Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780061807541 |
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| Publisher: | HarperCollins Publishers |
| Publication date: | 10/13/2009 |
| Series: | Tess Monaghan Series , #10 |
| Sold by: | HARPERCOLLINS |
| Format: | NOOK Book |
| Pages: | 400 |
| Sales rank: | 144,593 |
| File size: | 1 MB |
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Another Thing to Fall
4 out of 5
based on
0 ratings.
33 reviews.
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Private Investigator Tess Monaghan unknowingly ruins a shoot for the film crew of TV series Mann of Steel and instead of being chastised for it ends up with a new assignment: bodyguard to the show¿s youngest actor, Selene Waites. The producer Flip Tumulty and his company have had a run of vandalism, leading to bad press, and Flip is concerned for Selene¿s safety. With the aid of her friend Whitney, Tess reluctantly takes on the job, and quickly learns Selene is not as passive and uneducated as she appears. When Flip¿s assistant is found beaten to death, Tess realizes Selene may actually be in danger and begins her own investigation into what happened to the assistant. As always, Lippman provides the reader with an interesting view of Baltimore and its people and culture. The plot seems to stagger along at first, with no real sense of the characters involved. The killer¿s mindset is initially hard to grasp, as is his reason for creating such havoc for the producer and his series. One interesting and refreshing character is Mrs. Blossom, one of Tess¿s students in her private investigation class, who this reviewer hopes will return in future books.
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In this volume in the Tess Monaghan series, Tess is hired as a bodyguard to a young and wayward actress in a TV series being shot in Baltimore. Murder ensues, and the stakes get higher.Good novel, not the best in the series, but well worth the read.
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Seemed to be in a very different vein from the other Tess Monaghan mysteries I¿ve read. More like Tess light truth be told. It was enjoyable though and pretty well populated with suspects, but I think it lacked an emotional hook for us to catch hold of. I think it was because Tess herself was so detached from everything. If her emotional investment is minimal, it makes the reader not ante up either. But it was fun seeing the inside drudgery of making a TV show. The ins and outs of contracts and time tables and pandering to personalities and egos was exasperating and hilarious. How these people can stand each other is hard to get my mind around. No wonder they were ripe for blackmail or worse. I did like how Selene turned out to be a much better actress than we first surmised. Also that Crow wasn¿t in this one much was a bonus.
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Just could not get interested in this one. Reminded me too much of the Sara Peretsky books. Turned it off after the first cd.
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Tess Monaghan is out rowing on the river when she inadvertently collides with the set of a TV Show. Once they find out she is a private investigator she is hired to work as a body guard for their young star. Seems she has been the target of a stalker in the past and now strange things are happening on the set, small fires and other small but annoying sabotages. Tess soon realizes there is a lot more going on and when someone is murdered her behind-the-scenes investigation starts.This is the first Laura Lippman book that I have read. Usually I'm pretty particular about starting a series at the beginning so was a little wary about jumping into this tenth entry of the series. I had little to worry about as I was hooked from the prologue. There were a few references to the past here and there but this book was very easy for a newcomer to the series to get into. I also usually don't read private investigator type mysteries either so I was very pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this. The behind the scenes look at a television show was a lot of fun. The mystery was very good and kept me guessing until near the end. Rather than being a fast-paced plot focused mystery I found this to be a character driven story. The characters were very well developed and much time was spent just getting to know the supporting cast. If you are looking for a page-turner, this is not for you but if you are looking more for an Elizabeth George type mystery where you can get inside the head of the characters this book will surely please.
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Laura Lippman is usually a sharp writer, and Tess Monaghan is usually a good character. This mystery, though, is a bit of a mess. Lippman does some dishonest writing here by having characters' thoughts provided to the reader when only later we find those out to be false. This is true of Johnny Tampa's supposedly first person response to Selene. In addition, Lippman seems to want to prove she knows movie and tv trivia. Who cares. Wikipedia gives everyone that trivia. The shenanigans on the set of a tv show border on the boringly been there, read that. In her acknowledgments, Lippman tells the reader she is married to the producer of The Wire, a tv show set in Baltimore. Aha. She thought her insider's knowledge of a tv show would make a good novel. In this case at least, she was wrong. If Lippman does not know, she should, that nearly every viewer of a movie knows it's all smoke and mirrors. We know the sets are fake, that the views outside windows are bogus, and that lighting is used to make things appear either earlier or later in the day. Has she ever seen a movie set in Paris? Doesn't she think it odd that every single apartment, house, office, government building has a view of The Eiffel Tower. This is a patronizing book and a crappy mystery.
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I love Laura Lippman but was less into this one, perhaps because the subject matter was the movie business--I like her earlier books better, when they covered more Baltimore history. But, it was still an interesting read.
