The Girl in the Green Raincoat (Tess Monaghan, #11)

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The Girl in the Green Raincoat (Tess Monaghan #11)

by Laura Lippman (Goodreads Author)

3.33 of 5 stars 3.33 · rating details · 2,189 ratings · 484 reviews

In the third trimester of her pregnancy, Baltimore private investigator Tess Monaghan is under doctor's orders to remain immobile. Bored and restless, reduced to watching the world go by outside her window, she takes small comfort in the mundane events she observes . . . like the young woman in a green raincoat who walks her dog at the same time every day. Then one day the...more

Paperback, 176 pages

Published January 18th 2011 by Avon A (first published 2011)

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Feb 11, 2013 Stephanie (The Night Bookmobile) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, 2013

I came across Laura Lippman while googling for authors similar to Tana French. In an effort to accept the fact that I've already read all of French's currently released books, and she's probably not going to move up the release of her next one even if I ask really nicely, I thought I'd attempt to locate an author with a similar style. If you're in a similar situation this review might help you. Based on this novella alone it is hard to say that Lippman does compare to French; perhaps one of her...more I came across Laura Lippman while googling for authors similar to Tana French. In an effort to accept the fact that I've already read all of French's currently released books, and she's probably not going to move up the release of her next one even if I ask really nicely, I thought I'd attempt to locate an author with a similar style. If you're in a similar situation this review might help you. Based on this novella alone it is hard to say that Lippman does compare to French; perhaps one of her standalone novels would make for a better comparison. While French's Dublin Murder Squad series is filled with deeply complex psychological mysteries with prose that easily propels her into the "lit fic" category, Lippman's story in The Girl in the Green Raincoat is a very straight and simple mystery story, with a clear and not unpredictable road from start to conclusion. This isn't to say that one is better than the other, but that they cannot really be compared, since they offer completely different things.

A large flaw within this novel is its side characters. The characters within the mystery itself fell flat and were used as walking chess pieces for Tess to play with rather than people who would actually exist outside of a daytime soap opera. Tess' boyfriend and best friend were hardly much livelier despite the latter having a few awkwardly placed perspective shifts. Perhaps they've been further fleshed out in earlier books and Lippman didn't feel the need to do so further here. This very well could be due to my choice to read them out of order and would entirely be my fault. Tess herself was the shining point of this book for me and is the reason I plan to pick up other books in this series. She's a modern Nancy Drew with the snark, stubborn curiosity, and feminist ideals of Veronica Mars. Like Mars she is not averse to dumpster digging for evidence. She's unsure that she'll ever have motherly instincts having never particularly wanted a child, questions her relationship as everyone does sometimes, still has eyes (hormones) for other men despite being loyal (women in relationships still have eyes!) and expresses distaste for the media's racist leanings and people who preface sentences by saying they heard something on NPR. I'm interested to see the beginning of her story and to experience her unravel a mystery when she isn't on bed rest.

I also felt that this book could have used further editing. The writing was very clunky in parts and hard to understand. Sentences did not flow or make sense. I found myself rereading to try to make sense of certain paragraphs to no avail. I don't come across this a lot as I find I'm usually not overly-attentive to such things (being no master of grammar or the English language myself) but here it became so frequent and obvious that I was unable to ignore it. The plotting was also oddly paced and the entire book felt rushed. I can see how it would be hard to write a complete story with your main detective on bed rest, but then, why write the story at all if it's going to feel forced?

It's safe to say that while I enjoyed Tess as a character and Lippman's subtle commentary on racism and sexism, the jury is still out on whether or not she will prove to be an alternative to French for me. For that to happen I would need a little more than an enjoyable mystery and a lot more depth to all of the main characters. It may seem like I didn't enjoy this book, but due to Tess and due to Lippman's intelligent dialogue, I did. Also, Dempsey, the miniature Italian Greyhound who had more personality than anyone else in the story aside from Tess. I'll be reading more of her books in the future but I may try one of her standalone offerings before diving back into Tess' world again, and would recommend anyone yearning for more Tana French do the same, instead of beginning with the Tess series.

