Authors: Laura Lippman
ISBN-13: 9781616833145, ISBN-10: 1616833149
Format: Paperback
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Date Published: September 2009
Edition: Bargain
Well known for her popular series of mysteries starring the fearless Tess Monoghan, Laura Lippman has won every major mystery award, from the Anthony to the Agatha.
"Lippman shows herself to be a master of short fiction....read them fast, like a glutton, or slowly to savor each one. Either way, this is a treasure. " - Library JournalHardly Knew HerIn 1975 Baltimore, thirteen-year-old Sophia has a father with a gambling problem. When he pawns her most prized possession to cover his poker debts, Sophia takes matters into her own hands -- and learns to bluff in the process. "Lippman fans won t be disappointed with these small treasures. "- Kirkus Reviews
It’s not Linda Emond’s fault that most of Lippman’s women who kill are white, middle-class and between the aged 30–40. Almost all live in the corridor between Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., and eradicate men who have it coming to them. No wonder they tend to speak alike. The talented Emond strives with some success to individualize these murderers’ first-person narratives. In the short story “My Baby Walks the Streets of Baltimore,” Emond, who has previously read Lippman’s Another Thing to Fall, performs Tess Monaghan as the crisp and efficient detective she is meant to be. While Francois Battiste is given comparatively little to do, he shines in his reading of “Pony Girl” as the too-smooth and confident man-on-the-make who is no match for two beautiful Mardi Gras celebrants. This collection is both entertaining and forgettable, but Lippman fans will not be disappointed by these talented performances. A Morrow hardcover (Reviews, Aug. 25). (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Introduction George Pelecanos Pelecanos, George
Pt. I Girls Gone Wild
The Crack Cocaine Diet 3
What He Needed 17
Dear Penthouse Forum (A First Draft) 27
The Babysitter's Code 36
Hardly Knew Her 48
Femme Fatale 66
One True Love 84
Pt. II Other Cities, Not My Own
Pony Girl 107
ARM and the Woman 116
Honor Bar 131
A Good Fuck Spoiled 146
Pt. III My Baby Walks the Streets of Baltimore
Easy as A-B-C 161
Black-Eyed Susan 172
Ropa Vieja 185
The Shoeshine Man's Regrets 204
The Accidental Detective 219
Pt. IV Scratch a Woman
Scratch a Woman 237
Afterword 291