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The tenth entry in Laura Lippman's Tess Monaghan series finds the Baltimore-native reporter-turned-private-eye rowing her way into the production of the television mini-series Mann of Steel. Tess is hired to provide security for young starlet Selene Waites (think Paris Hilton only with acting ability) due to a series of disturbing incidents plaguing the fledgling series.At first Tess chalks Selene up to a ditzy Hollywood type, but events quickly show that Selene is cleverer than she lets on. When the series of incidents escalates into the death of one of the writing assistants, Tess' natural curiosity is piqued and she begins to investigate what's really happening with the Mann of Steel production.As the story unfolds, a number of likely suspects enter into the picture with Lippman laying out a foundation and motive for each person to be part of the plot to disrupt the production of the show. As always with Lippman's books, the pages turn easily and the narrative shifts between several characters while staying firmly grounded with Tess. The first half of the book lays out all the characters and their potential motivations and the second half puts the pieces into place, leading up to a satisfying denouncement to multiple mysteries taking place within the novel.Yet despite having several threads running, the novel never loses focus or the reader.Along with Elizabeth George, Lippman writes the most satisfying, character-driven mystery novels on the market today. As with George's Lynley and Havers series, part of the pleasure in Lippman's Monaghan novels is the chance to "catch up" with Tess. Of course, the mystery is compelling as well or else the novels wouldn't be worth the time or effort. But the balance of character and mystery is well navigated here. And Lippman does the near impossible task of allowing new readers into the Tess universe while satisfying long-time readers of Tess' adventures.
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Private Investigator Tess Monaghan unknowingly ruins a shoot for the film crew of TV series Mann of Steel and instead of being chastised for it ends up with a new assignment: bodyguard to the show's youngest actor, Selene Waites. The producer Flip Tumulty and his company have had a run of vandalism, leading to bad press, and Flip is concerned for Selene's safety. With the aid of her friend Whitney, Tess reluctantly takes on the job, and quickly learns Selene is not as passive and uneducated as she appears. When Flip's assistant is found beaten to death, Tess realizes Selene may actually be in danger and begins her own investigation into what happened to the assistant.
As always, Lippman provides the reader with an interesting view of Baltimore and its people and culture. The plot seems to stagger along at first, with no real sense of the characters involved. The killer's mindset is initially hard to grasp, as is his reason for creating such havoc for the producer and his series. One interesting and refreshing character is Mrs. Blossom, one of Tess's students in her private investigation class, who this reviewer hopes will return in future books.
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I love Laura Lippman's Tess Monaghan series. That said, this latest installment was just not in the same class as previous Tess books. In fact, there was not enough Tess in this book 'way too much time spent on what other, less interesting characters were thinking or doing', and when she was present, she didn't seem to be the Tess of old. She seemed hardly engaged in the mystery at hand. Hope this is just an off book and we can look forward to the 'return of Tess' rather than it being the 'beginning of the end' of this series.
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Laura Lippman assembles an intriguing and often hilarious cast of characters in her latest Tess Monaghan mystery. Selena Waites stars as the rising Hollywood creation, an actress (or actor as women are now called in the movie culture) with an insatiable appetite who never seems to actually eat. Oblivious to everything and everyone around her, Selena represents the perfect example of a culture and generation oblivious to all else but the present and fulfilling every whim and want. Next to Selena stars Johnny Tampa, the aging and overweight actor looking for a comeback. When Selena's role suddenly grows, overshadowing his role in the series, is he jealous or hungry enough to take matters into his own hands? Did one of the entourage of men surrounding Selena, men captivated by her beauty and celebrity, have a hand in the mysterious happenings? Flip Tumulty, anxious to make a name for himself rather be compared to his father's legendary fame will do anything to insure the success of his new series. How far will he go to protect or publicize himself? Greer took over her position next to Flip in a well-orchestrated coup of greed and manipulation. Did she go one step too far? Whose chain did she rattle just enough to make them resort to murder? ANOTHER THING TO FALL is a masterpiece of characterization. The reader sees Tess's character mostly as a contrast to the movie culture that has invaded her town. Through Tess, sarcasm, humor and a broader reality provide a stark contrast to the insulated world of Hollywood. Readers will laugh aloud at some of the riotous portraits. This reader has not read such a fun and funny mystery in years! Humor gives way to a finely detailed structure of motivations and personalities as these characters chafe and battle for supremacy in a series which can make or break them. As Tess reminds herself and the reader, she does not have to like the characters she investigates ---the job is to discover the culprit and keep Selena safe. Even the secondary characters are well written and integrated into the plot with just the right timing. Mrs. Blossom, a student from Tess's class adds humor and a mystery twist to ANOTHER THING TO FALL. As Tess unearths more and more clues, ANOTHER THING TO FALL examines all the motives and seething undercurrents behind the television shoot. First impressions give way to something much richer. Just as Tess's sarcasm reaches its height, the reader suddenly notices that this horrible, humorous cast of insipid actors and support crew have captured one's heart. In a subtly orchestrated change of tone, the reader moves from laughing at the expense of these Hollywood creations to caring for the personalities beneath. Laura Lippman gives readers a welcome dose of reality with her critique of the movie/television industry, providing a humorous antidote to a culture obsessed with celebrity and Hollywood. At the same time, ANOTHER THING TO FALL goes beyond humor and mystery to provide the reader with a compassionate view of the people behind the façade. ANOTHER THING TO FALL is an intriguing look into character in a mystery with clever plot twists ---- a mystery and so much more. Absolutely brilliant!
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