Baltimore Blues

Tess Monaghan, Book 1

By: Laura Lippman

Narrated by: Deborah Hazlett

Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Unemployed at 29, Tess Monaghan is willing to take any freelance job to pay the rent—including a bit of unorthodox snooping for her rowing buddy, Darryl "Rock" Paxton. In a city where someone is murdered almost every day, attorney Michael Abramowitz's death should be just another statistic. But the slain lawyer's notoriety—and his noontime trysts with Rock's fiancée—make the case front page news...and point to Rock as the likely murderer. But trying to prove her friend's innocence could prove costly to Tess.

©1997 Laura Lippman (P)2008 BBC Audiobooks

I Put This Series Off Far Too Long

The Tess Monaghan series has been on my TBR stack for a while now. After reading Baltimore Blues, I am glad I finally started the series. It was a little dated, but the book has a good mystery that was predictable enough that the final ending didn't seem totally contrived, but with an interesting twist I didn't see coming. I enjoyed the humor and several of the secondary characters. Tess seemed very immature to me, prone to bad decision making and somewhat ambiguous at best. However, the first book seemed to address her evolution. At the end, I think she was starting to grow into a character strong enough to support a prolific and very successful series. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series.

I thought the Narration was very good.

Fun mystery for Baltimore natives

I would say the plot/ story is just okay, nothing great. But as a Baltimore born person who lived in Maryland most of my life, it was a hoot. Totally enjoyed reminiscing about locations, restaurants, the Orioles and everything that reminds me of home. The author makes fun of the dialect and other quirky things that only those from the area would know. Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Laura Lippmann. Well done. Narrator was very good also.

wonderful 1st mystery book - i want to hear more

I was looking for Maryland history. This book was suggested. Puts me in recent history in Maryland's largest city. Now I'm hooked and will seek out Charm City in my local library. thank you Ms. Lippman

Very interesting; couldn't stop listening

It pulled me in immediately with descriptive writing and effective narration that allowed me to see and feel the story unfolding. It left me with a very vivid picture and a desire to hear more about Tess and the other characters which are likely to appear in subsequent books. I'm not sure why I initially chose this, but my next picks will be others in this series.

Excellent

Great book with many twists and turns. I almost didn't buy this book because of the negative reviews. So glad I didn't listen to them.

Great series!

Surfing for new books and a Laura Lippman, Tess Monaghan mystery catches my attention. I have been a member since 2009. I have over a thousand books. It is unusual to discover a female detective story I have not read.

Baltimore Blues is a great start to a series. Tess is a well-defined character. We recognize that she has been just exiting for a few years since she lost her job. She is intelligent, lazy, resourceful and a loyal friend. She has come to a point like so many of us that she just does not have the energy to even think about what she wants to do. She is like a two-year-old refusing to see that, it does not matter how long you want something. If it is no longer there, it is just not there.

She has lost her job and cannot find a similar job. She is no longer in a relationship but has accepted being a booty call knowing the man is in a relationship. She accepts this demeaning relationship just as she does the job from her uncle. Unbeknownst to her he paying her from his saving. She has fallen into a rut of just getting by and losing her self-respect in the process. Even when she exercises she is not really committed to the sport. A friend offers her a job, the money is good and the mystery begins.

This first novel does an excellent job of documenting the evolution of Tess from a journalist to freelance investigator. It is a very logical progression for Tess with her skill set. The supporting characters add wit and interest. Tess lives in the small apartment over her aunt’s bookstore. There are only 12 years difference between the age of Tess and her aunt. They have a friendship while maintaining the familia relationship. a great story in how her aunt gets the money to buy the book store.

This is not an action pack read. But it is a good mystery laying the ground work for the following books in the series. I will be reading more in the Tess series. I would love to go the Baltimore just to watch the boat races/rowing races. Lippman does a wonderful job of giving an insight to what it takes for a rower. Do not let the low rating of some reviews put you off. Yes, it is not a fast paced. For the credit and the flexible return policy get the book. I am going to re-read the one I purchased in 2009.

I enjoyed this book.

this was a good book. I liked the caracters. the ending was a little blah, but mist if the book kept my interest.

Better than I expected

When I want a "who done it", I generally gravitate towards British authors. Americans usually have too much ... something: gratuitous vulgarity or sex or violence or all of the above. The heroines in such novels always seem to make a habit of doing the same remarkably stupid thing over and over. "Gosh. The last time I went out alone investigating a dark and lonely warehouse, I almost died! Well...things like that never happen twice!" And they do.

I was most impressed with this book. It was guilty of none of the above. Personally, I can't help but love an author that can manage to use the word "penultimate" in the very earliest chapters of a story. That sort of thing suggests a deep appreciation for the possibilities of language, a true writer.

I enjoyed listening. The action was well-balanced. I almost didn't know who did it until it was revealed. The city of Baltimore is treated as another character in the story, which is a nice touch. I have no criticisms of the narrator.

I believe I'll go get book #2 now.

Pretty Good

Overall it was pretty good. The Baltimore accents were terrible, but the sorry for the most part held my interest. I plan on listening to more Tess Monahan stories.

A story where Baltimore is one of the main characters

This story even without the magical inclusion of an amazing city as a great character; was a work of art. Every single, even minor character was well flushed out. the story was interesting, believable and although the plot which was extremely well executed drove the story; it was superseded by the very interesting characters. Even if they were one or two paragraphs they are fully developed and three-dimensional
three seconds after finishing this book I went and downloaded every other book that I could find on Audible.
The narrator was excellent excellent. She was spot on when she did Baltimore accents-perfect fit.