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111th out of 187 books
—
40 voters
In a Strange City (Tess Monaghan #6)
by
Laura Lippman (Goodreads Author)
It is a treasured Charm City tradition. Every year on Edgar Allan Poe's birthday a figure wrapped in a dark cloak visits the renowned author's Baltimore gravesite and leaves behind three roses and half a bottle of cognac. No Baltimorean worth his or her salt would ever dream of trying to determine the true identity of the "Poe Toaster," thereby possibly destroying a cheris
...morePaperback, 400 pages
Published
October 1st 2002
by Avon
(first published 2001)
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I'm reviewing this based on listening to the books-on-tape version, so maybe I would have had a different view if I'd read the text, but I don't think so.
There's just not much going on here. The plot consists of listening to a bunch of characters talk about various events and gather more information until a murder is eventually "solved". As the reader (listener) you're never put in the action, so there's never any real tension. If someone is murdered you don't actually get to witness it, you'll...more
There's just not much going on here. The plot consists of listening to a bunch of characters talk about various events and gather more information until a murder is eventually "solved". As the reader (listener) you're never put in the action, so there's never any real tension. If someone is murdered you don't actually get to witness it, you'll...more
Maybe a 2.5 because the writing is good, the characterizations are mostly excellent, the premise was interesting, BUT I found the plot so transparent that I guessed the whodunit quite early on and much of the whydunit. As a result, the ending was flat and not particularly inspiring. The other plot element I didn't care for centered around the main character, Tess Monaghan, doing stupid things. I realize that part of this is because Tess is a risk-taker, but she displayed such stupidity in some p...more
This review refers to the audio version.
#6 Tess Monaghan, PI series set in Baltimore. This book focused on Edgar Allan Poe, who lived in Baltimore, and his museum, memorabilia, and mostly the famous cloaked, anonymous "visitor" who stops by every year with roses and cognac for his grave. An antiques dealer tries to hire Tess into finding who the visitor is and unmasking him because the visitor has something that belongs to him and the only way he can get it is to threaten him with exposure. Tess...more
#6 Tess Monaghan, PI series set in Baltimore. This book focused on Edgar Allan Poe, who lived in Baltimore, and his museum, memorabilia, and mostly the famous cloaked, anonymous "visitor" who stops by every year with roses and cognac for his grave. An antiques dealer tries to hire Tess into finding who the visitor is and unmasking him because the visitor has something that belongs to him and the only way he can get it is to threaten him with exposure. Tess...more
This is the only Laura Lippman book I've read to date. Basically, I feel like I'm off to a good start, but I remain a little hesitant to check out any of her other works. I just get a strange feeling that she's a one-trick pony. Regardless, she's definitely a talented writer who knows to add all of the right pop culture references in order to make her characters organic. In fact, what I liked most about this story were the youthful characters, one in particular; a beer-swilling, pizza-scarfing l...more
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In a Strange City is the sixth Tess Monaghan mystery from Laura Lippman. In this installment, Lippman makes use of a long-standing Baltimore tradition, the Poe Toaster or Visitor. If by some chance you aren't familiar with the Poe Toaster, he's the individual who shows up at Poe's grave on January 19th each year to leave roses and cognac. Only this year, there's a murder at Poe's grave when the Toaster is supposed to arrive.
Tess is not actually employed by anyone, but she begins to investigate w...more
Tess is not actually employed by anyone, but she begins to investigate w...more
I'm from the Baltimore area, and picked up the book partly because the author is a journalist for The Baltimore Sun, which is a newspaper close to my heart. I loved the references to Baltimore culture. The shout-outs to Highlandtown, Fells Point, and other memorable people and places struck a chord with me, although I thought the heroine having a dog nammed Esskay was a bit overdone.
This book is out of my favored genre, I admit. While I found Tess, the main character, imperfect and likeable, I...more
This book is out of my favored genre, I admit. While I found Tess, the main character, imperfect and likeable, I...more
The good thing about this book is that it has an interesting setting and background -- Edgar Allan Poe's Baltimore in the present day. I learned a lot about Poe and Baltimore in this book. However, the unsolved mystery is why Tess Monaghan, our PI sleuth, would have gotten involved in this mystery in the first place. Throughout the book, this nagged at me, and as I finished the book it still didn't make sense. I also really hated the way that the explanation for the thefts and murders involved w...more
Middles. I've been thinking a lot about middles recently because I've been going through the final edits of my first novel She. The beginning needed little work (probably because I spent the most time on it in the writing phase), and the ending went fast. But the middle...oy! Why is it middles are the hardest part to write? I wondered that again as I was reading In A Strange City. It seemed to sag there for a bit, and I kind of got lost. But the latter could've been because my brain was fried fr...more
I enjoyed reading this book, the writing and the characters seem to have settled in quite nicely. But certainly not a book to keep you on the edge of your seat. And when I finished the book I had a nagging feeling that there were some holes or unanswered questions which didn't make the ending feel settled. But although I enjoyed the book overall, I didn't much feel like going back through with what I now knew. Not a bad book that seemed to start with some energy but slowed down early on and left...more
re-read began february 2, 2011.
