Reading Order
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Start with Baltimore Blues and continue through all 13 books in the listed reading order.
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Start with Baltimore Blues
Book 1 by Laura Lippman • Published 1997
When her Baltimore newspaper folds, out of work reporter Tess Monaghan agrees to look into the murder of a flashy lawyer who was sleeping with her friend's fiancee. Clearing her rowing buddy means diving into city pol...
Complete List
Tess Monaghan reading order
Ends with Hush Hush
- 1
Book 1:Baltimore Blues
Laura Lippman • 1997
When her Baltimore newspaper folds, out of work reporter Tess Monaghan agrees to look into the murder of a flashy lawyer who was sleeping with her friend's fiancee. Clearing her rowing buddy means diving into city pol...
- 2
Book 2:Charm City
Laura Lippman
Use the reading order above to move through the series in the intended sequence.
- 3
Book 3:Butchers Hill
Laura Lippman • 1998
Newly licensed PI Tess has set up shop in the rough Butchers Hill neighborhood when Luther Beale, infamous for shooting a teen vandal, hires her to find the kids who witnessed his crime. As those witnesses start dying...
- 4
Book 4:In Big Trouble
Laura Lippman • 1999
A newspaper clipping and photograph of her musician ex, Crow, labeled in big trouble, lure Tess from Baltimore to the music clubs of Texas. There she finds a vanished band, family secrets, and a case that tests how we...
- 5
Book 5:The Sugar House
Laura Lippman • 2000
A family friend asks Tess to review an old case in which a junkie confessed to killing a teenage runaway and then died in prison. Chasing the thin trail of a nameless Jane Doe, Tess moves from Baltimore's Inner Harbor...
- 6
Book 6:In a Strange City
Laura Lippman • 2001
Curious about the anonymous visitor who leaves roses and cognac at Edgar Allan Poe's grave each year, Tess stakes out the ritual and sees a man shot dead in the cemetery. Drawn into a case steeped in literary obsessio...
- 7
Book 7:The Last Place
Laura Lippman • 2002
Ordered into anger management, Tess takes a consulting job with a nonprofit reviewing five unsolved domestic violence homicides. What begins as paperwork turns into a road trip through small town Maryland, where she a...
- 8
Book 8:By a Spider's Thread
Laura Lippman • 2004
A devout Baltimore businessman hires Tess to find his missing wife and three children, who seem to have run off with another man. Tracking them pulls Tess into a web of hidden identities, uneasy alliances, and hard qu...
- 9
Book 9:No Good Deeds
Laura Lippman • 2006
Working as a consultant to the local paper, Tess treats the murder of a young federal prosecutor as just another case to diagram. Then her boyfriend brings home a teenage grifter who knows too much, and Tess's choice...
- 10
Book 10:The Girl in the Green Raincoat
Laura Lippman • 2008 • 1 recommendation
In late pregnancy and confined to bed, Baltimore PI Tess Monaghan passes the time watching a woman in a green raincoat walk her dog each day. When the dog appears alone, Tess investigates from her sun porch, uncoverin...
- 11
Book 11:Another Thing to Fall
Laura Lippman • 2008
When Tess nearly collides with a film crew while rowing, she lands a job protecting the temperamental young star of a TV series shooting in Baltimore. Sabotage, accidents, and ugly secrets swirl on set, and Tess must...
- 12
Book 12:The Book Thing
Laura Lippman • 2012
When expensive children's picture books keep disappearing from a cozy Baltimore shop each Saturday, Tess Monaghan offers her services for free. Tracking the book thief leads her into the odd world of collectors, free...
- 13
Book 13:Hush Hush
Laura Lippman • 2015
Years after being found not guilty by reason of insanity for leaving her baby to die in a hot car, Melisandre Harris Dawes returns to Baltimore to film a documentary and reconnect with her surviving daughters. Hired t...
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Tess Monaghan FAQ
What is the best order to read the Tess Monaghan series?
The recommended reading order is the numbered order shown on this page, starting with Baltimore Blues.
How many books are in the Tess Monaghan series?
There are 13 books currently listed in the Tess Monaghan series on GurusReads.
Where should I start with the Tess Monaghan series?
New readers should start with Baltimore Blues, the first book in the reading order.
Is the Tess Monaghan series complete?
Based on the publication years we have, the series appears likely complete and spans releases from 1997 to 2015.