No Good Deeds

Tess Monaghan #9

by Laura Lippman

After finishing a shift volunteering at an inner-city soup kitchen, Ransome finds one of his car tires slashed and meets smooth-talking con man Lloyd Jupiter, who offers to help fix the flat for a nominal fee. Instead of calling the police on the 16-year-old scam artist, Ransome does the unthinkable and brings Jupiter back to his home, where he feeds him and offers him a bed for the night. When Tess returns home, she and Ransome discover that Jupiter may have information concerning an unsolved case involving the brutal murder of a federal prosecutor months earlier. After vowing not to reveal Jupiter's identity, Tess gives the local newspaper the story and almost immediately becomes Public Enemy No. 1 to a trio of ruthless law enforcement agents for refusing to reveal her source. With Ransome and Jupiter on the run and Tess trying hard to stay out of jail, the motives behind the mysterious murder are slowly uncovered

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Detective, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Thriller

383 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Since Laura Lippman’s debut, she has been recognized as a distinctive voice in mystery fiction and named one of the “essential” crime writers of the last 100 years. Stephen King called her “special, even extraordinary,” and Gillian Flynn wrote, “She is simply a brilliant novelist.” Her books have won most of the major awards in her field and been translated into more than twenty-five languages. She lives in Baltimore and New Orleans with her teenager.

Reviews

[Obsidian · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I thought about trying to edit this to take out spoilers, but screw it, I am busy today and don't have the time or energy. It didn't help that I ended up straight disliking this book and loathing Tess's boyfriend Crow. There was an interesting plot in there that the white savior crap got in the way of while I was reading. I think showcasing Crow's POV actually made things worse. He's a terrible ass boyfriend who resents Tess and I don't see how that makes a great relationship. At least Tess's aunt pulled no punches about him always being the one that runs away when he doesn't get his way.

In the ninth Tess Monaghan book we have Tess going through a slow period at her PI job. She and Crow are back together after he returns from sulking that she said no to his proposal (I said what I said!). Tess is doing some consulting with a newspaper. Along with this the book sets up that a few months ago a federal prosecutor was murdered a few months ago. Tess and others speculate about what happened to him, but most people assume that it was a bad pick up gone wrong and he ended up dead. When Crow brings a homeless teen back to their home (don't get me started yet) Tess clues into the fact that the boy appears to know something about the death of the prosecutor. Tess ends up being herself and her family in danger when she goes forward with having the boy talk to the press. She quickly has the FBI, DEA, and others out to get here. And Crow is in the wind with the boy.

In order to completely understand my ire I am going to talk about Crow first. I don't think except for the one book did we ever get Crow's POV? I can't remember. But I really disliked him in this one. He keeps a huge secret from Tess as she struggles to pay bills. And then he has his white savior moment after his tire gets punctured by a kid hoping to use that to get paid to change his tire. It makes zero sense why Crow gets fixated on the kid. And it makes zero sense why the kid (Lloyd) even goes along with this mess. A white man offering to drive a black teen to get food and demanding to meet his parents? The hell? Crow driving them to get food and then telling him that he was staying at his home later that night made me shake my head. Who does this? And considering that Crow apparently was doing soup kitchen drop offs why get focused on Lloyd who did damage his tire and was looking for money? And after Lloyd returns with him, steals shit, causes their car to get damaged, he's still being protective. WHATEVER.

Tess was herself throughout this book which is the only reason why I am giving this 2 stars. Consistency matters when writing a series. That said, I really wish she had gone off on Crow. He brings back a homeless teen with him who it appears lies, punctured his tire, etc and thinks cooking Tess her favorite foods will soften her up. I would have put my whole foot up his ass. Tess realizing that Crow kept secrets from her and that her trying to protect Lloyd and Crow could come back at her family made me frustrated. I really wish she had went off on Crow or we had read that dialogue. Crow and his BS now Tess knows how he feels when she's in danger made me boo the hell out of him and most of this book.

We get Whitney, Tess's aunt, and her talking to her mother and father. Other than that the the writing shifts from Tess, Crow, Lloyd, and some other men involved with the death of the prosecutor. I honestly think it was too much. It would have worked better if we had just Tess's POV and her slowly realizing what Crow was up to and that he had kept things from her. There were no surprises in this one because Lippman cues everything up.

