Tess Monaghan Books In Order

Publication Order of Tess Monaghan Books

Publication Order of Tess Monaghan Collections

The famous Tess Monaghan series was written by Laura Lippman, a writer born in Atlanta, Georgia and was raised in Maryland. She is a former reporter for the Baltimore Sun. She is famous for writing novels set in the same city where she lives, Baltimore, as she resides in the South neighborhood of Federal Hill. Her works have won the Edgar, Anthony, Agatha, Gumshoe, Nero Wolfe and Shamus altogether. Her book What the Dead Know which was published in 2007 was the first to hit the New York Times bestseller list, and her book Every Secret Thing in 2003 was portrayed in a movie, a crime film of the same title made this current year 2014 which was directed by Amy J. Berg, written by Nicole Holofcener and was a debut as producer of Academy Award winner actress Frances Mcdormand. Laura is married to another former Baltimore reporter David Simon, and executive producer of the HBO series, The Wire, where she appeared in the last season’s first episode as a reporter working in the Baltimore newsroom. One character has also been seen reading her book in the first season’s eighth episode. Laura Lippman is one of the best Private Investigator writers around, incorporating focus on women and bravely facing challenges and practical things in life, relating to readers for the life that the leading role lives is not superficial rather intriguingly normal like any human being.

Tess Monaghan Series

Big-shot Baltimore journalist Tess Monaghan finds herself unemployed, being rendered out of work when the newspaper company she is working for shuts down. As sudden as this unfortunate event in her life, she will do anything, whatever it takes to survive and pay for her bills and life support. Knowing her hometown intimately on every corner and historic events proved all advantageous for her, using her knowledge, wits and talents as resource to go on and battle her situation. She then enters the world of sleuthing and unorthodox detective work. This reporter turned Private Investigator has captured many readers and a loyal fan base, thereby referred to as the accidental PI whom they idolize and follow through the turns and twists of her life’s affairs. She is a tough-minded, determined, honorable figure of femme fatale, bearing weapons and lurking around dark alleys, gathering clues and ideas to solve mysteries in a case, yet very human dealing with everyday situations and facing unexpected events in her life. Most have found this series of books enjoyable, the characters fun and endearing, and the writing and mysteries engaging. This thrilling private investigator greatly expounded the boundaries of mystery fiction and suspense, with Baltimore Blues initiating the adventures back in 1997 when this first Tess Monaghan crime action series was published, and now in its 11th book- The Girl in the Green Raincoat, and the twelfth one people are looking forward to, Hush, Hush upcoming by 2015.

Baltimore Blues

Laura Lippman’s first book in the illustrious Tess Monaghan novel series, the first book sets the tone for the rest by introducing the main protagonist as an unemployed journalist who becomes an unofficial private investigator. Her endearing character becomes alive even in the first book, and is grounded in a real and believable setting. The state of Baltimore becomes the stage for the book, and a death statistic- a notorious lawyer with a taste for trysts and illicit relationships makes all the local front page of newspapers in the state. How is it that this particular death makes the front when the city reports a murder almost everyday? This is what is answered in the page-turning book, and with award-winning Laura Lippman at the helm promises to be a thrilling ride towards a rollercoaster of crime and suspense. The primary suspect Darryl “Rock” Paxton, a man that was cuckolded by the womanizing lawyer, hires Tess Monaghan to help him in clearing his name. That moment marked the turning point of Tess’ career from being a journalist who knows every nook and cranny of the town to being an unorthodox investigator in search for the truth. Like most of crime fiction books, the story must be engaging enough right from the start without revealing too much, adding information slowly with a meaningful development and all leads and questions tied up in the climactic conclusion, something that Laura Lippman was able to accomplish in this book. A worthy additional comment is that this series is the first foray of Laura into the world of crime fiction series, and it was warmly accepted and lauded by the genre enthusiasts. Since it was the first, we get to see the heroine and be introduced to her daily life and background story.

Charm City

Charm City is the sequel to the highly recommended novel series Tess Monaghan and is still set against the background of Baltimore. In it we follow the normal life of Tess and her employment in a bookstore, and are given tidbits and information about the state in general. Baseball is the prominent sport in the area, and resident millionaire tycoon “Wink” Winkowski makes an effort to bring professional basketball, namely the NBA to rival the state’s favorite sport. When a rogue expose in the Baltimore Beacon-Light newspaper appears on the front page about the millionaire’s past, it messes up the plan and the business tycoon was found dead in the garage with his car running. Blight then claims a hacker planted the article piece in the computer and enlists the help of informal private investigator Tess Monaghan in unraveling this crime mystery, who is more than willing to assist. The book takes her to different parts of Baltimore, into each special nook and alley in search of clues and investigating in her own way, hopefully finding out the truth and solving the case before she becomes the next statistic. A sequel for the series meant that it would be more or less of the first one- full of questions at first, then unfolds in a grand and twisting way to reveal the plot and secret motives in a giant web of storytelling fit for the crime fiction genre.