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Feb 01, 2011 Chris rated it 2 of 5 stars

I won this as a Goodreads First Reads. This is the second book by this author that I have read. I read I'd Know You Anywhere last year, and was left somewhat disappointed. Same here. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't the best book ever either. There were some errors, which is a big pet peeve of mine. It was a veru short book, less than 200 pages and somewhat large print, and a very quick read. It was perfect for this time of year, being snowed in and all. I really like the plot of this book: a p...more

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Apr 13, 2011 Kathryn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

This novella was a quick and fun read! At only a 158 pages, there is so much to enjoy about this book - stories within the story. The ending is quite a surprise and there is nothing to give it away early which is great and not a surprise from a writer like Laura Lippman.

"The Girl in the Green Raincoat" is perfect for a day if you are going to be on a train or a plane. If you are the passenger in a car and can read this is a great choice. Your trip will be so much more pleasant with this book as...more

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Feb 21, 2013 Linda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-crime

A good plot's worth revisiting from time to time, which is what Laura Lippman has done in The Girl in the Green Raincoat. Ms. Lippman pays homage to two classics, the film "Rear Window" and the novel The Daughter of Time. Tess Monaghan, PI, is confined to bed for the last two months of her pregnancy. Bored and restless, she takes to watching passersby in the park outside her window. The girl in the green raincoat who walks her greyhound fails to show one day. But Tess sees the dog tearing throug...more

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Feb 18, 2013 Tony rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. THIS SUMMARY/REVIEW WAS COPIED FROM OTHER SOURCES AND IS USED ONLY AS A REMINDER OF WHAT THE BOOK WAS ABOUT FOR MY PERSONAL INTEREST. ANY PERSONAL NOTATIONS ARE FOR MY RECOLLECTION ONLY

In the third trimester of her pregnancy, Baltimore private investigator Tess Monaghan is under doctor's orders to remain immobile. Bored and restless, reduced to watching the world go by outside her window, she takes small comfort in the mundane events she observes . . . like the young woman in a green raincoat wh...more THIS SUMMARY/REVIEW WAS COPIED FROM OTHER SOURCES AND IS USED ONLY AS A REMINDER OF WHAT THE BOOK WAS ABOUT FOR MY PERSONAL INTEREST. ANY PERSONAL NOTATIONS ARE FOR MY RECOLLECTION ONLY

In the third trimester of her pregnancy, Baltimore private investigator Tess Monaghan is under doctor's orders to remain immobile. Bored and restless, reduced to watching the world go by outside her window, she takes small comfort in the mundane events she observes . . . like the young woman in a green raincoat who walks her dog at the same time every day. Then one day the dog is running free and its owner is nowhere to be seen. Certain that something is terribly wrong, and incapable of leaving well enough alone, Tess is determined to get to the bottom of the dog walker's abrupt disappearance, even if she must do so from her own bedroom. But her inquisitiveness is about to fling open a dangerous Pandora's box of past crimes and troubling deaths . . . and she's not only putting her own life in jeopardy but also her unborn child's.

Previously serialized in the New York Times, and now published in book form for the very first time, The Girl in the Green Raincoat is a masterful Hitchcockian thriller from one of the very best in the business: multiple award-winner Laura Lippman.

All indications are that Don Epstein, owner of a number of check cashing offices has killed 2 wives and another woman he was intent on marrying. He has managed to ever being prosecuted for the deaths. His first wife was shot and killed in a supposed car theft in which he was shot in the leg. His second wife was supposedly dead because she caught staph in a hospital and had a reaction to antibiotics she was taken. The girlfriend fell down some stairs. The final wife supposedly left him and emptied a lot of money from his bank accounts. Tess believes he killed her. Come to find out, she was involved in all the murders and just wanted to leave Don. He agreed and that arranged the scheme. Tess having created a big problem for them, ended up with Carole, the last wife, attempting to kill her and causing Tess to have the baby early. Carole's talk, Dempsey, ends up the hero by attacking Carole and saving Tess.
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Dec 16, 2012 Ann rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

This book reads like an homage to Hitchcock's "Rear Window". Tess Monaghan, private detective, is put on bed rest during a complicated pregnancy. She amuses herself by observing the world outside her window, especially a stylish young woman in a celery-green raincoat who walks her dog every day. When the dog appears on his own one day, Tess is convinced something bad has happened to his owner. With some help from her not-bed-bound friends and associates, she discovers the woman's identity. When...more

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May 01, 2012 Rebekah Scott added it

Shelves: 2011

Confined to bed rest in the third trimester of her pregnancy, private investigator Tess Monaghan is more than a bit stir-crazy. The highlight of her day is often her ten foot waddle to the bathroom, and although she is used to staying in one place for long periods of time for surveillance jobs, this forced inactivity is unbearable.

