The Sugar House

PI Tess Monaghan is trying to identify a Jane Doe murder victim at the behest of the murderer’s sister, who also happens to be an old friend of Tess’ father. Unfortunately for Tess, and her family, the girl’s identity leads to a much deeper web of conspiracies, favors, and politics in the Baltimore area, and people are willing to kill to keep Tess from uncovering it all.
Lippman packs twists and turns in with red herrings and macguffins in this story. The action only slows to build more of Tess’ character, which is welcome. Tess’ friends and family are also growing and changing and becoming more dynamic and interesting character. This series has got everything it needs to keep on going for a long time, and I, for one, am glad show more of that. show less

This one is heartbreaking though at first I was confused by all of the players. Lippman does a great job of showing the consequences that Tess has to live with when she refuses to let a case go. Tess's family pays for it and it leaves her slightly estranged from her father. Considering that we never really got a sense that Tess's father was disapproving of what Tess did for a living, it was surprising to see him and Tess fighting in this one. In the end, the ending was very well done and I loved how Tess was about dealing with an eye for an eye (messing with her family does not go unpunished).

"The Sugar House" has Tess being asked to look into a murdered girl by one of Tess's father's friends. The woman who asks, Ruth, believes that her show more brother was set up to take the fall for a girl the police say he took back to his house and murdered. While in jail he was murdered, and Ruth wants someone to pay. Tess initially thinks this case is going to be one long dead end until she finds out enough clues to trace the unknown dead girl to a house for young teens who are dealing with eating disorders. As readers know, Tess dealt with an eating disorder when she was young, she also finds out her long time friend Whitney dealt with one as well.

When Tess starts to find links between the dead girl and possibly some people that her father knows, that is when things go from bad to worse.

We have the usual suspects in this one, Aunt Kitty, Jackie, Whitney, Uncle Spike and now we have Crow (he and Tess are trying again and are deliriously happy) and Tess's friends at the paper, along with her cop friend too.

I do love how Tess is still haunted by the choices she made in book #1 and realizes she doesn't want to just look the other way again. She knows that some people did something terrible to this girl and it stings that her father is telling her to let it go and who cares.

The writing was really good and I have to laugh at Whitney coming along as Tess's sidekick in this one.

The flow was great and I maybe read this one too fast. I was so worried that something was going to happen to several characters in this one.

The ending was great and it's nice to see that Tess is earning a good reputation as a private investigator. show less

Sense of place is strong in this Baltimore-centric novel. complete with political undertones. Well-drawn characters and a multi-faceted plot were also pluses. This was the fifth entry in the Tess Monaghan series and I found it to be better written and more compelling than the first, Baltimore Blues (which I lost interest in and never finished). I'm glad I started with this one so as to encourage me to read some of the others.

Book # 5 in the Tess Monaghan series has the former reporter turned private investigator taking on a job as a favor to her Dad. Ruthie is a waitress whose younger brother Henry died in prison after confessing to killing a girl. The girl was never identified, but Ruthie thinks that perhaps her brother was killed because of something to do with that Jane Doe. So she asks Tess to find out who the girl was. But the more she digs, the more Tess is puzzled by the intricate web of connections that seem to go nowhere.

I like this series and I really like Tess Monaghan. She’s intelligent, strong willed, confident, resourceful and tenacious. She keeps herself in shape, does not take unnecessary chances, and doesn’t rely on some “strong, show more handsome type” to get her out of a jam. Lippman fills the books with local references giving the reader a definite feel for the location. This one relies heavily on politics and the kinds of “favors” one official might do for another official or friend of an official. Her father working as a liquor inspector for the city, this causes some problems for their relationship. And, since Tess was an English major, Lippman also fills the novel with references to books – from mysteries to classics.

All in all, this is a solid mystery read; I’ll definitely continue with this series. show less

In #5 of the Tess Monaghan series, Tess is hired by an acquaintance of her father (Ruthie) to investigate the death of Ruthie's brother while he was imprisoned for manslaughter. This leads to investigating the victim of the manslaughter, a beautiful young woman who has unexpected ties to locations and people throughout Baltimore.

This is the 2nd Tess Monaghan book I've read, and I have to admit to being underwhelmed by both. Tess is an okay character -- she sometimes acts before thinking, but she's tough -- but I find the plots and writing style just mediocre, sometimes a bit choppy, and in this case I had a little trouble keeping track of character names (possibly because I was listening on audio). I also have mixed feelings about show more Barbara Rosenblat as a reader. She's competent enough, but something about her voice (which is deep & throaty, reminding me of a smoker's voice) grates on my nerves. show less

If I hadn't already purchased this, I might never have read another Tess Monaghan story after the last one. Which is lucky, because this was several degrees smarter. I'm not sure I can think of another series where the quality of the entries has been so varied - Block's Scudder books, perhaps.

This was political and plotty, with enough actual detecting and making things happen among all the coincidences and accidental witnesses. I actually feel good about continuing on with the series now even if the writing is still a little self-conscious and uneven.

In this fifth mystery of the Tess Monaghan detective series, Tess is now thirty, with plenty of business in her private detective agency, and back together with her boyfriend “Crow.” She takes on a case as a favor to her father, who is friends with the client, Ruthie Dembrow. Ruthie wants to know what really happened a year before when her brother Henry allegedly killed a nameless girl and went to prison. Henry himself was killed just a month after going to prison in somewhat suspicious circumstances. Ruthie is convinced there is more to the story than just coincidence.

Tess, with detective help from Crow and her best friend Whitney, gets plunged into the dangerous world of politics, prostitution rings, corruption, blackmail, and show more murder.

Evaluation: Tess is getting better as a detective, but otherwise her flaws remain legion: she is much too outspoken, quick to jump to conclusions, somewhat self-absorbed, and defensive all the time. She is also funny, loyal, loving, and smart. Tess Monaghan, her friends, and her family, are very likeable characters, and Lippman is a very likeable writer. show less