far as style. The storyline itself seemed unlikely and slightly convoluted. The novel is slightly lengthy for the story itself and consequently, occasionally moves along slowly. However I did like it on the whole and plan on reading another "Tess Monaghan" novel in the future.The protagonist is Tess Monaghan, a former newspaper reporter in Baltimore. I definitely like her as a character. She, more or less, gets drawn into a investigative situation that she is not ready for. However she is very smart and sort of stumbles her way along. As a retired police detective I found some of her interviewing and investigative methods borderline inept. But this is a first effort for both the author and Tess Monaghan...I enjoy reading all sorts of literature and break down my reading into categories. One of many such categories is debut novels. I found a curious coincidence in this novel with two other debut private investigation novels. In this novel there is a discussion about the proper use of "who and whom". A similar conversation occurs in Robert B. Parker's first private detective novel, "The Godwulf Manuscript", and Sara Paretsky's first such novel, "Indemnity Only". So what you ask? So nothing, just curious. I did like both of those debut detective novels better than this one. And I greatly preferred Sue Grafton's first Kinsey Millhone novel, "A is for Alibi".I reside in Pennsylvania and worked as a police officer in Pa. Among my duties were cold case violent felonies. I once was the lead on a cold case double homicide. The victims were two senior citizens, minding their own business when they were the victims of a home invasion. There were no immediate suspects. Needless to say, we were not going to stand for this. We had to re investigate the case, develop suspects, build a circumstantial case with no confessions, four years after the fact. Then we had to spend a lot of time in Baltimore, of course outside of my jurisdiction, rather painstakingly reviewing a possible alibi for the offenders. Anyway that particular effort took me through a huge part of the city, including where this story is set, and in a similar time frame. Anyway I greatly enjoyed Tess Monaghan's travels throughout Baltimore and the story definitely had a serious Deja Vu aspect to it for me. But that particular enjoyment is very idiosyncratic.In summary I liked this novel and see real potential for the author. I would give it more of 3.5 stars than 3, but I give a lot of novels four stars and that is a slight stretch in this case. The novel seems just a little bit too long for the story. I almost never read the same author twice in a row without a break in between. But I liked this novel enough that I have already purchased the author's second novel "Charm City" and will read it probably in a few months time. In the event one wishes to read a different author with a similar protagonist, in order to compare and contrast, one might consider "Front Page Fatality" by LynDee Walker. Thank You...

Tess Monaghan is a former journalist, now working multiple part time jobs to make ends meet. When a friend is accused of murder, Tess uses her investigative skills to try to clear his name."Baltimore Blues" is the first in a series featuring Tess Monaghan. Like other books by Lippman, it takes place in Baltimore and is rich in details that anyone familiar with the city will recognize.It was a quick read with sections that were predictable. I didn’t feel any particular affinity to the protagonist and probably won’t read any other books in this series. However, Lippman is a good writer and other readers might like this book more than I did. I much preferred Lippman’s “What the Dead Know.”

Tess is very confusing in a charming way. The author has created a personality who is very solid with lots of puzzling elements. She is brave, loyal, loving, persistent, and intelligent, but also has more than a heaping teaspoonful of lapses in judgment. She puts herself in harm's way way too often, yet magically she's free of being hurt, at least physically. Tess is very good at containing her emotional pains and ploughing through life. She is a person who, in some ways, we would like to be. She's a person we can look down on as well as up to. She's the kind of character we want to follow in a series of stories.

Tess Monaghan is a perfect character to find an origin story as a detective, Just as Kinsey Milhone has her imperfections and circumstances that lead her to becoming a detective. Former Reporters have the basic information gathering skills and the taste for 'taking on'.Lippman uses those qualities, combined with Monaghan's need effectively. I will ready more of these books and will be eager to see if Monaghan evolves.

I'd like to give this 3.5 stars, but without the option, heck, give it the extra half-star in honor of the references to the Star Spangled Banner and its Baltimore birth. A good, solid mystery that introduced Tess Monaghan, reporter-turned-detective, and her distinctly Baltimore milieu. As a native, I enjoyed all the local references, and as a mystery fan, I enjoyed the straightforward story-telling. I'm off the try the second entry in this series!

Really enjoyed this and so pleased there's a series to work my way through. Please sack your copy checker or whatever they're called though, the typos spoil it a bit!

Mary land? To night? The text is full of words that shouldn't have been split in this manner. Shrieks of brain-dead automation, little or no proofing or quality control, and utter contempt for the reader. I shall not buy another until this one has been sorted out and re-issued.

Found this story hard to get into. For me it was a bit airy fairy and jumped around a bit.

Really enjoyed this book. Well written and a good story ! I am reading the next book in the series at the moment.

I lucked in to Laura Lippman, and accidentally read Book 12 first. Loved it, so had to find how she started. Book 1 is brilliant. She's a class writer and a great storyteller. Thank you, Laura!

I have loved everything I have read from Laura Lippmann. She writes innovative and well rounded characters with fast paced and interesting storylines. Everything is a winner!

Nette Strory mit sympathischen Charakteren

Kept me intrigued to the end

Bella scrittura, lessico sopra la media della categoria. Personaggi poco credibili ma comunque divertente.Viene voglia di visitare la,città, questo è sicuro.

Excellent

Good read kept you guessing to the end

Set in Baltimore, Tess Monaghan is an interesting new addition to the genre. Warm hearted, perhaps rather too fond of thinking about her next meal, Tess is also a fanatical rower. When her friend and fellow rower is implicated in a murder Tess starts to investigate his fiancee who seems almost unconcerned. Good characterization and sense of place so I am already looking forward to reading more about Tess.

Ok story

Ok for a holiday read. Not demanding, just pleasant.

肉体派の若い女性の探偵シリーズの始まり。　今回は、ボルティモアの地元紙記者であった主人公が、新聞が廃刊になったために失業中で、趣味のポート仲間の無実を証明するため、弁護士の忠告も聞かずに独自に危険な捜査を始める。　展開は面白く、飽きさせないが、自分としては結末に若干無理な部分があるように思えた。　また、何故かは良く分からないが、英文は少し読みにくい。他の探偵小説では見かけないような単語や、１度読んだだけではスーと頭に入っていかないような文章が出てくるように思います。(慣れれば問題ないのかとは思っています。)