Needing a distraction from the tedium, Tess begins to watch the world pass by. Sitting on her sun porch, armed with her binoculars, Tess watches the daily dog walkers,...more Confined to bed rest in the third trimester of her pregnancy, private investigator Tess Monaghan is more than a bit stir-crazy. The highlight of her day is often her ten foot waddle to the bathroom, and although she is used to staying in one place for long periods of time for surveillance jobs, this forced inactivity is unbearable.

Needing a distraction from the tedium, Tess begins to watch the world pass by. Sitting on her sun porch, armed with her binoculars, Tess watches the daily dog walkers, longing to be outside with them. As she settles into a people-watching routine, her attention is caught by a particular pair – a small greyhound and its owner, both in matching green raincoats. The girl in the green raincoat doesn’t socialize with the other dog owners, preferring to stay occupied with the cell phone she keeps pressed to her ear.

Every afternoon, Tess watches as the girl and the greyhound in their green raincoats walk through the park, but one day the only thing she sees is the dog, running loose, with the girl nowhere in sight.

As a private investigator, Tess is naturally curious, and when the girl fails to turn up in the park again, she watches for any sign of a missing person report or some indication of what might have happened.

Tess enlists the help of her boyfriend Crow, her best friend Whitney and her employee Mrs. Blossom to see if she can discover what happened to the girl. As she eventually finds the dog, and learns the girl’s identity, Tess uncovers a dangerous history between the girl’s husband and his previous wives, all of whom had tragic accidents.

Determined to learn the truth, but trapped in her home, Tess must use all of her ingenuity and her resources to expose what really happened to the girl in green raincoat.

Originally serialized in the New York Times, “The Girl in the Green Raincoat” is a thriller worthy of the description “Hitchcockian.” Evoking the feeling of the classic film “Rear Window,” “The Girl” is a fast paced, exciting read sure to satisfy any mystery fan.
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Feb 14, 2012 Betted rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

This book was serialized in the New York Times so comes late to book form. In this book Laura Lippman's Baltimore based sleuth is pregnant and forced to spend time in bed due to medical complications. She learns to her dismay that 30-somethings are considered a bit old for motherhood. So she watches the dog walkers from her sun porch and considers how her investigation business must change with a new addition to the family. And wonders if she and Crow, the steady boyfriend, should get married. O...more

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Aug 06, 2011 Joni Daniels rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've read all the Tess Monaghan books and even if this one was slim, I devoured it like all the stories that came before. Lippman's Baltimoe is now mine - so I love it when she tips her hat to local venues that I know - and her descriptions ring true. Baltimore is almost a character in this series - and it changes as the town and the character changes. Tess and Whitney's relationship weaves a strong thread through these books and while Tess's instincts are never exactly 'right on' they aren't fa...more

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Jul 07, 2011 Alice Bola rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm pretty sure I found a new literary friend. She has moxie, a good sense a humor, animals love her, and trouble finds her wherever she goes, even when she is bedridden with a high risk pregnancy. Her name is Tess Monaghan and she is one of Baltimore's finest private detectives.

I found Tess engaging. I was definitely interested in getting to know her, to find out what path she took that lead her to become a private investigator. I enjoyed the zany cast of characters with my favorite being Mrs....more

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May 23, 2011 Lynne Perednia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Tess Monaghan has been confined to bedrest during her unexpected pregnancy. She turns into Jimmy Stewart's character in Rear Window, watching the world pass by. The daily appearance of a young woman in a green raincoat and accompanying greyhound catches her attention. When they fail to appear one day, Tess gets involved.

