Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Reviews of The Girl in the Green Raincoat (Tess Monaghan, Bk 11)

The Girl in the Green Raincoat  (Tess Monaghan, Bk 11)
The Girl in the Green Raincoat - Tess Monaghan, Bk 11
Author: Laura Lippman
ISBN-13: 9781611292398
ISBN-10: 1611292395
Publication Date: 1/2011
Rating:
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 19

3.8 stars, based on 19 ratings
Publisher: Harper Collins
Book Type: Hardcover
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

11 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

kdurham2813 avatar reviewed The Girl in the Green Raincoat (Tess Monaghan, Bk 11) on + 753 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 9
A quick little read that was packed with mystery and drama. I loved this little novella - it was a perfect read for a lazy Sunday afternoon. This was my first Laura Lippman book and I am now headed to goodreads to add more to my wish list!

I am a fan of the mystery caper where the reader knows a twist will occur at some point, but it always blindsides you in the end. Lippman provided the reader with all the necessary facts to correctly identify the "bad guy," but somehow I was way off mark. I will definitely be looking for more of these great reads for lazy Sunday afternoons when the weather takes a turn for the cold and dreary.

I would absolutely pass this little gem off to any reader who loves a little mystery in their lives. A great read for most ages with innocence and intrigue.
cathyskye avatar reviewed The Girl in the Green Raincoat (Tess Monaghan, Bk 11) on + 2309 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
First Line: "I am being held hostage," Tess Monaghan whispered into her iPhone.

In this eleventh outing for Baltimore private investigator Tess Monaghan, she is in the third trimester of her pregnancy and forced to endure bed rest. During the day she is ensconced on a chaise longue on her sun porch, and in homage to one of my favorite books (The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey) and one of my favorite movies (Hitchcock's Rear Window), Tess finds herself paying more attention to the people in the park across the street than she does the books, magazines and DVDs she has at hand.

In particular she pays attention to one pretty woman and her dog, both of whom are dressed alike in green raincoats. One day the woman and her dog arrive for their walk and only the dog comes back. The woman has disappeared. Tess knows something's wrong, but since she can't investigate she must enlist the aide of friends and employees like Dorie and Mrs. Blossom. It's a good thing Tess is lying down because she's just opened a big can of worms.

I only made Tess's acquaintance in December, reading the first book in the series, Baltimore Blues. Even though I'm usually a stickler for reading series books in order, I couldn't resist this one. Was I confused by the nine unread books in between? Not really, because Lippman is a pro at giving the reader enough information not to feel lost. It's obvious to me that plenty has happened in Tess's life in those nine books, and reading The Girl in the Green Raincoat has whetted my appetite to go back and fill in the blanks.

This is short and fast and thoroughly enjoyable. I loved the conversations Tess would have with her unborn child (whom she usually referred to as "Fifi"):

"Don't ever settle, Fifi. Don't get married just because it's still marketed as the ultimate achievement for women.

On the other hand, learn to value men for something other than their paychecks."


Very wise words, Fifi. You'd do well to listen to them. If you're a fan of Tess's-- or even if you're not-- The Girl in the Green Raincoat is one fine mystery.
bellasgranny avatar reviewed The Girl in the Green Raincoat (Tess Monaghan, Bk 11) on + 468 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I won an ARC of this book in a bookbrowse.com giveaway and posted this review of their site.

It's been a long while since I visited with Tess Monaghan and her beloved city of Baltimore. A short novella, reminiscent of Rear Window, that was a quick and easy read. Bedridden in her final months of pregnancy, Tess watches a woman in a green raincoat walk her dog in the park across the street everyday. When she doesn't show up for a few days and her dog is found loose in the park, Tess is determined to find out what happened to her. I was immediately pulled into the story. An engaging read, whose ending I never saw coming.
reviewed The Girl in the Green Raincoat (Tess Monaghan, Bk 11) on + 1453 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Very good little mystery! Imagine being pregnant and bedridden. Imagine being isolated from a job you love. Imagine yourself as a mother when you are enjoying life so much. And, you are not even married! Tess finds herself in this situation and as she gazes out her window day after day she begins to notice a woman in a green raincoat who walks her dog every day. Then one day the dog comes running through her view with his leash flying but without the woman in the green raincoat. This is a mystery that a woman who runs her own detective agency simply cannot pass up.
my2luvsemmyandmally avatar reviewed The Girl in the Green Raincoat (Tess Monaghan, Bk 11) on + 758 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Great book! It drew me right in and I loved the
unexpected twist at the end! Laura Lippman really can write an exciting story!!!
jjares avatar reviewed The Girl in the Green Raincoat (Tess Monaghan, Bk 11) on + 3426 more book reviews
This little novella is a gem! Ive fallen in love with Crow all over again. Hes a great counterbalance to Tess angst and agitation.

Tess is pregnant and not too happy with the results. Shes confined to the house for the next 2 months because of preeclampsia, until the baby is born. Of course that does not preclude her from ferreting out a mystery even from her chaise lounge in the sunroom! Armed with an iPhone, laptop and Mrs. Blossoms services, Tess is on the hunt for the missing woman in the green raincoat.

This book is cleverly done; she even finds time to give the back story on Mrs. Blossom. We get an update on the trials-of-being-a-teen-in-love (namely, Lloyd Jupiters love life) and even find out how Tess mom and dad met.

Tess best friend, Whitney, takes a larger role in this story. Its an opportunity to learn more about this wealthy WASP. Whitney eagerly goes out with Baltimores Man-with-the-Worst-Luck and finds herself wondering if she will survive; however, Whitney has wits (an a sense of humor) in huge doses.

This is a quick read; but critical in understanding the coming changes to Tesss career and life.
reviewed The Girl in the Green Raincoat (Tess Monaghan, Bk 11) on + 131 more book reviews
In the third trimester of her pregnancy, Baltimore PI Tess Monaghan is under doctor's orders to remain in bed. Bored, reduced to watching the world go by, she notices a young woman in a green raincoat who walks her dog at the same time every day. Then one day the dog is running free and its owner is nowhere to be seen. Certain that something is wrong, Tess is determined to get to the bottom of the woman's disappearance, even if she must do so from her own bedroom. A very good Hitchcockian book, short but with meat to it.
guppy47 avatar reviewed The Girl in the Green Raincoat (Tess Monaghan, Bk 11) on + 15 more book reviews
If you like Laura Lippman you will definetely like this book. I got it one day and was done with it the next. It is brand new only been read once by me. Very fast read. Would highly recommend it.
reviewed The Girl in the Green Raincoat (Tess Monaghan, Bk 11) on
quick read, fast-paced story, very enjoyable
keli avatar reviewed The Girl in the Green Raincoat (Tess Monaghan, Bk 11) on + 31 more book reviews
Light, easy read
reviewed The Girl in the Green Raincoat (Tess Monaghan, Bk 11) on + 68 more book reviews
Fast read. One of my favorite authors. Always surprises you. Kept interest. Enjoyable.