Mystery novelist returns home for book tour
As Lippman explains, in her newest adventure 34-year-old "[Tess] is drawn very reluctantly into a world of film" when the crew and stars of the fledging TV series Mann of Steel invade Charm City in the usual Hollywood-like manner.
The novel immerses the reader in the glamorous Hollywood world, one of which Tess herself knows little. But despite feeling out of place, an occasion of murder occurs during filming and Tess must reprise her role as a private investigator. With crime, certain secrets surrounding the production of Mann of Steel are thus exposed. As Tess becomes further involved within the murder case, seemingly vague and insignificant mysteries come to threaten both the city and the people to which she holds most dear.
A good novelist develops characters that are portrayed with the necessary complexities belonging to any human individual; Tess Monaghan is a testament to Lippman's authority over her fictional creations. A current resident of Baltimore's Roland Park, Tess Monaghan is something of a scatterbrain in her own right. After graduating from Washington College in Chestertown, Md. with a major in English Literature, she begins work as a reporter for the Baltimore Star, but after three years of employment, the newspaper goes under.
After spending a significant period of time as a freelance writer while working in her aunt's bookstore, upon a friend's request Tess enters the crime practice as a private investigator. Though her business is initially unstable, as time progresses her expertise develops whereby eventually her skill and renown become well known by the Baltimore locals.
The numerous parallels between Monaghan and her creator are staggering in the most obvious sense, though Lippman maintains that Tess is very much a character in her own right. Though flattered by this common comparison made by readers between author and character, Lippman maintains their almost opposing personalities.
"The relationship [between Tess and I] is more like Patty and Cathy on the old Patty Duke Show. I'm Cathy, the cultured one who has traveled widely, while Tess has only seen the sights a girl can see from O'Donnell Heights."
In a more general sense, Lippman emphasized the fictional traits of her characters, saying, "One of the things about writing the Tess Monaghan novels is that I've been used to people saying that this character represents so-and-so in real life … I know that people read like that, but these relations are not in my head, not in my imagination - even though there are some facts sprinkled throughout the story, I assure you no "real person" was on my mind or is depicted in the novel."
In several ways, the Tess Monaghan crime dramas are inspired by Lippman's own esteem of episodic fiction. She said, "I came to be a writer of a series as a lover of series fiction … I love returning to familiar worlds - those certain recognizable touchstones."
Published by William Morrow, a subsidiary of HarperCollins, Another Thing to Fall is now available in bookstores throughout the county.
The novel immerses the reader in the glamorous Hollywood world, one of which Tess herself knows little. But despite feeling out of place, an occasion of murder occurs during filming and Tess must reprise her role as a private investigator. With crime, certain secrets surrounding the production of Mann of Steel are thus exposed. As Tess becomes further involved within the murder case, seemingly vague and insignificant mysteries come to threaten both the city and the people to which she holds most dear.
A good novelist develops characters that are portrayed with the necessary complexities belonging to any human individual; Tess Monaghan is a testament to Lippman's authority over her fictional creations. A current resident of Baltimore's Roland Park, Tess Monaghan is something of a scatterbrain in her own right. After graduating from Washington College in Chestertown, Md. with a major in English Literature, she begins work as a reporter for the Baltimore Star, but after three years of employment, the newspaper goes under.
After spending a significant period of time as a freelance writer while working in her aunt's bookstore, upon a friend's request Tess enters the crime practice as a private investigator. Though her business is initially unstable, as time progresses her expertise develops whereby eventually her skill and renown become well known by the Baltimore locals.
The numerous parallels between Monaghan and her creator are staggering in the most obvious sense, though Lippman maintains that Tess is very much a character in her own right. Though flattered by this common comparison made by readers between author and character, Lippman maintains their almost opposing personalities.
"The relationship [between Tess and I] is more like Patty and Cathy on the old Patty Duke Show. I'm Cathy, the cultured one who has traveled widely, while Tess has only seen the sights a girl can see from O'Donnell Heights."
In a more general sense, Lippman emphasized the fictional traits of her characters, saying, "One of the things about writing the Tess Monaghan novels is that I've been used to people saying that this character represents so-and-so in real life … I know that people read like that, but these relations are not in my head, not in my imagination - even though there are some facts sprinkled throughout the story, I assure you no "real person" was on my mind or is depicted in the novel."
In several ways, the Tess Monaghan crime dramas are inspired by Lippman's own esteem of episodic fiction. She said, "I came to be a writer of a series as a lover of series fiction … I love returning to familiar worlds - those certain recognizable touchstones."
Published by William Morrow, a subsidiary of HarperCollins, Another Thing to Fall is now available in bookstores throughout the county.
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