ANOTHER THING TO FALL
Laura Lippman
William Morrow
Mystery
ISBN: 9780061128875

• Read an Excerpt

Private investigator Tess Monaghan rows for pleasure and exercise on Baltimore's Patapsco River. One day, while paddling down the river and paying more attention to the music pouring through her headphones than to her surroundings, she encounters a police boat zipping toward her. The boat's wake topples her own, sending her into the river. Her rescuers inform her that she has ruined a scene being shot by "Mann of Steel," the television series that is filming locally. When she tries to apologize, she is met with hostility by Flip Tumulty, the show's executive producer, and by Greer, his assistant.

But when Flip discovers that Tess is a private investigator, he insists on hiring her as a security guard for the program’s temperamental and not-too-bright young star, Selene Waites. Tess knows there have been problems with the show's filming; locals are protesting and activists are up in arms. However, she is surprised to learn that there has been a suicide that just might be linked to the series. The victim, a local man who had no known connection to "Mann of Steel," had many photographs of Selene in his home when he died.

Flip confides that he worries about the young actor's vulnerability. He states that without Selene, there would be no show, catching Tess by surprise since she thought the lead actor was the now middle-aged and portly has-been teen star Johnny Tampa. (Tess doesn't admit to Flip that, in her adolescent years, she had a major crush on Tampa.) In a desperate attempt to avoid getting the job, Tess jacks up her fee and demands that her boyfriend's teen protégé, Lloyd Jupiter, be hired as well. But the next thing she knows, she and Lloyd are both signed on.

The reader is privy to tantalizing bits of information from the point of view of various characters, gaining knowledge that Tess herself doesn't have, even as the incidents on the set escalate. Laura Lippman skillfully teases us with puzzle pieces that don't quite fit together to give us the complete picture, while describing the fascinating world of television series production, making ANOTHER THING TO FALL another Tess Monaghan page-turner.

Tess herself is an endearing character, matter-of-fact that she's no size zero wisp (instead, she's a comfortable size 12 or 14) and that she likes to eat, especially foods that have been banned by health authorities. She also reveals a truly kind heart, finding interesting possibilities in an individual who could easily be a stock comic character --- a large, older woman named Mrs. Blossom who wears flowery dresses and desires to work as a private investigator. Lippman's characters are nicely complex; many show surprising aspects to their personalities. Although it may feel that the actual mystery plot takes just a bit of a backseat to quirky people and to television show production politics, readers are bound to enjoy the leisurely ride.

ANOTHER THING TO FALL is the 10th Tess Monaghan book. It works well as a stand-alone, but newcomers are sure to find themselves with a sudden urge to read the previous installments in the series ASAP.

    --- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon (terryms2001@yahoo.com)

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