i don't know why i didn't like this one so much the first time around. this time i kind of appreciated the lack of kitty, tyner, whitney, and even crow. the Porcine one, all the poe clues - this is a great mystery, even if it did leave me feeling a little sad (poor, lonely Visitor!)
I liked the glimpses into baltimore history, was annoyed with tess' braid, and mostly was sad that she wasn't rowing as much anymore. for some reason, the fact that she rows makes me rea...more
i don't know why i didn't like this one so much the first time around. this time i kind of appreciated the lack of kitty, tyner, whitney, and even crow. the Porcine one, all the poe clues - this is a great mystery, even if it did leave me feeling a little sad (poor, lonely Visitor!)
I liked the glimpses into baltimore history, was annoyed with tess' braid, and mostly was sad that she wasn't rowing as much anymore. for some reason, the fact that she rows makes me rea...more
Not my favorite of the Tess Monaghan series, but an entertaining read. This time the mystery centers around the anonymous person who visits Poe's grave in Baltimore each year on the writer's birthday to leave roses and cognac. The story is a little thin and rambles: the motivation for Tess to solve this mystery is pretty weak. But Lippman's great at creating characters and the usual cast shows up, also a few new ones, including a female P.I. who ends up doing some bumbling buddy comedy with Tess...more
I enjoy this series set in Baltimore, Maryland, about a private detective Tess Monaghan. This book centers on Edgar Allen Poe, and his January 19th birthday tradition in Baltimore. This was fun, since I have visited Poe's grave(really both), and had an adventure myself. Lippman does extensive research for her writing, and the reader is rewarded for all the work. And I love that the mystery Visitor is profiled, but never revealed. The story makes me wants to reread and newly read more Poe.
This is the sixth book in the Tess Monahan detective series about a thirty-one year old private investigator in Baltimore. The story is centered around Baltimore aficionados of Edgar Allan Poe, who was born in Boston in 1809 but died in Baltimore in 1849.
This isn’t my favorite of the Tess Monaghan stories; I am much more interested in Tess and her friends than in Poe and his. How you feel about this book will probably depend on how much you enjoy finding out about Edgar Allan Poe.
This isn’t my favorite of the Tess Monaghan stories; I am much more interested in Tess and her friends than in Poe and his. How you feel about this book will probably depend on how much you enjoy finding out about Edgar Allan Poe.
Lippman has been getting better with each book, but the story lines are also getting darker. Tess is no longer the happy-go-lucky PI she started out as - and she's a better character for it.
This book actually taught me a little bit about Edgar Allan Poe and that can never be a bad thing. I'm more interested in his stories than I have been since my friend Amy introduced me to him in the 6th grade. I may have to pick up a book of his short stories very soon.
This book actually taught me a little bit about Edgar Allan Poe and that can never be a bad thing. I'm more interested in his stories than I have been since my friend Amy introduced me to him in the 6th grade. I may have to pick up a book of his short stories very soon.
The Baltimore reference are fun. It is chock full of them. It seems like every chapter they are patronizing another bar, restaurant or store. I like the strong sense of place. It made me more intrigued by Baltimore.
I didn't find the mystery compelling. I felt like the mystery unfolded without violating any of it's own rules (i.e. lying to the reader in order to later "surprise" the reader), but I didn't feel tension as it did so.
I didn't find the mystery compelling. I felt like the mystery unfolded without violating any of it's own rules (i.e. lying to the reader in order to later "surprise" the reader), but I didn't feel tension as it did so.
I'm fairly certain I'd read this at some point in the past, but must have been really distracted because though it was familiar, I wasn't sure how it would end. I love that through LL's books I usually find some new or rekindled interest in a random topic. In this case it was Poe. And I love watching shows like Antiques Roadshow so the added thread of collectibles made this just that much more interesting for me. :-)
(This review is one part in my series of reviews attempting to discover how Lippman made the transition from genre author to literary respectability.)
