Charm City

'Both entertaining and unexpectedly touching. More Please.' Baltimore Sun 'A natural storyteller at the height of her powers.' LEE CHILD A TESS MONAGHAN MYSTERY As a practised reporter until her newspaper went to that great pressroom in the sky, PI Tess Monaghan knows and loves every inch of her native Baltimore. It's a quirky city where baseball reigns, but lately homicide seems to be the second most popular local sport. Business tycoon 'Wink' Wynkowski is trying to change all that by bringing pro basketball back to town, and everybody's rooting for him - until a devastating exposé of his lurid past appears on the front page of the Baltimore Beacon-Light It's a surprise even to the newspaper's editors, who thought they'd killed the piece. Instead, the piece killed Wink, who's found in his garage with the car running. Tess is hired to find the unknown computer hacker who planted the lethal story - but it doesn't take long for her to discover deeper, darker secrets. . . 'Exciting and complex. I read it in one day because I just couldn't stop.' 5* reader review 'I thoroughly enjoy Lippman's writing style. . . it was a fun, wonderful time' 5* reader review 'Fun and suspense-filled. . . I highly enjoyed it!' 5* reader review PRAISE FOR THE TESS MONAGHAN SERIES 'Tess is a heroine with a nose for what she is not being told, and she is never content with half the story. These Baltimore novels are effective thrillers, because they are stories about wanting to know what happens next.' Times Literary Supplement 'Whip smart female protagonist, gritty Baltimore setting. Loved Tess!' 5* reader review 'Readers won't be able to resist Tess, who, like one of Baltimore's famous crabs, sports a tough shell that hides a sweet centre.' BOOKLIST 'Digestible, fun, tense' NPR 'In this series, Lippman has developed sturdy tales, wry humour, and snappy dialogue wrapped around an insider's view of Baltimore.' SUN-SENTINEL 'Tess, is a ballsy, free-spirited woman who thinks on her feet and has a commanding physical presence. . . Highly recommend' 5* reader review 'What fun! I discovered a new (to me) mystery series. Tess Monaghan is a terrific main character.' 5* reader review 'I really have fallen in love with Tess Monaghan. These mystery novels well deserve the awards Lippman has won.' 5* reader review

Laura Lippman's novels have won many crime fiction prizes, including the Edgar, Anthony, Agatha and eDunnit Awards. Her more recent works include Sunburn, a Waterstones Thriller of the Month in 2018, Lady in the Lake, currently being adapted by Apple TV+, and Dream Girl, shortlisted for the 2022 CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger.