The Last Place

There's nothing more satisfying than a clichéd plot that is done well enough to be elevated to something more significant.

In the detective noir genre, there's nothing more chlichéd than a serial killer, and The Last Place is Lippman's obligatory serial killer book. It starts out with a scene that, with another author, might be treated as a joke. Lippman's private investigator protagonist, Tess Monaghan, at her friend Whitney's instigation, tricks a wannabe pedophile into taking his own date rape drugs and then denudes him of his hair with a few well-placed squirts of Nair. But the reason why I respect Lippman as a writer is that in her world, actions have consequences. Although Tess (and the narrator) initially present these actions show more as humorous, Tess quickly ends up with felony charges and court-mandated anger management therapy. Whitney, characteristically not particularly apologetic for her part in the escapade, tries to make amends by presenting Tess with what should be an easy case to solve. Of course, Whitney's case turns out to be more than it seems, and Tess is pulled into a game in which she is both the hunter and the prey for a serial killer.

So why, then, is this the first Laura Lippman book I've ever given a 5 to? The only thing more chlichéd than a serial killer is a serial killer who goes after a bevy of beautiful women, starts to fixate on the detective, and provides snippets of chapters from his own viewpoint. While The Last Place is indeed all of those things, it is yet something more. It is a book about symmetry and consequences. It retraces Tess's steps and her entrance into her new profession and manages to compare Tess's own state of mind to the psyche of a serial killer. For once, the serial killer is not an above-average genius and Lippman does not approach him with awe or fascination. Instead, she tries to examine how perhaps neutral or even good emotions can be twisted and taken too far, and draws parallels to Tess's own actions in the process. At the same time, this isn't an adventure book in which the oh-so-brilliant detective is always multiple steps ahead of his adversary. Tess is repeatedly played by the killer, and her path to discovering him depends on chance and the help of others and her own dogged determination just as much as any mental acuity. Lippman's books usually unabashedly confront various feminist themes, and this book is no exception, as it explores the Pygmalion-and-Galatea attitude that can both create and destroy relationships and people. What I think I loved most was the symmetry, as it takes us back to Tess's first adventure (Baltimore Blues) and both answers and reopens some of the questions there.

Tess is a dynamic and startlingly imperfect character, and in my first interactions with her, I was disgusted by her egocentrism and sense of entitlement. The narration, although in third person, presents the world from Tess's viewpoint, and I had trouble sympathizing with a character so self-righteous or an author who seemingly approved so readily of her character's thoughtless and selfish actions. I underestimated Lippman. In each subsequent book, Tess has grown a little, and been forced to look back on her previous actions. That is most true in this book, in which Tess is forced to try to understand herself as well as the man who is hunting her.

Altogether, despite its rather standard plot, The Last Place not only is an interesting read, but turns the previous books in the series into something more. show less

Wow. This was really good. We have Tess pulled into an investigation that has her in the crosshairs of someone that wants to show Tess how good he would be for her. That without him, she wouldn't be who she is now. This whole book is a wonderful look at so many things I don't even know where to start. With a case that lands Tess into mandatory anger management. With her realizing how great her relationship with her boyfriend is mostly because he's not there to tell her what to do, but support her. Her making friends with a down and out former cop who has a lot of ideas about how "women" are supposed to act. The ending was thrilling and I can't wait to see what Tess gets up to next.

"The Last Place" starts with Tess and Whitney (often her show more partner in crime) following a man that they know tried to solicit a family member of Whitney's online. At one point there is actually an argument from someone that the guy wasn't a pedophile because he was trying to date teen girls, and I maybe dry heaved a bit. Tess and Whitney want to get the guy's name and blackmail him, but the evening takes a turn when Tess realizes he was planning on drugging and raping her and Tess and Whitney get a little payback. Cue Tess being arrested for assault and the judge wanting to make an example of her by giving her probation but ordering her into anger management because the guy who was trying to solicit young girls online is the real victim here. No words you guys.

From there Tess starts therapy and is haunted still by the loss of her ex from book #1. She knows why he died and who was behind it, but Tess has kept that secret for a long time. Things get a bit worse for Tess when Whitney pulls her into a case investigation five deaths that Whitney and other foundations want to take a closer look at to see if the police investigating the deaths did all they could. The cases take Tess down a winding path and have her realizing that the deaths may possibly be connected to a potential serial killer.

