Seasonal Work: Stories

by Laura Lippman, Sarah Naughton (Read by), Xe Sands (Read by), George Newbern (Read by), Carlotta Brentan (Read by)

Overview

In a suspenseful collection of stories featuring fierce women—including one never-before-published novella—New York Times bestseller Laura Lippman showcases why she is one of today’s top crime writers.

The award-winning master of psychological suspense is in top form in this collection of diverse and diabolically clever stories.

In the never-before-published “Just One More,” a married couple—longing for that old romantic spark—creates a playful diversion that comes with unexpected consequences.

Lippman’s beloved Baltimore PI Tess Monaghan keeps a watchful eye on a criminally resourceful single father in “Seasonal Work,” while her mother, Judith, realizes that the life of “The Everyday Housewife” is an excellent cover for all kinds of secrets.

In “Slow Burner,” a husband’s secret cell phone proves to be a dicey temptation for a suspicious wife.

A father’s hidden past piques the curiosity of a young snoop in “The Last of Sheila-Locke Holmes.”

Plus seven other brilliantly crafted stories of deception, murder, dangerous games, and love gone wrong—irrefutable evidence that Laura Lippman’s riveting fiction will more than satisfy any crime reader.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798200851072
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	01/04/2022
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 5.70(h) x (d)

About the Author

Laura Lippman is a New York Times bestselling novelist who has won more than twenty awards for her fiction, including the Edgar Award—and been nominated for thirty more. Since her debut in 1997, she has published almost two dozen novels, a novella, a children’s book, and a collection of short stories. Her books have been translated into over twenty languages. Laura lives in Baltimore with her husband, David Simon, and their daughter.

Sarah Naughton is an AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator and New York City–based actress, singer, comedienne, and voice-over artist. She began her work in the audiobook industry in high school, recording a few young adult titles with the Syracuse-based company Full Cast Audio.

Xe Sands has more than a decade of experience bringing stories to life through narration, performance, and visual art, including recordings of the Nightwalkers series from Jaquelyn Frank. She has received several honors, including AudioFile Earphones Awards and a coveted Audie Award, and she was named Favorite Debut Romance Narrator of 2011 in the Romance Audiobooks poll.

George Newbern is an Earphones Award–winning narrator and a television and film actor best known for his roles as Brian MacKenzie in Father of the Bride and Father of the Bride Part II, as well as Danny in Friends. As a voice actor, he is notable for his role as Superman on the Cartoon Newtork series Static Shock, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited. He has guest starred on many television series, including Scandal, The Mentalist, Private Practice, CSI: Miami, and Numb3rs. He holds a BA in theater arts from Northwestern University.

Carlotta Brentan is a voice talent and audiobook narrator.

Susan Bennett, Earphones Award-winning narrator, has enjoyed an extensive career as a vocal artist. She has worked with major agencies on such accounts as Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, AT&T, Blue Cross, Goodyear, and Club Med. She also dabbles in the music industry as the singer and keyboardist for The Interactive! Band. Along with her guitarist husband, Rick Hinkle, she is the co-owner of Audiocam Music, a full-service recording studio.

Janina Edwards, an Earphone Award–winning narrator, is a graduate of the acting program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Jesse Vilinsky is a classically trained actress and voice actor, having graduated from the USC School of Dramatic Arts and BADA in London. She has lent her voice to numerous film and television projects and has worked on various video games, animation, and commercial projects as well. As a narrator, Jesse has garnered recognition in AudioFile magazine for her expertly voiced characters and ability to bring forth the strength and truth of their stories.

Sophie Amoss is a voice talent and Earphones Award–winning narrator.

Eileen Stevens is a voice-over actress living and working in New York City whose voice can be heard on cartoons, promos, programs for English-language learners, and audiobooks. She has voiced Iris on Pokémon. An Earphones Award–winning narrator, she has also directed and produced audiobooks for over six years.

Jason Culp, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, has been acting since the age of ten, and his credits include a variety of television, theater, and film roles. He is best known for his role as Julian Jerome on General Hospital. In addition to audiobooks and voice-over work in national commercials, he has also narrated documentaries for National Geographic and the History Channel.

Eva Kaminsky is a New York–based actor and audiobook narrator with over 150 titles to her credit. She trained at Boston University and has acted in numerous productions on television and film, including Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Happyish, Ugly Betty, ER, Numbers, Law & Order, and others.

Coming soon...