This novella from Lippman about a major event in her continuing character's life is filled with the author's fascinating portraits. Whether it's Tess's parents and what she thoug...more

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May 15, 2011 Patti rated it 4 of 5 stars

Gotta admit that I'm not thrilled that my girl Tess popped out a kid. This is not an affront to women with kids, so please do not take it as such, but rather a fear that one of my favorite characters will suddenly start talking about eating placentas, green baby poop and breast pumping (ew, ew, EW). I am still worried about the future of this series but if the author keeps handing the narrating functions to Whitney (I love her and I normally don't love ultra wealthy characters...but she's so f'd...more

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Apr 07, 2011 Barbara Mitchell rated it 4 of 5 stars

I seem to be on a Laura Lippman kick lately. This book is actually a novella, a 158 page fun read that is quite unusual for Lippman even though it is a part of the Tess Monaghan series. My copy says "available for the first time in book form."

The story begins with a very pregnant Tess confined to a chaise lounge in her sunroom by a diagnosis of pre-eclampsia and a close call with a miscarriage. Baby Daddy Crow is happily doing his best imitation of Martha Stewart, cooking and keeping house, whil...more

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Mar 22, 2011 Min rated it 4 of 5 stars

This novella marked the long-awaited return of Tess Monaghan - sweet!

At the beginning of the book, we find out that she's in her third trimester and on strict bedrest. The normally very active PI (she's usually rowing on the rivers of Baltimore) begins to entertain herself by doing some people watching. Conveniently, there's a park across the way where people walk their dogs, take their lunch, etc. She soon notices that there's a woman in a green raincoat who walks a dog every day at the same ti...more

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Mar 20, 2011 Dawn Rhoads rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 27, 2011 stephanie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, mystery, psychological-fiction, would-rec

so, i don't know why, but this tess story made me almost cry. (well, i do know why, but it's a spoiler, and it deserves to stay one, but needless to say naming the pregnant it inside tess is actually really touching.)

i feel like this also hit a point in my life, where i am - i don't really want to get married, but i'm in a committed relationship, i like my life, but then when people start asking questions and you start to realize that everything happened by accident, you wonder what the future h...more so, i don't know why, but this tess story made me almost cry. (well, i do know why, but it's a spoiler, and it deserves to stay one, but needless to say naming the pregnant it inside tess is actually really touching.)

i feel like this also hit a point in my life, where i am - i don't really want to get married, but i'm in a committed relationship, i like my life, but then when people start asking questions and you start to realize that everything happened by accident, you wonder what the future holds.

so it's a nod to rear window and a nod to The Daughter of Time, but it's tess' story all the way. there's a fashionable girl walking her italian greyhound by tess's window every day, talking on her cell phone, with everything in green. one day, tess sees the dog running alone.

and so begins the story, which works especially well because all fans of tess monaghan know about her overactive imagination.

there are return characters here - whitney, crow, an absent but still present aunt kitty, mrs. blossom.

and for the first time, we get a few chapters from whitney's POV.

while i continue to love whitney, i don't know if her chapters were my favorite part. there were little bits that made me think, oh, this is fabulous! and then there was the bigger part of me that wanted more of tess - her frustrations, her worrying, her gnawing at every bone she can put her hands on.

but i do think it worked for the structure of this novella - it was released as a serial in the new york times magazine, so each chapter had to both stand alone and develop the plot. this is why the changing perspectives worked so well. and while i am left with a lingering sense of "BUT I WANT MOOOOORE", i must admit that this is a tightly woven, crisp story with a strong sense of character development and a beautiful addition to the tess series. as lippman says, tess has come full circle here, with her marble composition books, to the beginning of Baltimore Blues and her life is so different.

the writing is elegant, the characters are true to form, and i love tess and her motley crew so much. (less)

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Feb 27, 2011 Kathleen Hagen added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-audio-books, 2011-mysteries

The Girl in the Green Raincoat, by Laura Lippman, A-minus, narrated by Linda Emmond, produced by Harper Audio, downloaded from audible.com.