Tess is great in this one. Feeling settled in her home with Crow and the dogs she is still working as an investigator. Though the anger management therapy is annoying, she has to do it for only 6 months. The therapist does pry some things loose from Tess, but honestly I didn't like the guy. Way too many men in this story seemed to think the case that involved Tess wasn't a miscarriage of justice. I am not saying a woman should Nair the hair off a potential rapist and draw on his terrible ass with a sharpie, but I am not saying you shouldn't do it either. I mean don't do it if you can get caught.

Tess has great instincts and her realizing the cases that she initially thought weren't an issue and circling back to realizing that they are connected was great.

Lippman introduces a character called Harry in this one who investigates one of the deaths that Tess was called into review. Harry has a total backwards view of women and a few times he exploded at Tess while they were working together and I didn't like the guy. I could see though why Tess ends up feeling sorry for him though and realizing that he does have good instincts. Both Tess and Harry are trying to prove something in this one and I liked how Lippman eventually leads us back to the first case that Tess was involved in.

The book also provides us with the killer's POV and then we switch back to Tess. I honestly don't think adding the killer's POV helped things and actually distracted from Tess figuring out what is going on. Also, even though I gave this five stars, it seems like in every mystery novel starring a strong female lead, we have a serial killer getting obsessed with the main character.

The writing was good and Lippman gives a great description of areas around Maryland and Virginia. One of the reasons why I like these books is I get a kick out of reading about places I have been to in real life.

The ending was a shocker and it does live Tess changed. I can't wait until the next book! show less

Tess gets a job working for a team of nonprofits who want to show that domestic violence cases are not getting the attention they deserve. Tess accepts the position somewhat reluctantly, as it involves interviewing detectives and victim families of five unsolved murders chosen from different agencies in the state of Maryland.

But wait. First, Tess and best friend Whitney Talbot decide to interfere with the activities of an apparent sex offender - a man who meets teen girls online and draws them into his web. When they find the offender they take considerable delight in humiliating him and making it clear that they are onto him. Their little scheme, however, backfires. As a result of their mischief, Tess ends up "sentenced" to spend six show more months with a therapist to work on anger management. This is something many of us believe could be helpful, having read other books in the series.

So Tess starts out hunting down info on these unsolveds and almost immediately runs into some odd coincidences and what looks like an error in the choice. She does not let go easily, and this is no exception. Although she was not hired to find the killers in these cases, she heads off on a bit of a tangent and ultimately discovers that she may have been set up.

There is a serial killer in this one, and we are treated to learning of his actions by way of separate chapters set in a different font. These sections reveal what the killer is thinking and doing. This is very like what many other mystery writers do: get inside the minds of their evil ones and show how their warped minds work. Unfortunately, as with the others, this one is pretty much standard fare. Nothing particularly interesting about him, and his interest in Tess means, of course, that ultimately they will face off. We could see this coming on page 1. I honestly wish our writers would endow the killers with a little more personality as long as we have to listen to them or watch them work. Give us something more interesting.

On another note, I rather enjoyed Tess's sessions with her therapist. Perhaps there is more of that to come. show less

I'm way behind on my Tess Monaghan books and hadn't read one in a while. I love the character so much. I loved the psychiatrist. I loved Carl. The plot was a bit convoluted, but Lippman ties it all together quite nicely at the end. Not her best, but another good solid read.

I just love Tess Monaghan. She's a flawed heroine who tries her best and gets into scrapes, but champions the underdog and never gives up.
Tess has to confront some people from her past when she's hired by the board of Whitney's foundation to look into some old cases that may be about domestic abuse. Also, someone is stalking her. The two may or may not be related.
This one was just creepy, but very suspenseful and kept me turning pages.

the stories feel like they are getting a bit grittier and creepier as this series progresses. in this book, lippman gives 'tess' opportunities to show vulnerability, and brings in a couple of new supporting characters who are used really well. lippman is great at projecting mood and urgency with her writing.

Synopsis: Tess has been hired by a philanthropic group to see if the police bungles five murders that might be the result of domestic violence. As it turns out she has actually been hired by her arch nemesis, Luisa O'Neal, to find the serial killer who is on the loose.
Review: This is one of the best of the series. Tess is having to face her weaknesses, the murder that started her career is finally solved, and she has to learn to work with someone else on an equal footing. She also must face her guilt about taking a life.