Hush Hush
Library Journal Review
Starred Review. In the 12th title in Lippman's best-selling series featuring Baltimore investigator Tess Monaghan (The Girl in the Green Raincoat), Tess is tasked with investigating a complex and disturbing woman. Melisandre Harris Dawes left her infant daughter unattended in a stifling hot car 12 years ago. After a lengthy murder trial that acquitted her by reason of insanity, Dawes left Maryland for a new life abroad. Now she's back, with a documentary camera in tow to film a hoped-for reunion with her two surviving children. However, not everyone is happy about Melisandre's return, including her ex-husband and teenage daughters. Tess and her partner have been hired to assess Melisandre's personal security. As a mother herself, Tess is skeptical about the woman's innocence and wary of her manipulations. But when another murder occurs and Melisandre is once again a suspect, Tess is drawn into the mystery of what happened so many years ago. VERDICT After writing several excellent stand-alone novels (After I'm Gone), Lippman returns to her popular series sleuth in this compelling mystery about a good mother gone bad. Strongly recommended for the author's fans as well as readers who enjoy stories about female PIs such as Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone.-Amy Hoseth, Colorado State Univ. Lib., Fort Collins (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.