The flow wasn't great because we kept bouncing around after reveals are made about who the bad guy(s) are so I felt bored until we got to the end

The ending. Woo boy. So there is reward money for solving the prosecutors death. Tess, Crow, and Lloyd get that money. Oh wait, not Lloyd, somehow Crow is going to hold his money for him and demands that he gets a job, gets back to school, etc. CROW MIND YOUR DAMN BUSINESS! I literally cringed at that damn ending. I would have checked his ass so bad. Lippman usually writes African American characters and the divide in Baltimore between white and black people so well. This whole book was so tone deaf. I just needed Whitney or Tess to tell Crow about his self and then I would have liked it more.

[stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

i think this is the lowest rating for a Laura Lippman book i have given, and i don't know if that is fair . . . but i didn't like the split focus, and i truly hated the first person POV at the beginning and end. i didn't mind it too much in her last book, when it was the unknown killer, but crow? really?

i read these books mostly for tess, and there was barely even mention of the dogs in this. a couple sentences of uncle spike, feeney in the beginning, a great scene with whitney, but no real family stuff . . . it felt more haphazard than most of her books, perhaps because there didn't seem to be a single character that the story was revolving around. i think it was supposed to be crow, but it didn't feel like it.

also, i can't explain how sad i was that tess doesn't get up at five in the morning to row anymore. (she still rows, just later) and that her body doesn't crave the exercise and all that - i mean, how is she eating all her favorite foods without a care? we didn't even really get a tess loving food scene, which also makes me sad.

here's hoping lippman returns tess to herself. i mean, yes, i expect changes and character growth, etc. but it's never felt so heavy handed and awkward from lippman before. i always felt like i watched tess grow too, so of course it made sense. this? this was a very strange experience.

[Lewis Weinstein · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story begins with an incredibly stupid act ... bringing home a street kid for dinner and overnight. Much of what follows is predictable. Less than heart-throbbing action. But ok for my purpose, which is a quick and not too challenging nighttime read after much more focused reading during the day.

[Carla Heskes · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐️
Leuke actie thriller, mistte wel wat info over de hoofdpersonages maar blijkt dus een deel 9 te zijn, daardoor had ik denk ik wat minder binding met Tess.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A federal prosecutor was killed but the police don't seem to be figuring much out when Crow brings home a teenager who recognized a photo of the man but not his name which surprises Tess who decides to investigate. I thought the teen very funny as well as other parts of the book but not the language.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m thoroughly enjoying the Tess Monaghan mysteries. Well plotted and well written with interesting complex characters. And a trip to Rehoboth Beach.
I liked the relationships between Tess and Crow and Lloyd.

[Lyda Van Den Bos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boeit niet erg, helaas. Nogal tam.

[Amy Webster-Bo · Rating 3 out of 5]

my first book of hers was not really impressed, don't really like the characters, they are just ok, the story line ok, it as not good but not horrible either, would have liked a little more plot

[Beth666ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've come to the conclusion that Tess Monaghan is a Mary Sue, which--okay. I can deal with that. This book reads a lot like an episode of The Wire told from the perspective of the white middle class--some of the situations the black characters find themselves in could be directly lifted from the show. I continue to dislike Tess's thoughtless, headstrong way of tumbling into things and also her general lack of empathy and sensitivity to those around her. What amuses me is that the book--through Crow's eyes, sometimes, and sometimes through the narrator's--asks us again and again to adore her. Regarding the boyfriend: who over the age of twenty-five really wants a boyfriend whose job is to "book bands" at her father's bar and who is an "artist"? Please. But hey! At least he's a MILLIONAIRE. What I'm saying here is that this is cliche-ridden writing, and these aren't even my favorite cliches, so it doesn't work for me. But okay--I like how feminist Lippmann is, and the fact this book shows privileged white people trying to step outside of their privilege and help others, which is a mission I can't disagree with.

[Magill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I liked this book, I thought Lloyd was a good addition. I liked seeing Crow as a contributor to the puzzle, more or less. I liked meeting her "partner". The mystery itself was fine but I did find the baddies to be annoying, heavy-handed, which baddies can be, but these ones seemed a bit cartoonish to me... starting to worry now though, that I am getting to the end of the Tess books... They have been a not unpleasant way to pass the time and it has been interesting to see how her writing and plotting have gotten tighter and her inclusion of characters and minor plots have improved as well.