This is the latest in the Tess Monaghan series. Tess is pregnant. She continued her investigations, including long surveillances, until in her third trimester she almost lost the baby. The doctor ordered her to stay in bed for most of the last three months. Tess is bored and cranky and feeling sorry for herself. She watches people walking their dogs in the pa...more

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Feb 22, 2011 Corrie M. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Tess Monaghan is the first detective I've followed loyally since my Nancy Drew days.

You just don't see pregnant PI's pop up too often in the mystery genre. My love for The Wire led me to Laura Lippman's ex-reporter when the HBO series ended in 2008 (Lippman is married to David Simon, and Tess Monaghan loves Baltimore every bit as much as Jimmy McNulty.) This was originally serialized in the New York Times magazine, so it's shorter than a regular Tess Monaghan episode. The usually active and han...more

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Feb 20, 2011 Deb rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-books-read

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 09, 2011 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars

If you've seen Hitchcock's "Rear Window" and appreciated his stunning work, you'll love The Girl in the Green Raincoat. Similar to the movie, this book deals with a woman who must be content spending her time watching other people through a window. Tess watches the mundane events that occurs outside, until one day something changes. When she thinks that something is amiss, she does everything in her power to solve the mystery from behind closed doors. Little does she know what she is in store fo...more If you've seen Hitchcock's "Rear Window" and appreciated his stunning work, you'll love The Girl in the Green Raincoat. Similar to the movie, this book deals with a woman who must be content spending her time watching other people through a window. Tess watches the mundane events that occurs outside, until one day something changes. When she thinks that something is amiss, she does everything in her power to solve the mystery from behind closed doors. Little does she know what she is in store for!

At a little under 200 pages, I was a little concerned when this book first arrived. I was wondering how Laura Lippman could fit an intriguing mystery in such a small amount of pages. Let's just say, I shouldn't have worried! It is a quick read for sure, but in the best way possible. The pages just flew by as I devoured Tess' character, her worries, her investigation, and everything else that was wrapped up in this wonderfully written mystery. The prose in this story is also fantastically witty. There were times I laughed out loud at her inner musings. By the time I got to the ending, which was perfection, I was sad that the book was over. Now that I know this is part of a series I'm going to have to go and find the others!

The characters are wonderfully developed, from the main character to the most supporting character. Tess, our protagonist, is a an independent woman that has to come to terms with allowing others to do things for her. She is used to holding her own as a detective and is suddenly having to depend on others to do the legwork for her, which maddens her. I loved her tenacity, and even though she has worries about her boyfriend Crow she is always looking at things from a logical point of view. Tess is a woman's woman if I do say so myself!

This is the first time I've ever read one of Laura Lippman's books, despite her NYT Bestsellers fame. I'm glad that this book was offered to me and put this fantastic series on my radar! Overall, The Girl in the Green Raincoat is a superbly written novel with witty dialogue, well written characters, and a thrilling plot that doesn't disappoint. All you mystery fans out there need to go pick up a copy as soon as possible!(less)

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Jan 30, 2011 Judy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Tess Monaghan has been confined to bed during the third trimester of her pregnancy. Extremely bored, she is restricted to the winterized sun room of her house. She has everything that she needs--a television, a radio, books, etc., but Tess is more interested in watching the park outside her back yard and the people who regularly use the park for exercise and to walk their dogs. One young woman, in particular, catches her attention, no doubt because the woman and her Italian greyhound wear matchi...more

