The Girl in the Green Raincoat by Laura Lippman

Although I have read other Laura Lippman novels, this was my first Tess Monaghan story. It was first serialized in the New York Times, so it's pretty short for a novel, which makes it a quick read.

Since Tess is a private investigator, it was odd that the first book I read about her she is seven months pregnant and on bed rest. It felt like I jumped in the middle of a story, which I guess I sort of did. I would like to go back and read the Tess Monaghan stories now from the beginning - to get to know the characters better. Especially Crow!

I was confused about all of Don Epstein's wives/girlfriend and how they were connected at first. I am glad that the connections were clearly explained eventually. I never really got a feel for Carole until the very end, but one thing I am curious about: did she really love Dempsey before she abandoned him? Or was she the reason he was so neurotic? I know Dempsey attacks Carole at the end, but by that time, he was protective of Tess. Don didn't seem like he would mistreat a dog, so that whole thing was weird.

I found a typo on page 49. At first I thought it was meaningful because it's a misspelled name: Danielle Messenger, Don's girlfriend. Lenhardt and Tess were swapping information and they figure out that Carole's maiden name was Massinger.  Lenhardt makes a comment that Massinger is Danielle's last name, and then in the next sentence, she is referred to as Danielle Messinger. I thought it HAD to be significant, but nope. Just a typo.

I actually enjoyed the book and I was surprised by the ending.  The only question I have about the deaths is, who killed Danielle? I thought I knew, but I was thrown off by the accusations between Don and Carole in court. I thought it was weird that Whitney was enchanted by Don. When Whitney says to Tess, "Just think, it could have been a double ceremony", I was really thrown off. So, is Don a "good guy" (other than committing fraud!) or a "bad guy"? Whitney comments that he was terrified of Carole. Mixed signals. 

I always like when the main character has a sense of humor, which Tess does. All in all, a good, quick summer read.

Wendy's Rating: ****