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perfectly respectable but not exactly eye-catching. You pretty much know who's looking for Lloyd because of the split POV and it's annoying to have to watch Tess fumble through looking for the reasons when we know them already. Half the reason I read mystery novels is the race and anticipation of figuring out the whodunnit so there didn't seem to be much of a point in continuing when I already had a suspicion.
I do like that the author made an effort to discuss White-black racial social commentary but found her pretty heavy handed in her attempt. Altogether, I would call it a fine way to pass the time, but on a lower par than someone like Dennis Lehane. Also, Crow's name really annoyed me.

[Mary Joy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this series mostly because it's set in Baltimore and I think it's interesting to see how a native describes the place to outsiders (although I think she often overdoes the local color). I find the main character's boyfriend really irritating. I'll read the next book in the series, whatever that is, but I think Sue Grafton does this kind of thing a lot better.

[J. Ewbank · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book by Laura Lippman was a good read. It is one of the Tess Monaghan Novels but this is the first one that I have read. I would be willing to read more because the characters are well defined and the plot is interesting and novel, though at times a clittle complex to follow. Enjoyed it.

J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'"

[Heidi (can’t retire soon enough) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great entry in the Tess Monaghan series by Laura Lippman.

[Craig Pittman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last summer, one of my picks for a paperback thriller to take with me to be an adult chaperone at Boy Scout summer camp was one of Laura Lippman's novels about her Baltimore PI Tess Monaghan, "The Girl in the Green Raincoat," and it was terrific. This summer I took along another Lippman special about Tess, and it was even better -- a thick and meaty slab of hardboiled fiction that really gave me something to chew on.

Monaghan's boyfriend, Crow, gets hustled by a street kid named Lloyd and winds up bringing the skittish 16-year-old home to give him a decent meal and a warm place to sleep on this cold night. Tess is skeptical, and rightfully so -- Lloyd waits until they're asleep and tries to rob them, but his plan goes awry, he wrecks one of their cars and takes off, all but empty-handed.

But while he was there, he let slip something that that indicated he might have a clue about the murder of a federal prosecutor that has gone unsolved for several months. Tess tracks him down in a fairly clever way, gets his story (or rather a version of it) into the local paper and then, because she mouthed off to an editor, winds up the focus of vengeful law enforcement authorities. Meanwhile Crow decides to help hide Lloyd without warning Tess about his plan.

Lippman switches the viewpoints in the story between that of Tess, Crow, Lloyd, an old and nearly retired FBI agent and an ambitious young prosecutor whom the agent is working with. Tess' wacky friend Whitney gets to do some play-acting, which is always a delight, and the story takes some twists and turns I didn't expect, including with the climax.

The cover of the book promises unrelenting suspense, but that's a lie. Lippman isn't one to give you twists just for the sake of twists while trotting out cardboard characters based on stereotypes. Instead she takes her time building up her characters and showing how they relate to each other and to their place in the city, giving us little portraits of the city's various subcultures and where they eat and how they dress and talk. I particularly liked the ex-cop character who runs an amusement park.

Two things really elevate this novel above being a mere potboiler. One is Lippman's exploration of race, income and class in Baltimore and how each one affects society and how it plays out in ways including law enforcement and education. This is what the best mystery fiction does: Show us how crime reaches to both the heights and depths of our culture, connecting the two. The other is the author's note at the end, acknowledging the real-life case that inspired this one, and making clear that this fiction is not to be construed in any way as a theory of what happened in real life . That's a rare example of an author being responsible by pointing out to readers what ought to be obvious, namely that fiction is fiction and should not be construed as fact.

I would give this novel five stars except there's a key plot point that involves a clue that's presented out of the blue and then left sitting on the sidelines until Tess really needs it to solve the mystery. In an otherwise perfect mystery, that seemed like an awkward and unnecessary bit of stage business that could have been finessed to play out in some better way.

Despite that, count me as a definite Lippman fan now, and I plan to go back to the start of the series to see how Tess became a PI in the first place and got to where she is with this book. It should be a fascinating journey.