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

11/29/2021

Bestseller Lippman (Dream Girl) displays her uncanny understanding of human nature and all its foibles in this worthy collection of 12 stories involving deceit, violence, and psychological mayhem. In the edgy “Slow Burner,” a married couple, Liz and Phil, engage in metaphorical fisticuffs after healing from the husband’s infidelity a year previously. Then Liz finds a burner phone in the laundry basket with incriminating texts on it. She tries to trivialize it as an example of Phil’s “delight in being new to someone, anyone,” but soon realizes this affair runs as deeply as the first. She takes matters into her own hands, with frightening results. Another standout is “Five Fires,” in which a jealous small-town deli worker is determined to find the arsonist setting nearby fires, but her schizophrenia conceals the shocking truth about the crimes. Booksellers will relish “The Book Thing,” in which PI Tess Monaghan, Lippman’s series lead, catches the man stealing inventory from indie bookstores—and discovers his extraordinary use for the books. Not every entry is top-notch, but anything from Lippman is worth reading. Agent: Vicky Bijur, Vicky Bijur Literary. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

This collection of a dozen delightful stories from Lippman (Tess Monaghan series; Dream Girl) features resourceful women from many walks of life... A must for Lippman fans and devotees of female-empowerment crime fiction.” — Library Journal (starred review)

"Clever, well-paced, laced with humor and insight—damn fine short stories." — Kirkus Reviews

“Lippman displays her uncanny understanding of human nature and all its foibles in this worthy collection of 12 stories involving deceit, violence, and psychological mayhem.” — Publishers Weekly

“Some writers are good at novels but not short stories (or the other way around); Lippman aces both... they put on display Lippman’s skill at crafting suspense, her way of dropping a detail deep into the story that skews the reader’s perspective a little—or a lot.” — Tampa Bay Times

“Laura Lippman’s chronicles of Baltimore—and the human heart—shine in this collection of 12 short stories that examine betrayal and emotional blackmail that can spiral out of control. . . . Long-time fans of Lippman will devour Seasonal Work, which also serves as an entry point for new Lippman readers.” — Florida Sun-Sentinel

"All in all, this is a first-rate collection, an obvious must for the legions of Lippman fans, but also great reading for anyone who savors short crime fiction." — Booklist (starred review)

"“A masterful collection... Zipping through this section of the collection is inevitable.” — Woman Around Town

"Her celebratory gift to avid fans and new readers alike is Seasonal Work, an electrifying collection of short stories, which includes a compelling new novella. Lippman is a literary luminary, shining as brightly as the towering, red neon Domino Sugars sign that proclaims “Home” to returning Baltimoreans." — BookTrib

“[Lippman] only seems to be getting better.” — Entertainment Weekly

From the Publisher

"Her celebratory gift to avid fans and new readers alike is Seasonal Work, an electrifying collection of short stories, which includes a compelling new novella. Lippman is a literary luminary, shining as brightly as the towering, red neon Domino Sugars sign that proclaims “Home” to returning Baltimoreans."

BookTrib

Laura Lippman’s chronicles of Baltimore—and the human heart—shine in this collection of 12 short stories that examine betrayal and emotional blackmail that can spiral out of control. . . . Long-time fans of Lippman will devour Seasonal Work, which also serves as an entry point for new Lippman readers.

Florida Sun-Sentinel

"“A masterful collection... Zipping through this section of the collection is inevitable.

Woman Around Town

"All in all, this is a first-rate collection, an obvious must for the legions of Lippman fans, but also great reading for anyone who savors short crime fiction."

Booklist (starred review)

[Lippman] only seems to be getting better.

Entertainment Weekly

"Some writers are good at novels but not short stories (or the other way around); Lippman aces both... they put on display Lippman’s skill at crafting suspense, her way of dropping a detail deep into the story that skews the reader’s perspective a little — or a lot."

Tampa Bay Times

Great book. Well paced. Beautifully observed details. Interesting characters and nuance in the right places. [...] Thoroughly enjoyed this book and the protagonist who is flawed and brilliant and ruthless and unapologetic.

Roxane Gay

Haunting . . . extraordinary . . . Lippman, who is the closest writer America has to Ruth Rendell, is after bigger game. The arc of Maddie’s character—her mid-1960s ‘journey,’ if you like—reflects the gulf which then existed between what women were expected to be and what they aspired to be.

Stephen King

Baltimore in the mid-1960s is the setting of Lady in the Lake, the latest novel from the ever impressive Laura Lippman...Lippman’s book is revelatory, too, in showing the personal and professional costs to others—friends, loved ones, sources, witnesses—of Maddie’s single-minded quest for achievement and recognition.

Wall Street Journal

Inspired by the unsolved death of Shirley Parker... Lippman’s ambitious novel weaves some 20 points of view into a seamless, vivid whole. The novel demonstrates that Lippman, a former Baltimore Sun reporter, is both a skilled journalist and a masterful novelist.

Washington Post

[Lippman] tells a classic mystery through the prism of many characters, all feeling the reverberations of dawning feminism and racial tension in civil-rights-era Baltimore...Lady in the Lake is aching, thoughtful, and compulsively readable.

Vanity Fair

Don’t miss this novel.

Anna Quindlen

Inspired by the unsolved death of Shirley Parker... Lippman’s ambitious novel weaves some 20 points of view into a seamless, vivid whole. The novel demonstrates that Lippman, a former Baltimore Sun reporter, is both a skilled journalist and a masterful novelist.

Washington Post

Baltimore in the mid-1960s is the setting of Lady in the Lake, the latest novel from the ever impressive Laura Lippman...Lippman’s book is revelatory, too, in showing the personal and professional costs to others—friends, loved ones, sources, witnesses—of Maddie’s single-minded quest for achievement and recognition.

