Tess Monaghan's latest assignment is the only upside of a motorboat collision that capsized her little scull. On the surface, it seems like a just recompense for the impolite dunking: The new gig drops her into a filming scene replete with stars present, past, and future. All of these self-absorbed, coddled thespians seem to have major character defects, ranging from father hatred to raging hormones. And when murder rears its ugly head, Tess can't help noticing that every actor and actress in the house is playing a part.
Publishers Weekly
Hollywood comes to Baltimore in bestseller Lippman's assured 10th PI Tess Monaghan caper (after 2006's No Good Deeds). When Tess literally stumbles onto the set of Mann of Steel, a big-budget TV miniseries shooting in her neighborhood, she finds herself hired as a bodyguard for Selene Waites, the show's 20-year-old hard-partying star. Flip Tumulty-the show's writer and son of a Baltimore-born Hollywood mogul-tells Tess the set has been plagued by vandalism and he fears for Selene's safety. Tess soon uncovers unsettling photos of Selene and learns they were taken by Wilbur Grace, a stalker who later hanged himself. When one of the crew members is murdered, Tess suspects someone may be trying to shut down more than the TV production. While the excitement level may not match that of other recent entries in the series, fans will appreciate the author's usual authentic local color and intricate plotting. 15-city author tour. (Mar.)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information
School Library Journal
Baltimore is the temporary home of a big- budget television series, which doesn't please the locals as much as one would think. Tess Monaghan (No Good Deeds) manages to ruin a day's shooting while out rowing and in the process finds herself the sought-after security detail for Selene, the show's 20-year-old star. Strange things are happening on set, and Tess agrees to babysit providing the producers give boyfriend Crow's latest project, Lloyd, a job. The details are worked out, but when Tess is outsmarted by Selene, she is forced to bring in extra help. Then a production staffer is murdered, and it seems as if everyone on set is suspect, from the producers to the actors to the writers and the staff. The production of a TV series is complicated business, and Lippman includes lots of Hollywood detail in this Charm City murder mystery. It's an interesting story with a lot of characters, but, unfortunately, Tess is the only one that is fully fleshed out. Not Lippman's best effort, but fans of the series will want to read it anyway. Recommended for larger fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ11/15/07.]
—Stacy Alesi
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Reviews
An early morning rowing accident lands Baltimore PI Tess Monaghan (No Good Deeds, 2006, etc.) what may be the worst job of her life. When a film crew's motorboat upends her scull into the Patapsco, Tess Monaghan gets more than a good dunking. She also gets the untempting offer of a job as bodyguard to Selene Waites, bratty young star of the TV show Mann of Steel, the saga of a steelworker who time-travels in order to woo 18th-century Baltimore belle Betsy Patterson. Anorexic Selene doesn't have much body to guard, and the stalker who took creepy pictures of her killed himself. The only reason Tess even considers head writer Flip Tumulty's proposition is the hope of snagging some work on the show for Floyd Jupiter, a former street kid who, absent gainful employment, is fast reverting to his evil ways. Even when Floyd is stuck with the job of unpaid intern and a womanizing writer calls Tess an asshole, the work still seems worth her while-at least until whoever's pulling a series of annoying pranks, like putting hair remover in the male lead's face cream, takes it a step too far, and a production assistant ends up dead. Like lunch at Atwater's, Tess's latest leaves you fully satisfied but looking forward to next time. Agent: Vicky Bijur/Vicky Bijur Literary Agency
San Francisco Chronicle
[a] welcome addition to Tess Monaghan’s adventures and an insightful look at the desperation that drives those grasping for a shot at fame and those who will do anything to keep it.
People
After last year’s acclaimed What the Dead Know, Lippman is back on home turf with the 10th installment of her popular series about Baltimore P.I. Tess Monaghan.
Toronto Globe and Mail
You get everything in this book. There’s a really good mystery which is almost secondary to the interaction of the characters - Hollywood’s penchant for confusing illusion and reality is beautifully done - and the witty dialogue, full of smart film references, is totally believable.
Baltimore Sun
Lippman is incapable of writing an un-compelling mystery,
Seattle Times
Tess--funny, smart, empathetic as hell, and a colorful, irreverent storyteller makes a wonderful companion for this tale, in which disturbing vandalism and a stalker are just the harbingers of much worse problems,
Entertainment Weekly
A juicy whodunit.