[Dianeparente62gmail.com · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novella is an enjoyable way to pass the time.,possibly as a refreshing break from more challenging reading. The book is an unnumbered part of the Tess Monaghan series featuring Tess as the owner of a Baltimore private investigation agency. The novella opens with Tess confined to her chaise lounge suffering from pre-eclampsia during the final months of an unintended pregnancy.

To help her pass the time, she requests that the baby's solicitous father Crowe bring her a pair of binoculars to better watch the dog walkers in a park across the street. One of these dog walkers is a woman (not the more alliterative girl) who is daily dressed in a green raincoat (think stylish not seedy) accompanied by an Italian.greyhound similarly wearing green apparel.

The mystery begins when Tess observes the greyhound running through the park minus its female owner. In her enforced captivityTess becomes obsessively determined to find her. The search leads her to the home of the woman's wealthy husband. Tess does not buy his story that she is "away on a business trip," leading her to investigate the husbands checkered history of dead wives.

She is aided in her search by her assistant Mrs. Blossom and a college friend Whitney. The end result revealed in the book's conclusion was surprising for this reader. Simultaneously Tess' little girl is delivered by emergency C-section only for the baby to experience a serious hemorrhage a few days later. The child's lengthy stay in the NICU gives her parents time to get their act together as they begin the next chapter of their lives..

The book was surprisingly marred by errors that should have been caught. The result is some totally confusing sentences. These errors add to the impression that this was not a carefully crafted work. Nonetheless, it was an entertaining read.

[Tiffany Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tess and Crow are back together, and while he tries to bring new music to the bar and also does charity work, she has a new assignment consulting for the Beacon-Light. A high-profile, unsolved murder of a federal prosecutor is her first priority, but the police department and the press have been oddly silent about it. There are also several odd details about the murder that few people are questioning. When Crow brings a homeless teenager to spend the night, Tess is exasperated, but quickly realizes the young man, Lloyd, doesn't follow the news but startles at the prosecutor's name. After getting information from him in a not-exactly-legal way, Tess gives her friend at the Beacon-Light an update on the case, and he promises her anonymity. But the next day, her name appears in the paper, and two federal agents drop by her house. Amid their threats and questions about who her source is, Tess makes further discoveries about the case, and Crow and Lloyd leave town to stay with a family acquaintance.
This is an entertaining story where the tension builds gradually, becoming more sinister as it nears the end of the book. There were twists I didn't anticipate (as there often are in Lippman's books), as well as funny parts, such as when Tess and Whitney work together. I also enjoyed Crow's role in the story and getting to know him as more than just the cute younger boyfriend. I'm looking forward to the next book.

[Dan Stern · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tess Monaghan series #9- I am reading these in order and enjoying the character development and Baltimore and its environs. It's enjoyable to read a series with relatable characters who develop more each book. This one has a lot more about Crow than any other, and, of course, Tess continues to evolve. The story itself, as most of the Tess Monaghans, doesn't keep you on the edge of the chair (we're usually aware of what's going on) but it's a good solid story about helping some city kids while exposing some dirty cop business.
As Crow puts it, if it had not snowed on that Monday in March. The snow led to a chain of circumstances with Crow bringing a homeless teenager home for dinner and a place to stay for the night. It turns out that the teenager, Lloyd, was a witness to a crime, and that draws Tess into the case when she connects Lloyd to a news reporter. Events disrupt her life as the case develops and federal agents demand that she reveal the name of the source. The story starts with a narration by Crow, and alternates between Crow, Tess, and other characters in the story. You will get a lot more Crow in this novel than in others. The story has an interesting ending, and you can wonder if Lloyd will show up again. You get some information along the way about Baltimore soup kitchens and the homeless, and a view of the underside of society where life is sometimes cheap.

[London Howell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good enough. It was interesting to try giving Crow some chapters, and I appreciated the perspective Lloyd brought - both in the matter-of-fact way he spoke about life as he knew it and in his personality itself (as well as the understanding those in his community showed of the ability to think only in the short term).

However, I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the others so far. The plot was cloaked in so much political mystery and posturing that it just didn’t seem like much was happening. Tess and Crow’s conundrum was somehow both intricate and ineffectual, lacking any real punch. Tess didn’t even do much investigating. Also, even though the climax with Collins was one part I did find somewhat compelling, why didn’t Crow hit him with the car? It wasn’t even mentioned as a possibility, but would have made sense with the running theme from 2 books ago.

