By a Spider's Thread CD (Lippman, Laura)

Rating:
Summary: fascinating thriller
Review: Baltimore private detective Tess Monaghan is overjoyed when she lands a wealthy client for her fledging business that is usually in need of survival funds. Mark Rubin, a modern orthodox Jew, wants Tess to find his wife and three children who disappeared without a word or a trace. Their disappearance comes as a shock to the grieving man who believes he had the perfect marriage and his wife Natalie had everything a woman could want.

Natalie never loved Mark; she waited for Zeke to get out of prison so they could be together. He was the one who arranged her marriage to Mark and he had a plan that would make them rich after he got out of jail. Natalie is not the innocent her husband thinks she is and she will go to extraordinary lengths to get what she wants. The more Tess learns about her the more she realizes that Natalie, knowingly or unwilling, has put her husband in danger from Zeke. She has a tough time convincing Mark that his angel in reality is a devil in disguise.

Laura Lippman always delivers a fascinating thriller but BY A SPIDER'S THREAD is her best Tess Monaghan work to date. The protagonist is a tough independent woman who is kindhearted even if she is afraid to make a commitment to the man she loves. Getting to know Zeke and Natalie, two people who look so good on the outside yet so ugly inside is a fascinating experience in a creepy sort of way. Tess does for Baltimore what Spenser does for Boston.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Don't miss this book
Review: Laura Lippman has been a favorite of mine since I read BALTIMORE BLUES and as few other writers have done, she gets better with each book. I was blown away by EVERY SECRET THING and am amazed that I felt that the latest in her Tess Monaghan series could only be described as "brilliant." Her changing POVs and the layer that unfold about the missing wife and children keep one reading with rapt attention.
Am not sure where "mctmjc" got her completely wrong information about BY A SPIDER'S THREAD being only the second book Lippman wrote by herself. But it is completely erroneous. But then many reviews..especially those that originate from online sites are.
It seems to me that "mctmjc" is not really a mystery fan, at least according to the list of books she has reviewed.
I am and KNOW Lippman has written all nine of her books by herself....unless, of course, you count her "muse."
Great characterization, great plotting and edge-of-your-seat suspense...what more can anyone ask?
Even if you have never read another Tess book, you should find this a compelling and most satisfactory book...and well worth the money. I again repeat the word, "brilliant."

Rating:
Summary: Stunning!
Review: Laura Lippman's eighth Tess Monaghan novel, "By A Spider's Thread" is a provocative, savvy, challenging thriller.

Precise plotting, an economical cast of realistic characters (some appealing, some detestable) and a plausible resolution make the pages disappear in a trice.

Mark Rubin, a wealthy Jewish furrier whose wife (Natalie) and three children have vanished, hires Tess to locate them.

Mark and Tess get off to a rocky beginning as Mark withholds information about his family and omits details about contacts that could illuminate Tess's search.

Tess is resourceful and they gradually warm to one another. As Tess learns more about Mark's family, marriage and religious identity, the reasons for Natalie's disappearance start to materialize.

Family secrets underlie the plot and provide the motive for the mastermind behind the disappearance.

The story is told from multiple points of view...that of Tess and the parallel view from the observant and bright eldest child.

This works and leaves enough blanks to fill in to keep you guessing and on your toes.

Laura Lippman is masterful at filling in the pertinent background with the backwards and forwards story telling.

Equally important is the way she builds the tension, suspense and impact with character development rather than gratuitous violence.

The multilayered, absorbing narrative has enormous momentum and clever details.

Easily the best in the Tess Monaghan series and a powerful follow-up to last year's spectacular "Every Secret Thing."