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Read The Sugar House (2015)

The Sugar House (2015)

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Series
Rating
3.76 of 5 Votes: 3
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ISBN
0752844210 (ISBN13: 9780752844213)
Language
English
Publisher
orion

The Sugar House (2015) - Plot & Excerpts

For some reason I had it in my head ever since finishing #4 that I was done with this series. But when I reread the description of #5 a few weeks ago when I was looking for a new book to read, I couldn't remember what I had against Tess Monaghan. So, I decided to give her another try, and I'm glad I did.This story returns the action to Baltimore (after a foray into Texas to retrieve long lost boyfriend Crow in the last book) and settles back into a groove I was afraid might have been lost. Tess is again investigating a nearly impossible case - this time she has been asked to figure out the identity of a Jane Doe who was murdered a year ago and never identified - and her eccentric cast of family and friends is back as well. I really enjoyed the slightly different treatment of Tess's family, friends and colleagues this time around. Some of the primary players from previous books were there but were pushed a bit more to the periphery this time, while others were brought forward into the spotlight. Tess's father, her best friend Whitney and even Tyner got a chance to to be highlighted a bit more in this story, while Kitty and Crow stayed more on the sidelines. The mystery itself was a solid one as well, with just enough intrigue to keep me interested even though the investigation moved very slowly for the first half of the book. It was my favorite kind of investigation in a mystery novel - where the investigator finds a tiny lead and just keeps following the threads until they have just barely enough to figure out the big picture, then ~bam~ it all comes together in the last few pages. To be totally honest, I stayed up way too late finishing this book so I'm still trying to wrap my head around all the details of the big reveal. But even so, I thoroughly enjoyed this installment of the Tess Monaghan series and I'm excited to see how Lippman followed it up with #6.

Glad to meet Tess in BaltimoreI'm a Maryland boy...Born and raised in Chevy Chase, in Somerset, about a quarter mile from the Western Ave. Washington DC line. So my town was DC. My baseball team was the Senators (American League). My football team was/is the Redskins (Colts & Ravins would've been more acceptable PC). So, for a Maryland boy (attempting) to grow up in the1940's & '50's, focused on the thriving, growing bureaucracy of our nation's capitol and it's sports teams, Baltimore might as well have been at the South Pole. Since I've lived in (really!) Southern Maryland for the past 45 years, my several next door neighbors have included Tom Clancy's best friend (honest) and the ultimate Baltimore Ravins & Orioles fan-the latter being obviously Baltimore oriented; the former, a co-very Irish, all American lacrosse player, having grown up with Clancy as diehard, irretrievable Baltimorians. (Note that I did read Clancy's first 6 or 7, testosterone-filled, technocratically-laced Jack Ryan novels which to the "naked" eye are nation's capitol and world power focused. But, alas, both Tom Clancy and Jack Ryan (including Ryan's sojourn at the Naval Academy) are none other than son's of Baltimore... So, thanks to Ms. Lippman introducing me literarily to Tess Monaghan, an (almost) true Irish Baltimorian-(noting the maternal (?) Weinstein (sp.?))-I now have the opportunity and privilege to be introduced to the real Baltimore through this genre of the fun to read, challenging mystery novel. I'll be catching up to Ms. Lippman's 6th Tess Monaghan, Baltimore- based adventure with excited anticipation...

What do You think about The Sugar House (2015)?

OK, when life gets in the way of my reading enjoyment, I turn to series mysteries. It all started with the Trixie Belden series back in the late 1960s/early 1970s. Laura Lippman's Tess Monaghan satisfies while I wait/hope for the next installment of Kinsey Milhone or V.I. Warshawski. Tess gets smarter with each installment, and Lippman provides many little details about her home city of Baltimore.Lippman reveals how widely she reads with the little literary tidbits that season her text. I've smiled at frequent references from children's and young adult books that I also enjoyed to some of the books I've tracked in Goodreads. Smart writers are smart readers!
—Martha

In this fifth mystery of the Tess Monaghan detective series, Tess is now thirty, with plenty of business in her private detective agency, and back together with her boyfriend “Crow.” She takes on a case as a favor to her father, who is friends with the client, Ruthie Dembrow. Ruthie wants to know what really happened a year before when her brother Henry allegedly killed a nameless girl and went to prison. Henry himself was killed just a month after going to prison in somewhat suspicious circumstances. Ruthie is convinced there is more to the story than just coincidence.Tess, with detective help from Crow and her best friend Whitney, gets plunged into the dangerous world of politics, prostitution rings, corruption, blackmail, and murder. Evaluation: Tess is getting better as a detective, but otherwise her flaws remain legion: she is much too outspoken, quick to jump to conclusions, somewhat self-absorbed, and defensive all the time. She is also funny, loyal, loving, and smart. Tess Monaghan, her friends, and her family, are very likeable characters, and Lippman is a very likeable writer.Rating: 3.5/5
—Jill

This review actually applies to the audio version--I can't find the correct one listed.#5 Tess Monaghan mystery set in Baltimore, MD. Having returned from Texas with boyfriend Crow in tow, Tess is beginning to settle into somewhat of a routine with her PI business and her personal life. She is asked by her father to take on a case for an old friend. Ruthie wants her to find out the identity of the Jane Doe her glue-sniffing, addict brother was sent to prison for killing, albeit accidentally in a drug-hazed stupor. Her brother was subsequently knifed to death in prison, and Ruthie is convinced that it wasn't just another prison squabble, but that it's because of who the Jane Doe was. For her own peace of mind and closure, she wants to know why her brother died. Tess doesn't hold much hope of finding the woman's identity after a year has gone by, but she gives it her best shot, linking one clue to another--beginning on Baltimore's mean streets but which eventually leads she and her good friend Whitney Talbot, recently returned from Japan, to a very exclusive private eating disorders clinic on the coast. Having once tangled with her own bulimia demon as a teenager, Tess feels as though she's on familiar ground and does eventually find out who Jane Doe really is--but there's a story behind the story, and once Tess gets hold of a bone, she's like a junkyard dog and won't let go, even when it puts herself in danger. It took me awhile to warm up to the reader of this book; I've encountered her before and she's not my favorite, although many folks just love her. "Something" about her (Barbara Rosenblatt) voice/tone/whatever annoys me, but I like this series enough that I was able to enjoy the book despite it. I guess if I plan to listen on in audio I'd better get used to it anyway. Looking forward to the next adventure!
—Spuddie

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