Also, Crow’s chapters seemed to reveal a significant layer of bitterness toward Tess, who he also supposedly loves. And I get it, relationships (and people) are complicated, but it was a big personality turnaround from the rest of the series. Made me doubt it was what Lippman intended, but I can’t be sure.

All in all, a shaky installment in a series I’ve been enjoying. I’ll be starting the new one soon, hoping to get back on track.

[Kerri · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/10

Enjoyed especially character development in this one.

Crow brings a guy home from the soup kitchen who recognizes the name of an ADA who was murdered a few months to a year ago; the office seems to be purposefully NOT working the case because it looks like the (married, homophobic, overly self-righteous to judge by his wife) was enjoying an illegal gay tryst at the time of his death. But soup kitchen guy's recognizance means that might not be the case. (Floyd). Floyd tries to rob Tess and Crow and flee; he sort of succeeds; Tess and Whitney track him down and get (most of) the story. Seems like the ADA was a hit job. In order to inform the authorities without giving up Floyd (who committed a crime in his little part in the murder) (using the guy's credit card at a particular time) she sets up a newspaper interview, but HER name gets dropped, so these three government stooges come down on her HARD to get her to give them Floyd's name. Meanwhile Crow takes Floyd into hiding since the guy who was SUPPOSED to be the one with the credit card got killed.
It was two of the government stooges; they had a scam going and cut in the ADA but then killed him in this elaborate scheme when he wanted to get out. One of the guys was excessively violent and Crow kills him; the other guy commits suicide before the cops arrive.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of her better ones. Too confusing, but the plot was interesting, but a little far-fetched....

After finishing a shift volunteering at an inner-city soup kitchen, Ransome finds one of his car tires slashed and meets smooth-talking con man Lloyd Jupiter, who offers to help fix the flat for a nominal fee. Instead of calling the police on the 16-year-old scam artist, Ransome does the unthinkable and brings Jupiter back to his home, where he feeds him and offers him a bed for the night. When Tess returns home, she and Ransome discover that Jupiter may have information concerning an unsolved case involving the brutal murder of a federal prosecutor months earlier. After vowing not to reveal Jupiter's identity, Tess gives the local newspaper the story and almost immediately becomes Public Enemy No. 1 to a trio of ruthless law enforcement agents for refusing to reveal her source. With Ransome and Jupiter on the run and Tess trying hard to stay out of jail, the motives behind the mysterious murder are slowly uncovered.

[Robyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first time around I didn’t like this book as much but I recently reread some of the later Tess books to trace Lippman’s progression as a writer.

Now that I am more familiar with her work, I knew that the case of the murdered federal prosecutor was rooted in an actual crime, so I looked it up and found out about Jonathon Luna, the Baltimore prosecutor who died in 2003. He was stabbed 36 times but the official cause of death was drowning and the feds thought it might have been a suicide. Yikes

In No Good Deeds Lippmann has reimagined this unsolved homicide and worked in plenty of Baltimore culture as usual.
The altruistic Crow brings home LLoyd, a corner boy with some secrets.
Lloyd is afraid to talk to the police because in his part of Baltimore snitches are killed.
Tess is a little less prominent in this, while Crow gets to shine a bit more. I enjoyed this slight departure from the other books in the series. The plot, is tight, the ancillary characters provide interest, and there are plenty of references to things I can google and learn more about:
Pickett’s Charge
lil Kim’s perjury
The Baltimore 4

[Virginia Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

When PI Tess Monaghan's partner Crow comes out of his volunteer shift at an inner-city soup kitchen on a cold winter night, he finds one of his car tires slashed. However, when 16 year-old con artist Lloyd Jupiter shows up with amazing speed and offers to help fix the flat for a small fee, rather than calling the police, Crow takes him home for the night. This turns out to be a deadly mistake when Tess finds out that Lloyd may have information concerning the brutal murder of a federal prosecutor.
When Tess passes this information on to the local paper, while swearing to keep his name secret, She becomes the target of three law enforcement agents who have powerful reasons for wanting to know her source, forcing Crow and Lloyd to go on the lam. Like all the books in this series, the characters and plotting and engrossing and the dialogue is well written.

