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Butchers Hill
by
Laura Lippman
mystery, private investigator in a paperback edition that was published by Avon Publications on January 1, 1998 and has 288 pages.
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Other books by this author which I have reviewed include The Girl in the Green Raincoat, Baltimore Blues, Charm City, In Big Trouble, Games Creatures Play
Third in the Tess Monaghan mystery series based in Baltimore and revolving around a private detective just starting out.
My Take
It was slow to get started but I was soon deep in the two cases Tess pursued. One on a baby put up for adoption by a young but ambitious woman who turns out to have very unexpected connections to the Weinstein side of Tess’ family. The other reopens the case of the Butcher of Butchers Hill unveiling a cauldron of corruption.
It’s some nasty stuff that has torn up peoples’ lives but I do love the ending.
The Story
Tess has opened her new office and finally gets two cases: a man who wants to find the children he shot at over five years ago and a woman who wants to find the daughter she gave up at birth. Both come with more complications than you can shake a stick at as some of the children are found murdered as well as some of the peripheral adults involved all those years ago.
The police suspect Beale…and Tess but the more who die, the less sense it makes. A loose tie-in with Judith Weir’s case and the information Tess learns about adoptions and the foster care system provides the needed clue that unravels the entire coverup.
The Characters
Tess Monaghan has some self-esteem issues. Understandable when you meet her Grandmother and mother. Unemployed for several years when the Baltimore paper by whom she was employed merged and her position was eliminated, a fellow rower and lawyer, Tyner Gray, encouraged Tess to explore private investigation. Well, okay, he pushed her into it kicking and screaming. Esskay is her retired greyhound whom she, ahem, “inherited” from Uncle Spike. She lives above her Aunt Kitty‘s bookstore in a cute apartment with its own terrace.
Tess is both Catholic and Jewish through the Monaghans and the Weinsteins. On the Weinstein side who show up in this installment, there is Gramma, Uncle Jules and Aunt Sylvia, their daughter, Deborah and her husband Aaron with their son Sam, Uncle Donald who has a placeholder job with the government and is always willing to help Tess out, Uncle Spike—no one is quite sure how he’s related, and her parents, Judith and Patrick. Gramma is a control freak and the siblings and grandchildren do their best to get around it.
Tess met Dorie Starnes when she did a job for the Beacon-Light newspaper. Dorie is running a secondary computer research business using her employer’s access to all sorts of databases. Martin Tull is a detective whom Tess met on an earlier case. Kevin Feeney is a still-employed reporter with whom Tess used to work.
Luther Beale was recently released from a five-year stint in prison for shooting a child in the back. He now wants to find the survivors of that shooting to anonymously help them to succeed in life. Or is he more interested in revenge as the police believe?
Mary Browne, a.k.a., Susan King, a.k.a., Jackie Weir is a very successful single woman who had a daughter at age 18. She gave the girl up for adoption but now wants to know how she’s doing. It’s a bizarre twist in finding Jackie’s daughter that clues Tess in as to the truth in Luther Beale’s case with a wonderful end for eight-month-old Laylah. Willa Mott worked for the adoption agency which supposedly placed Jackie’s daughter. Molly and David Edelman are Samantha King‘s foster parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Nelson are the foster parents who were responsible for the five kids involved in the Butcher Hill murder five years ago: Donnie Moore, the one who was shot; Salamon Hawkings; Treasure and Destiny Teeter, the twins; and, Eldon. The social worker in charge was Chase Pearson, Salamon’s current guardian.
The Cover and Title
The cover looks like a very enlarged pink brick with a square cutout showcasing a nightlit street in Baltimore. A very gritty feel.
The title refers to the location of one of her cases, Butchers Hill, which suddenly erupts into multiple murders.
