Hush Hush

Starred review from December 8, 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.

September 15, 2014

Lippman brings back popular private eye Tess Monaghan--but with a difference. Tess now has a toddler and a new partner, retired Baltimore P.D. homicide detective Sandy Sanchez. Here they're assessing security issues for the haughty Melisandre, who's returning to Baltimore to reconcile with her daughters, having ceded custody following the death of her youngest daughter in her care. Then Melisandre becomes a murder suspect. With a 150,000-copy first printing.

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Starred review from December 15, 2014
Motherhood plus murder equals one intense, uproarious, and riveting mystery from a classy crime writer of wit and wisdom. Lippman introduced former homicide detective Sandy Sanchez in After I'm Gone (2014). He returns in the employ of Lippman's signature sharp-tongued sleuth, Tess Monaghan, whom readers haven't seen since The Girl in the Green Raincoat (2011). A lot has happened, namely, her bossy three-year-old daughter, Carla Scout. Tess is now a gun-packing momma, delirious from sleep deprivation and the perpetual demands of a willful toddler and not at all well-disposed toward her wealthy and glamorous new client. Melisandre Harris Dawes fled Baltimore a decade ago after killing her two-month-old daughter and being acquitted by reason of criminal insanity. Now she's hired a struggling documentary filmmaker, Harmony Burns, to record her reunion with her two surviving teenage daughters. Lippman makes shrewd use of the interviews Harmony conducts as threats and revelations complicate Melisandre's plan. With an intriguing cast of characters, stinging dialogue, hilarious moments, and a superbly convoluted and suspenseful plot, Lippman has created an incisive and provocative tale about parents good and evil. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Best-selling Lippman's fans will rejoice as the return of wisecracking sleuth Tess Monaghan is heralded by an author tour and major print, broadcast, and online publicity campaigns.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)