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Jan 06, 2011 Angie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Laura Lippman is a good writer. Since she has won just about every major award in crime fiction, and many of the minor ones as well, clearly I am not in the minority in this evaluation. The present work shows that her reputation is well-deserved.
The Girl in the Green Raincoat was originally written as a serial in the New York Times magazine and is now being published as a standalone novella of about 200 pages. Many authors in this situation try to expand their magazine piece to the length of a...more Laura Lippman is a good writer. Since she has won just about every major award in crime fiction, and many of the minor ones as well, clearly I am not in the minority in this evaluation. The present work shows that her reputation is well-deserved.
The Girl in the Green Raincoat was originally written as a serial in the New York Times magazine and is now being published as a standalone novella of about 200 pages. Many authors in this situation try to expand their magazine piece to the length of a standard novel. If the original work was good as a short piece, the expansion is rarely successful. It is a credit to the author’s skill and judgment that she chose to leave the story in its original form. The result is a satisfying “small plate” instead of a watered-down full meal.
As the story opens, PI Tess Monaghan is chafing under a restriction to bed rest due to a difficult pregnancy. She misses her usual energetic level of physical activity; she misses sleeping in the same bed as her boyfriend Crowe; and most of all she misses the investigative work that allows her to pursue satisfaction of her insatiable curiosity. Plagued with worry about whether she is really cut out for motherhood and whether she and Crowe will or should marry, clearly she needs a distraction. Tess has been entertaining herself by looking out the window, and as a dog-lover she has especially enjoyed watching a woman walk her dog daily. One day she sees the dog running loose but no woman. What happened to the woman is a puzzle that Tess must solve, and the investigation leads her to suspect she has uncovered a modern Bluebeard.
Tess is a character I have enjoyed since her first appearance in Baltimore Blues. Protagonists in crime novels tend to be either paragons of acumen a la Poirot or Holmes or unbelievably dysfunctional personalities with so many flaws that they tend not to be too credible. By contrast, I can imagine having a friend like Tess Monaghan. I would love her dearly, but I would find her prickly personality very irritating at times. Tess is a real person. Because of the confinement to her couch, Tess uses a number of agents to pursue her investigations or asks involved parties to come see her. Most of these other characters are rather Dickensian, such as Tess’s legman Mrs. Blossom, a senior citizen who visits the suspect’s home wearing a fuchsia trenchcoat and pink high-top Reeboks. With the possible exception of her friend Whitney Talbot, the other characters are fun but not fully developed. Even boyfriend Crowe, who is important to Tess but irrelevant to the main story, is a sketchy character without the background provided by the earlier books. I would consider this more of a flaw in a longer work.
Baltimore, however, is a living character in all the Tess Monaghan tales. No other author so accurately portrays the spirit of Baltimore as Laura Lippman, and The Girl in the Green Raincoat maintains her usual standard, despite its short length. If Tess enjoys the crabcakes at a carryout named Luigi’s, you can be sure that there is a carryout named Luigi’s in the proper neighborhood and its crabcakes are worth ordering.Tess and I both enjoy the same appetizer from The Helmand. Food is a big interest of Tess’s, but the Baltimore verisimilitude goes beyond culinary matters. For example, Tess’s mother works at The National Security Agency, which is a major metro-area employer. The old-time politicians referred to off-the-cuff are real and part of the Baltimore lore.
The Girl in the Green Raincoat is a must-read for Tess Monaghan fans. First-time readers will enjoy this short sample and will want to pick up the novels for a bigger helping.
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Dec 31, 2010 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2010, mystery, vine-program, arc

At this point, any new work by Laura Lippman is an automatic must read for me. Novel, short story, novella, short essay, anything.

So, when "The Girl in the Green Raincoat" arrived, even though I had a long list of other books demanding my attention, I just couldn't help but take a peek inside the covers of this one. One sentence into the story and I was hooked.

This novella, originally published in the New York Times Magazine, finds Lippman's Tess Monagahan confined to bed rest for the final tw...more At this point, any new work by Laura Lippman is an automatic must read for me. Novel, short story, novella, short essay, anything.

So, when "The Girl in the Green Raincoat" arrived, even though I had a long list of other books demanding my attention, I just couldn't help but take a peek inside the covers of this one. One sentence into the story and I was hooked.

This novella, originally published in the New York Times Magazine, finds Lippman's Tess Monagahan confined to bed rest for the final two months of her pregnancy. Tess decides she'll use the time to catch up on her reading and movie watching, but ends up taking a page from "Rear Window" and becoming curious about a woman in a green raincoat who walks her dog each afternoon. Tess quickly requests a pair of binoculars just as the green raincoated woman disappears, but leaves the dog running free.

Before you know it, Tess is pulling in Crow, Whitney and several other familiar faces from the long-running series to help her look into the mysterious disappearance of this woman.