Wall Street Journal

03/01/2022

Lippman's (Dream Girl) short story collection begins with "Seasonal Work," in which listeners discover a man's peculiar Christmas traditions. This ensemble of suspenseful and sometimes even sinister narratives will leave listeners amazed by the cleverness and deceit of the diverse range of characters. All of the stories were previously published in other works except "Just One More," which was recently written to reflect life during the pandemic. The tales are brought to life by a large cast of narrators including the author, Sophie Amoss, Eileen Stevens, Susan Bennett, Xe Sands, Jason Culp, George Newbern, Janina Edwards, Jane Oppenheimer, Jesse Vilinsky, Carlotta Brentan, Eva Kaminsky, and Sarah Naughton. From a housewife who enjoys snooping around the neighborhood to a man who regularly scams people for money, each character and detail was meticulously crafted to make these stories stand out. VERDICT Fans of the author, as well as anyone who enjoys mystery short stories, will find more than one entry in this collection to love.—Lacey Webster

Library Journal - Audio

★ 12/01/2021

This collection of a dozen delightful stories from Lippman ("Tess Monaghan" series; Dream Girl) feature resourceful women from many walks of life. In the title story, a 14-year-old relates her grifter stepfather's cunning Christmas con; the early 1960s-set "The Everyday Housewife" has Tess Monaghan's mother evading ennui by observing her neighbors; a "Cougar" mom contends with her meth-dealing, freeloading son and his girlfriend; a girl trapped in the "Ice" of a skating pond contemplates the real events of her drowning death while another girl skates on thin ice above. Lippman's heroines are not easily scorned or fooled, except occasionally by themselves. This is evident in the haunting "Five Fires," and in the only new novella in the collection, the COVID-tinged "Just One More," with a couple in lockdown trying to revive their marriage. Even when readers see the punchline coming, they will enjoy the intricate characterizations, excellent sense of place, and eagle-eyed cultural references. The last three stories in the collection are the strongest, especially "Slow Burner," about a cheating husband, a suspicious wife, and an extra cell phone. VERDICT A must for Lippman fans and devotees of female-empowerment crime fiction.—Liz French, Library Journal

Library Journal

Each of these suspenseful stories, written over 12 years, is told by a uniquely talented narrator. The variety contributes to the listener’s sense of dipping into different perspectives. Dark plots and fierce females are common threads. The author herself delivers the afterword, in which she explains how she rewrote older stories that hadn’t aged well. “Just One More” is a novella featuring a married couple who sign up for a dating app during the Covid pandemic to see if they would be matched with each other. When one spouse takes the game more seriously than the other, it sparks intrigue during an otherwise boring time. Like the other narrators in the collection, Sarah Naughton uses her range of tones well. A.L.C. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

JANUARY 2022 - AudioFile

Each of these suspenseful stories, written over 12 years, is told by a uniquely talented narrator. The variety contributes to the listener’s sense of dipping into different perspectives. Dark plots and fierce females are common threads. The author herself delivers the afterword, in which she explains how she rewrote older stories that hadn’t aged well. “Just One More” is a novella featuring a married couple who sign up for a dating app during the Covid pandemic to see if they would be matched with each other. When one spouse takes the game more seriously than the other, it sparks intrigue during an otherwise boring time. Like the other narrators in the collection, Sarah Naughton uses her range of tones well. A.L.C. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

JANUARY 2022 - AudioFile

2021-12-24
Playful tales of misdeeds great and small from the prolific mystery author.

Lippman fans will be glad to hear that the first two stories in her second collection of short fiction—after Hardly Knew Her (2008)—feature Tess Monaghan, now-retired private investigator and star of a dozen mystery novels. The first, the title story, is about a long con featuring the wise child of a grifter dad; the second is a very Baltimorean story set in a children's bookstore with an ongoing shoplifting problem. The third story features a couple that insiders will recognize as Tess' parents in the years before she was born. Though Judith Monaghan is "The Everyday Housewife," her powers of observation and interest in the lives of others presage her daughter's talents—as one character points out, "It's a thin line between gossip and espionage." The remaining nine stories take on a sparkling array of everyday cheaters, liars, egotists, and sexist pigs. In "Slow Burner," a perfectly pleasant high school teacher "has been spying on [her husband] for so long it's hard to remember what she might know and what she can't know." But as her students point out during their mythology unit, "Hades is a kidnapper, plain and simple. Why should Persephone be punished for eating a few seeds?...To teenagers, the gods are like adults, taking themselves much too seriously, demanding respect they have not earned, changing the rules as it suits them while torturing the puny mortals in their care." Oof. As the author explains in an interesting afterword, the stories—four of which, she proudly notes, do not a include a dead body—were written between 2007 and 2019 and had to be updated slightly to conform to current standards. Sensitivity, however, only goes so far with a crime novelist. When the pandemic comes along in the last story, "Just One More," it only makes murder more acceptable. "Hundreds of people were dying every day. What was one more body on the pile?"

Clever, well-paced, laced with humor and insight—damn fine short stories.

Kirkus Reviews