Hush Hush: A Tess Monaghan Novel - Tess Monaghan Novel

Brief Description: New York Times bestselling author Laura Lippman plunges Baltimore private investigator Tess Monaghan into a twisted and disturbing case. Tess Monaghan has encountered almost every possible criminal motive throughout her career: greed, revenge, jealousy, rage. But there are crimes that defy all attempts at understanding, where a search for motive seems pointless. Melisandre Harris Dawes committed such a crime. Found not guilty by reason of insanity, she fled the country, leaving her two daughters with their father. Twelve years later, she s back in Baltimore, and Tess is asked to provide security detail while Melisandre films a documentary about her attempts to reconcile with her now teenaged children. Tess, juggling work with caring for her demanding toddler, is uneasy about the case. Still, Melisandre s lawyer is family. And there is something about the woman herself confident, beautiful, shrewdly intelligent that draws Tess in. Is she a master manipulator or someone who was driven to temporary madness? Cold and calculating, or a mother concerned for her daughters well being? Someone is leaving Melisandre enigmatic, threatening notes. Soon Tess, insecure about her parenting abilities and receiving cryptic messages of her own, isn t sure whether she should be protecting Melisandre from harm or protecting everyone else from Melisandre. When Melisandre becomes the prime suspect in a murder, Tess must uncover the truth. Doing so will mean confronting her deepest beliefs about what separates good parents from bad, madness from sanity, and what lengths even the most rational person will go to, to protect what they cherish most."Marc Notes: Melisandre - rich, beautiful, possibly insane - has to live with the knowledge of a devastating event in her past. She has not seen her two daughters, now aged 15 and 17, 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. Review Quotes: "one of Lippman's finest novels."--Chicago TribuneReview Quotes: one of Lippman s finest novels. --Chicago Tribune"Publisher Marketing: New York Times bestselling author Laura Lippman plunges Baltimore private investigator Tess Monaghan into a twisted and disturbing caseTess Monaghan has encountered almost every possible criminal motive throughout her career: greed, revenge, jealousy, rage. But there are crimes that defy all attempts at understanding, where a search for motive seems pointless. Melisandre Harris Dawes committed such a crime. Found not guilty by reason of insanity, she fled the country, leaving her two daughters with their father. Twelve years later, she's back in Baltimore, and Tess is asked to provide security detail while Melisandre films a documentary about her attempts to reconcile with her now-teenage children. Tess, juggling work with caring for her demanding toddler, is uneasy about the case. Still, Melisandre's lawyer is family. And there is something about the woman herself confident, beautiful, shrewdly intelligent that draws Tess in. Is she a master manipulator or someone who was driven to temporary madness? Cold and calculating, or a mother concerned for her daughters' well-being? Someone is leaving Melisandre enigmatic, threatening notes. Soon Tess, insecure about her parenting abilities and receiving cryptic messages of her own, isn't sure whether she should be protecting Melisandre from harm or protecting everyone else from Melisandre. When Melisandre becomes the prime suspect in a murder, Tess must uncover the truth. Doing so will mean confronting her deepest beliefs about what separates good parents from bad, madness from sanity, and to what lengths even the most rational person will go to protect what they cherish most." Review Citations:

Library Journal 05/15/2015 pg. 44 (EAN 9780062372352, Compact Disc)

Library Journal Prepub Alert 09/15/2014 pg. 49 (EAN 9780062083425, Hardcover)

Kirkus Reviews 12/01/2014 (EAN 9780062083425, Hardcover) - *Starred Review

Publishers Weekly 12/08/2014 (EAN 9780062083425, Hardcover) - *Starred Review

Booklist 12/15/2014 pg. 30 (EAN 9780062083425, Hardcover) - *Starred Review

Library Journal 01/01/2015 pg. 76 (EAN 9780062083425, Hardcover) - *Starred Review

Romantic Times 03/01/2015 pg. 48 (EAN 9780062083425, Hardcover)

People Weekly 03/02/2015 pg. 42 (EAN 9780062083425, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:  Lippman, Laura Laura Lippman is the author of eleven novels featuring Baltimore private detective Tess Monaghan, eight stand-alone novels, including After I'm Gonecoming out inFebruary, and a short story collection. Her six most recent books have all been New York Times bestsellers. Lippman has won numerous literary prizes for her work, including the Edgar(r), Anthony, Nero Wolfe, Agatha, Gumshoe, Barry, and Macavity Awards.