“Lippman’s taut, mesmerizing, and exceptionally smart drama of predator and prey is at once unusually sensitive and utterly compelling.
—Booklist
“Lippman’s taut, mesmerizing, and exceptionally smart drama of predator and prey is at once unusually sensitive and utterly compelling.CHARM CITY (Tess Monaghan #2)
About the Book
In New York Times bestselling author Laura Lippman’s electrifying thriller, PI Tess Monaghan discovers she might’ve gotten herself into a dangerous situation for which there’s no way out. . . .
PI Tess Monaghan is ecstatic to hear the news that business tycoon Gerard “Wink” Wynkowski wants to bring pro-basketball back to Baltimore. But when Wink’s checkered past—which runs the gamut from domestic abuse and compulsive gambling to armed robberies and even manslaughter—makes the front page of the Baltimore Beacon-Light, aka the “Blight” his project is jeopardized. No one is more surprised at the exposé than the editors of the paper who were certain they killed the piece. Hoping to uncover who hacked into their computers, the newspaper hires Tess.
But soon after the story on Wink runs, he’s found asphyxiated in his garage with his car’s engine running. Suicide appears to be the cause of his death—and everyone is blaming the “Blight” for airing his dirty laundry and sending him into the downward spiral that led to his demise. But the more Tess uncovers about Wink, the more she’s convinced that someone with an axe to grind wanted him dead and was willing to go as far as murdering him.