Hush Hush (Tess Monaghan Series #12)

by Laura Lippman

Overview

On a searing August day, Melisandre Harris Dawes left her infant daughter locked in a car while she sat nearby on the shores of the Patapsco River. Melisandre was found not guilty by reason of criminal insanity, although there was much skepticism about her mental state. Freed, she left the country, her husband and her two surviving children, determined to start over.

Now Melisandre has returned to Baltimore to meet with her estranged teenage daughters and wants to film the reunion for a documentary. But she relinquished custody and her ex isn't sure he approves.

Now that's she's a mother herself, Tess Monaghan wants nothing to do with a woman crazy enough to have killed her own child. But a friend has asked Tess and her new partner, Sandy Sanchez, to assess Melisandre's security needs.

A decade ago, a judge ruled that Melisandre was beyond rational thought. But was she? As her doubts about Melisandre grow, Tess realizes that she's under scrutiny as well, followed by a judgmental stalker with an ax to grind . . .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062369758
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/24/2015
Series:	Tess Monaghan Series , #12
Edition description:	Large Print
Pages:	464
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Since Laura Lippman's debut in 1997, she has won multiple awards and critical acclaim for thoughtful, timely crime novels set in her beloved hometown of Baltimore. Now a perennial New York Times bestselling author, she lives in Baltimore and New Orleans with her family.

Hometown:

Baltimore, Maryland

Date of Birth:

January 31, 1959

Place of Birth:

Atlanta, Georgia

Education:

B.S., Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University, 1981

Editorial Reviews

one of Lippman’s finest novels.

Chicago Tribune

…it's good to see Laura Lippman's scrappy Baltimore private eye, Tess Monaghan, back on the job in Hush Hush, a tough-minded but wonderfully entertaining book that might be called a parenting mystery…Lippman knows her stuff and introduces some clever plot twists and turns…But her character studies, largely drawn from the way people feel about having children, are exceptional.

The New York Times Book Review - Marilyn Stasio

★ 12/08/2014
In bestseller Lippman’s searing 12th installment in her series featuring Baltimore PI Tess Monaghan (last seen in the 2011 novella “The Girl in the Green Raincoat”), Tess, now the mother of a three-year-old girl with longtime boyfriend Crow, reluctantly takes a security job from attorney Tyner Gray, a family friend. Tyner represents Melisandre Harris Dawes, who, 12 years earlier, intentionally left her infant daughter in a hot car to die. Melisandre, a former lawyer, successfully argued that she suffered from postpartum psychosis, and was found not guilty by reason of insanity. She left Baltimore—and her two young daughters—behind, and moved abroad. Now Melisandre is back, with a documentary filmmaker in tow, to reunite with her daughters, 17-year-old Alanna and 15-year-old Ruby, who live with their father, Stephen, his new wife, and their baby. Tess, along with her new partner, ex-cop Sandy Sanchez, must assess Melisandre’s security risks. Lippman expertly delves into what it means to be mad—and more importantly, what comes next. Agent: Vicky Bijur, Vicky Bijur Literary Agency. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

one of Lippman’s finest novels.” — Chicago Tribune

From the Publisher

one of Lippman’s finest novels.

Chicago Tribune

★ 01/01/2015
In the 12th title in Lippman's best-selling series featuring Baltimore investigator Tess Monaghan (The Girl in the Green Raincoat), Tess is tasked with investigating a complex and disturbing woman. Melisandre Harris Dawes left her infant daughter unattended in a stifling hot car 12 years ago. After a lengthy murder trial that acquitted her by reason of insanity, Dawes left Maryland for a new life abroad. Now she's back, with a documentary camera in tow to film a hoped-for reunion with her two surviving children. However, not everyone is happy about Melisandre's return, including her ex-husband and teenage daughters. Tess and her partner have been hired to assess Melisandre's personal security. As a mother herself, Tess is skeptical about the woman's innocence and wary of her manipulations. But when another murder occurs and Melisandre is once again a suspect, Tess is drawn into the mystery of what happened so many years ago. VERDICT After writing several excellent stand-alone novels (After I'm Gone), Lippman returns to her popular series sleuth in this compelling mystery about a good mother gone bad. Strongly recommended for the author's fans as well as readers who enjoy stories about female PIs such as Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone.—Amy Hoseth, Colorado State Univ. Lib., Fort Collins

Library Journal

★ 2014-11-18
Lippman's latest installment in the Tess Monaghan series weaves an exploration of the joys and frustrations of motherhood with a clever and engaging mystery. In the last Monaghan mystery, The Girl in the Green Raincoat (2011), Tess solved a Rear Window-style crime when her doctor confined her to bed rest at the end of her pregnancy. Fast-forwarding three years, Lippman has brought Tess back, now the mother of toddler Carla Scout as well as a full-time PI. She has taken on a new partner, ex-homicide cop Sandy Sanchez (the protagonist of Lippman's excellent 2014 stand-alone, After I'm Gone), but even with Sandy's help Tess struggles to juggle her tantrum-prone daughter, her relationship with longtime boyfriend Crow and her work. The job in question is complex and juicy: Tess has been hired by the rich and haughty Melisandre Harris Dawes, who killed her infant daughter by leaving her in a sweltering car. Dawes was found not guilty by reason of insanity (specifically, postpartum psychosis), but after her trial, she gave away custody of her older daughters, divorced her husband and fled the country. Now she's returned to Baltimore and wants Tess to look into her security. She's also commissioned a documentary on the insanity defense, giving Lippman plenty of room to share her observations on our passion for reality TV and obsession with the most horrifying crimes. Before long, both Dawes and Tess are receiving notes with creepy stalker overtones, and the case takes a nasty, violent turn. Tess' constant worry about whether she's a good mother dovetails ironically with Dawes' fight to win her daughters back. Lippman dives deep not only into the ways women tend to question their choices and abilities, but also into whether all mothers, and kids, are a little crazy.

Kirkus Reviews