Hush Hush by Laura Lippman + a Giveaway

Hi, readers! Today I'm a stop on the TLC book tour for Laura Lippman's latest Tess Monaghan entry, Hush Hush. To go along with my post today, I'm offering up a brand new trade paperback of the very first Tess Monaghan mystery, Baltimore Blues. Be sure to read through to the end to enter.

Tess and her new assistant, Sandy, have been hired to serve as security consultants for one of Baltimore's most notorious murderers. Melisandre Dawes was deemed not guilty by reason of insanity when she was tried for the murder of her two month old baby. Now, over a decade later, she's returned to Charm City to reunite with her two teenage daughters and produce a film on the insanity defense. The job comes Tess's way through her old friend Tyner Gray, but while the lawyer vouches for Melisandre Tess isn't so sure the woman can be trusted. 

I have to apologize for my late posting today - we spent the last week back home where we attended TWO weddings and related festivities. It's been CRAZY and I'm still recovering. But Hush Hush couldn't have been more timely thanks to that - returning to Tess and Lippman, who can always be relied on for engaging reading, meant that I could recuperate some while still enjoying an overall clever mystery.

Hush Hush switches between various narrators including Tess and Sandy, as well as Melisandre, her two daughters, and even her ex's new spouse. Interestingly, the story also includes transcription-style chapters reflecting interviews done for Melisandre's documentary. Those various viewpoints paired with the goings-on of the story itself mean that the reader can be certain very early on that someone isn't being completely forthright. And yet figuring out the who-done-it as well as the why is pretty elusive.

This twelfth installment of the series brings back a whole cast of series characters including Tyner (who is a big part of Baltimore Blues) and Sandy (the retired detective from After I'm Gone). The book also gives Tess's fans a first look at her life as a mother. Carla Scout is three and a complete handful with as much spunk as her PI mom. Considering the initial focus of the case, both the job and the demands of motherhood have a heavy impact on Tess here. It's great to see her - and those around her - continue to grow with the series.

(My reading was timely, too, because I received a copy of the Mystery Writers of America Cookbook and surprisingly had everything on hand to make Lippman's "Aunt Effie's Salmon Ball" as a snack to go along with the book.)

As a whole, Hush Hush made for fabulous post travel recovery reading and great icky snow day reading as well.

Rating: 5/5

To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here.

For more on Laura Lippman and her work, you can find her on the web here. You can also like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter. As an added bonus, you can also head over to the publisher's new Tess Is Back site for series info, excerpts, and giveaways!

And now for my own giveaway: to enter simply fill out the Rafflecopter below before Monday, March 16. Open US only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway