Tess Monaghan sure knows how to make an entrance. While innocently rowing in the middle of the Patapsco River one early October morning, she literally smacks right into her latest case. Of course, that's one way to drum up business, but even for Tess, it does seem a tad bit on the dramatic side.
When some mysterious mishaps start occurring on the set of a television series filming in Baltimore, Tess is hired to keep a watchful eye on a young and rather conniving actress. While rubbing elbows with the Hollywood set, she is rather stumped by the colorful cast of characters who are vying for fame and fortune. From a washed-up actor wishful for a comeback to a writing staff that has more hidden secrets than a magician, Tess is pulled in all directions as she tries to do her job under the scrutiny of the somewhat suspicious and mysterious cast. What she doesn't expect are so many twists and turns when it comes to the simple task of playing the role of a bodyguard.
As if right on cue, a dead body gets added to the unofficial script and now Tess is faced with the task of finding a brutal killer. With the home turf advantage, Tess unearths some long-forgotten secrets that have the potential to re-write the careers of some of Hollywood's heaviest-hitters. At what lengths will she go to in order to bring the killer to justice? And, at what cost to her safety and to the futures of her new-found friends and colleagues will she risk to fulfill her obligation to her client?
ANOTHER THING TO FALL delivers what Lippman fans have come to expect... the right blend of mystery and intrigue from her hometown of Baltimore that put the charm into her story as well as lend a sense of authenticity to the plot. Lippman's latest installment of her highly popular Tess Monaghan Series is a fine example of crime writing at its best
This review is from the hardback edition.
The California dream weavers have invaded Charm City with their cameras, their stars, and their controversy . . .
When Tess Monaghan literally runs into the crew of the fledgling TV series Mann of Steel while sculling, she never expects to be hired to serve as bodyguard/babysitter to the young female lead, Selene Waites. But the company has been plagued by a series of disturbing "mishaps" lately. And the discovery of a corpse surrounded by photos of the beautiful, difficult superstar-in-the-making is causing Mann's creator and Hollywood legend, Flip Tumulty, considerable distress.
Keeping a spoiled movie princess under wraps may be more than Tess can handle, since Selene is less naive and far more devious than she initially appears to be. But murder is an occurrence the fish-out-of-water P.I. is all too familiar withβand a grisly on-set slaying suddenly threatens to topple the wall of secrets surrounding Mann of Steel, leaving lives, dreams, and careers scattered among the ruins.
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