Every year in real life a mysterious figure leaves roses and a half bottle of cognac on Edgar Allan Poe's grave in Baltimore. Author Lippman builds a murder mystery around this event, wherein series sleuth Tess Monaghan finds herself in the middle of a most bewilding set of circumstances. Likely to appeal to cozy readers more than fans of more traditionally hard-boiled PIs, but the numerous allusions to Poe, the father of the mystery genre, add a nice note of fun to the affair. KB. ( )

Every year in Baltimore, on the anniversary of the death of Edgar Allen Poe, a mysterious visitor leaves roses and liquor at Poe's grave site. After an odd man tries and fails to hire Tess Monaghan to be there, she goes anyway out of curiosity. TWO visitors show up, and one is shot and killed.

And then things get weird.

Good book, in a good series. ( )

In a Strange City is the sixth Tess Monaghan mystery from Laura Lippman. In this installment, Lippman makes use of a long-standing Baltimore tradition, the Poe Toaster or Visitor. If by some chance you aren't familiar with the Poe Toaster, he's the individual who shows up at Poe's grave on January 19th each year to leave roses and cognac. Only this year, there's a murder at Poe's grave when the Toaster is supposed to arrive.

Tess is not actually employed by anyone, but she begins to investigate who exactly the murder victim is and why he was murdered at Poe's grave site.

As with the previous Tess Monaghan books, I listened to this one on audio. However, the difference was a new reader, Laurence Bouvard. It's hard to hear a new voice when you've become accustomed to another voice as that character, but it was especially hard with this recording because Laurence Bouvard sounded like she was about 12. And her voice for Crow sounded pre-pubescent. All I could think of were those old prints that use to be available with various sports stars as little kids. Remember those? This reading simply did not work for me.

That being said, the plot of this caper was fantastic. I'm especially drawn to plots that weave in the classics. The Poe connection in Entombed was actually what got me started reading Linda Fairstein. Poe is a fascinating person from history, and Lippman did an excellent job of taking advantage of that Baltimore connection in this novel. And there is also the connection to Crow, who's real name is Edgar, and who's nickname evolved from Poe's The Raven poem.

And of course, I loved Lippman's treatment of the magic of this Baltimore ritual. The magic that almost mirrors that of Santa Claus. Everyone has the right to enjoy this ritual. And that belief sharply contrasts the covetous antagonists in the novel.

You have to pay attention in this novel because there is an intricate weaving of villains, but the investment is well worth it when the woven web catches it prey. The plot is fun, the characters are true to form - with a few new additions, and there's always a smattering of chuckles throughout. ( )

After rereading Enright's Melendy Quartet, I googled "spiderweb for two" and came across Laura Lippman's website, on which she had written that one of the plot points in this novel was inspired by that children's book. That was enough to make me read this mystery, which features the unknown 'Visitor' who stops by Edgar Allan Poe's grave on his birthday every year. It's a complex and interesting tale. I was not able to deduce the culprit before the final revelation. ( )