"The Girl in the Green Raincoat" rockets along at a confident pace, doing what all good mysteries do--putting all the clues out in plain site but not necessarily telling you how they'll all connect until the final few pages. Lippman connects Tess and the green raincoat girl in a number of ways and it's nice to see not only Tess' inner struggle but also nice to get a chance to spend some time with recurring character and Tess's best friend Whitney as well. The sequences in the story that take place from Whitney's point of view with Tess off-screen as it were are among the most compelling in the book and will have long-time fans wondering if a novel centering more on Whitney might not be a good idea in the near future.

As with all Lippman stories, I was drawn in by the first few sentences and the hold didn't let go until I'd turned the final page. This novella is intensely satisfying and well-constructed and the only complaint I can find with it is my own impatience in not savoring it more.

Another winner from one of the top writers working today. (less)

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Dec 17, 2010 Dianne rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Girl In the Green Raincoat – Tess Monaghan
Mimicking the classic book, “Rear Window” by Cornell Woolrich, “The Girl in the Green Raincoat” is a wonderful modern update of that noir thriller with a delightful twist. This is the 11th book in the Tess Monaghan series and was previously published in serial form for the NY Times .

In this book, Tess is pregnant sand in the third trimester of an at risk pregnancy and is being forced to stay at home and not move…for anything! Tess is so bored that...more

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Dec 15, 2010 Lydia Presley rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, fiction, mystery

I've never read a book by Laura Lippman. I'm not sure why I haven't (although it could have something to do with my recent falling out of love with the mystery genre), but I've seen her name around the book blogging community and when I saw this offering on the NetGalley site, and noticed that it was under 200 pages long I figured I'd give it a go.

The Girl in the Green Raincoat is the eleventh Tess Monaghan story, but in spite of not knowing Tess at all, I found myself easily getting my bearings...more

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Nov 23, 2010 SenoraG rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, ebook, fiction, fun, mystery-thriller, netgalley, review-book

The Girl in the Green Raincoat was a fun book. I don't think I have read any other mysteries featuring Tess but she did seem familiar so maybe I have. Hmmmmmmmm

I felt for Tess who was on "bed rest" because of a high risk pregnancy. I went through that myself when I was pregnant with my boys and it's not fun. It was easy to see how she watched people out of her window and made up stories to go with them. Especially being a PI, she can easily insert trouble with the way her mind works.

The story mo...more

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Nov 02, 2010 UKDana rated it 3 of 5 stars

Female PI Tess Monaghan is confined to bed rest as a result of problem pregnancy. She enjoys watching the people taking their dogs for a walk in the park near her home ad becomes fascinated by a small greyhound in a green coat and his owner, a forty something female in a matching coat. Tess’s inquisitiveness kicks into overdrive one night when the dog returns from its walk and there’s no sign of the owner.

You immediately think of the film “Rear Window” and this is a homage to it. The film is eve

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Oct 01, 2011 Anne (Booklady) Molinarolo rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: cozy-mystery, fall-2011, god-awful

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 1.5 Stars

Simply put, this book irked me. Why? I was expecting homage to Alfred Hitchcock and what I got was a silly tale that included The Liberal Trifecta: Two mommies discussing gay marriage heard it on NPR, so it must be true, and an opinion on climate change! I just wanted to read the story of the girl in the green raincoat sans political commentary of the left or right. If I want commentary, I watch Fox News or CNN. And these subplots were longer than the pages that directly pertained to...more 1.5 Stars

Simply put, this book irked me. Why? I was expecting homage to Alfred Hitchcock and what I got was a silly tale that included The Liberal Trifecta: Two mommies discussing gay marriage heard it on NPR, so it must be true, and an opinion on climate change! I just wanted to read the story of the girl in the green raincoat sans political commentary of the left or right. If I want commentary, I watch Fox News or CNN. And these subplots were longer than the pages that directly pertained to the story!

Thirty-six year old Baltimore P I, Tess Monaghan is Preeclamptic and bored out of her skull. Confined to a chaise-lounge in her winter garden porch, she begins to watch the dog walkers going into the Dog Park across the street. An Italian greyhound in a green raincoat catches her eye because his mistress has the same matching celery green coat on. But after several days of seeing the pair, the dog bolts out of the park with his leash trailing, empty. Some days pass and the fashionable pair don’t return to the park. What happened to them? Monaghan is determined to find out.

Sounds good, right? Especially when Tess finds out the identity of her missing gal and notes that the woman’s husband has had 2 wives and a girlfriend who are all dead and claims his current wife is on a business trip. Though the toy greyhound is found, Don doesn’t want anything to do with poor Dempsey. The dog is a little insane, but wouldn’t Carole want her pet safely at home, ready for their evening walks when she returns?

But what really ticked me off the most is the ending. Tess is rushed to the hospital and has an emergency C- Section. Two days later Carla Scout (what a stupid name) has a hemorrhage, but is miraculously fine according to the Author’s Note. Lippman’s next installment may have Tess and Carla Scout working together in Monahan’s office. REALLY? I had a similar experience during my birth, and I am not fine. I have had many surgeries to allow me to walk without leg braces and my left arm and hand is partially paralyzed with some palsy too.

Also bothering me was why Tess refused to set up a nursery. Why she was she so afraid of that, but not to have her door unlocked? Yes the “bad guy” comes strolling in to get Tess. And yes, the outcome was both comical and predictable. The story was a bore with the exception of the toy Italian greyhound, Dempsey. His antics had me laughing, but the book had me seething. I have deleted 2 books from my NOOK by Lippman. I won’t be reading her again.
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Jul 14, 2011 Melissa Caldwell rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a part of a series but I was able to get into it right away! It's a very fun and quirky kind of mystery novel, not to mention quick! Tess is a pregnant, grumpy, and bored stiff private investigator that has been put on bed-rest. She's going completely insane being confined to bed. Especially since she's not completely convinced she is happy about the prospect of becoming a mother!

She requires something to do to occupy her time, so she starts people watching out of her window. Its then th...more

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Jan 19, 2011 Laura rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Girl in the Green Raincoat is a thriller reminiscent of Hitchcock’s Rear Window, if the character played by Jimmy Stewart was instead a feisty detective named Tess Monaghan. Tess is heavily pregnant and is on bed rest for preeclampsia. She spends a lot of her time watching out her window and notices a woman in a green raincoat who walks her dog each day. The dog is also dressed in a matching green raincoat. One day the dog runs through the park alone without the woman. When Tess tries to fin...more The Girl in the Green Raincoat is a thriller reminiscent of Hitchcock’s Rear Window, if the character played by Jimmy Stewart was instead a feisty detective named Tess Monaghan. Tess is heavily pregnant and is on bed rest for preeclampsia. She spends a lot of her time watching out her window and notices a woman in a green raincoat who walks her dog each day. The dog is also dressed in a matching green raincoat. One day the dog runs through the park alone without the woman. When Tess tries to find out the fate of the woman, she discovers that the woman’s husband has had a string of wives who have disappeared mysteriously. Will Tess be able to find the girl in the green raincoat?

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It was a quick read and once I started reading it, I couldn’t put it down. The characters are wonderfully developed. Tess is a great character. She is used to standing on her own as a detective and is suddenly depending on others to do the legwork for her. This causes frustration. At the same time she is trying to solve the mystery, she is having concerns about her boyfriend Crow, and about becoming a mother for the first time.

I found Tess to be very relatable as I just had my third child this past October. I was down and out with hypomesis gravidum at the beginning of the pregnancy. It is no fun when you are a hostage of your own body. Her fears and concerns are the same as all women when you are about to become a mother for the first time.

I am a huge Hitchcock fan and I loved the shades of Rear Window in The Girl in the Green Raincoat. The ending of this novel does not disappoint, it is a thriller through and through.

While I have previously read a Laura Lippman novel, it was not one of her Tess Monaghan mystery novels. This novel was great on its own having never read the series. Having said that, I will definitely be checking out the rest of the series!

Lippman’s prose in this novel is exquisite. There were many quotes that were so witty that I laughed out loud.

Overall, The Girl in the Green Raincoat is an excellent novel with witty dialogue, fantastic characters, and a thrilling plot.
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About Laura Lippman

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 Girl in the Green Raincoat (Tess Monaghan #11)

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