This is a three-star book if ever there was one.
A perfectly fine plot, well-warn characters that don't change much in the course of the book. Lots of local flavor.
I don't feel better for having read this, but I don't feel worse either.
This book is Perfectly Okay.
This is a three-star book if ever there was one.
A perfectly fine plot, well-warn characters that don't change much in the course of the book. Lots of local flavor.
I don't feel better for having read this, but I don't feel worse either.
This book is Perfectly Okay.
This book was great, and is possibly my favorite so far in the Tess Monaghan series. It's filled with Baltimore local color and facts that even I (a native) did not know about. Including the "Poe Toaster" in a mystery novel was pure genius, I wish I'd though of it first! This, and the other Tess books, have a wonderful dry sense of humor that other reviewers often fail to mention. Of all literature's female detectives and PIs, I think Tess is the most believable. I recommend reading the series f...more
I was honestly not that thrilled with this book. First let me say that I thought that basing a mystery around the Poe Toaster was a really good idea. However, I didn't appreciate the heavy language in the book and there were places where it seemed as if the plot was not progressing and I had to drag myself through parts. And if it counts for anything, I knew who the murderer was shortly after being introduced to his character.
A Tess Monaghan story, around the tradition of the "Poe Toaster" - an unknown man who leaves three roses and a bottle of cognac near Edgar Allan Poe's grave every year on Poe's birthday. Being a Baltimorean, I appreciated the storyline. But I did not enjoy this story as much as I've liked other Tess Monaghan novels. It just seemed to drag on and the plot was weak. But I still love Laura Lippman!
Not entirely sure what I think. The PI is just a little too human for me. As one of the characters in the book says to her...I'm not sure how she manages to earn her fee. She doesn't seem real good at all the usual PI stuff (shadowing, recognizing a con--someone conning her, that is, etc). But I did like the twist on involving the Poe Visitor.
This book was o.k. It's my second Laura Lippman book and I wasn't particularly impressed by it, but it was alright. It didn't take long for me to figure out the story and when I read a mystery I like to be surprised by the ending, but I was intrigued enough that I think I will give a few more of her books a try.
"In a Strange City" is the sixth Tess Monaghan by Laura Lippman. I have read the first five and enjoyed them all. This one sounded really good, but I was easily distracted from it and kept putting it down. It just didn't capture my attention like the others, so I gave it 2-1/2 stars.
I think I would have needed to find the Poe mythos more compelling to really get into this one. (Also, to repeat my earlier complaint with "In Big Trouble"--the Crow in this book is not, just plain not, the same person as the Crow in that book.)
Another enjoyable read from the Tess Monaghan series. I liked the Poe angle. EAP has always fascinated me since my elementary school librarian used to scare us each Halloween with his horror stories. Thanks for all the nightmares Miss Peters!
Set in Baltimore, this mystery centers areound all things Poe, as in Edgar Allen Poe. Not one of my favorite authors but in his own dark way he is a gifted writer and I learned to appreciate some of Poe's qualities and legend. Some language.
Another in the Tess Monaghan series set in Baltimore. I like this series and the characters but this was centered around Edgar Allen Poe about whom I know very little, so it wasn't as enjoyable as previous books.
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Seemed very promising in the beginning, but the plot got draggier and I could not follow (and didn't want to) the reasoning for what was done to whom, by whom, and I trashed it about 2/ 3 of the way through. She could make her characters more interesting, too. This is the second book by this author I haven't enjoyed, probably won't try any others.
I am so loving this author! I feel like I am walking the streets of Baltimore when I read her books. This one incorporated the Edgar Allan Poe legend. I have two more of her books sitting on my nightstand. Get to start one tonight!
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| Baltimore | 2 | 13 | Aug 03, 2008 04:34pm |
Laura Lippman was a reporter for twenty years, including twelve years at The (Baltimore) Sun. She began writing novels while working fulltime and published seven books about “accidental PI” Tess Monaghan before leaving daily journalism in 2001. Her work has been awarded the Edgar ®, the Anthony, the Agatha, the Shamus, the Nero Wolfe, Gumshoe and Barry awards. She also has been nominated for othe...more
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“The past was worth remembering and knowing in its own right. It was not behind us, never truly behind us, but under us, holding us up, a foundation for all that was to come and everything that had ever been.”
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