[Neet · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this Ted's Monaghan mystery we find Tess' boyfriend Crow playing a primary role. In this mystery we find Crow taking into Tess home a young black teenager who tried to run a scam on him. Crow takes him to get something to eat, but want him to be a guest in their home because of the cold weather. Ted's being cynical and not naive, doesn't think it's a good idea. The young man, it's discovered knows something about the killing of a Baltimore AUSA. To not give out more, the young man decides to steal from Tess and gets into more trouble. Things turn nasty fast, and Crow decides the only way to protect the young man is to go on the run. Ted's finds out that the Fed's, police, DEA , and AUSA are beating a path to her door. She also discovers Crow might be keeping secrets. This is a good book and a rollercoaster ride of a highly recommended series.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I clearly liked this book more than most of the Goodreads reviewers, but I'll stick by my ranking. I thought that the split focus between Tess and Crow worked well in this novel. And yes, Crow is doing white savior crap here ... but the novel totally acknowledges that, and Crow comes face to face with the fact that he wants to make the world a better place for poor black Baltimoreans but doesn't really have any black friends. I think that Lippman does a wonderfully nuanced job of writing about race, and this novel is no exception.

From Lippman's 2016 afterword: "No Good Deeds ... attempts to tell the 'true' story of homicide in Baltimore: the almost daily deaths of young African American men, deaths that are consigned to a paragraph here or there in the local paper, assuming the local paper takes note at all."

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read other Lippman books but this is my first Tess book. So far it has me interested but I'm not expecting much as I find it hard to believe that someone would be ok with a random 16 year old staying in their house. In addition, Crow and Tess are so okay with it that they feel comfortable enough to have sex, which Lloyd can actually hear. That's so out there to me.

Then Lloyd finds a box with a "horned horse" that he later deftly recalls is a unicorn. He's made to be dumb but this is after he tells us that the Jurassic Park book has a better ending than the movie. It seems hard to believe that someone that has read anything like Jurassic Park wouldn't know a super common word like unicorn.

2.5 stars so far

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always enjoy Lippman’s novels but this is my first of her Tess Monaghan stories. Written in 2003, it already feels like a period piece in many ways, including the language relating to race and sex, but the tale itself is gripping until the end.

The uncomfortable truth about young black men being murdered every day in America - and many of those murders remaining unsolved - compared to the high profile cases involving white men in public office gaining more media attention has sadly not changed for the better - yet. As a former journalist, Lippman knows this to be true and shines a light on the injustice in her novels.

Instead of a Happy Ever After ending, we are left with some hope of a better future for Lloyd and countless young men like him.

[Kristi Lamont · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a former journalist, I very much appreciated the message inherent this book, about how the media treats some lives as more "worthy" than others. As a series reader, I also appreciated finding out a little bit more about one of our main characters. As someone with a real life to which I was trying to attend while reading this book, I found the mystery proper actually more engaging than I thought I would over the course of several days (vs reading a book like this in one sitting). Two more to go before I am finished with the series as published to date (note to self: started, randomly, with last one in series).

[Alarra · Rating 2 out of 5]

On one hand, we get to meet Lloyd! I like Lloyd's character and how he develops through the next few books. And Crow the do-gooder gets a big lesson in his well-intentioned but very white, middle-class privilege in this, which is a breath of relief after so many books of how great he is (I mean, he's still great in this, but certain things are pointed out to him that he has to acknowledge and learn from). HOWEVER it also has this convoluted plot of double and triple crosses between three government agencies, drug-related crime, racial tensions, media portrayals of crime that seems to actually overtake the solving of the mystery.

[Dionne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first detective mystery story, and it wasn't bad. Didn't realize it was the ninth book in the series until halfway through, but I was able to keep up with no problems.

I'm from Baltimore so I appreciated how the author weaved her experience with the city into the story. She shined a flash light on the racial inequities already known to Whites and Blacks in the city without being too stereotypical.

There were some plot holes that I didn't get. Also, the main character Tess was surprisingly naive at times when her work background should have made her more shrewd but the ending was tied together nicely.

I would go back and read other novels in this series.