Edgar, Shamus, Anthony and Agatha award winner Lippman (Charm City; Butchers Hill; The Sugar House) pays homage to the inventor of the mystery form in this masterly contemporary mystery, set in Baltimore and replete with her trademark dry, sardonic wit. Every January 19th, in honor of Edgar Allan Poe's birthday, a loyal clique waits in the small hours for the "Visitor," also known as the "Poe Toaster," to approach Poe's tomb. He wears a formal cape and carries three blood-red roses and a bottle of cognac as tribute. For some reason the press keep their distance, as do bystanders. This year, for the first time, PI Tess Monaghan is present, too, along with her boyfriend, Crow. Having been roped into attendance by a would-be client, Tess awaits the coming of the Visitor in the freezing winter night. Suddenly, two caped men with roses and cognac show up. A shot rings out—one man lies dead, the other runs off. A deliciously complex story follows that brings Baltimore center stage and delves anew into the mysteries surrounding Poe himself. Tess finds her own life in danger, and becomes a primary player in a story she'd intended to view only from the periphery. The author offers a host of Poe-esque thrills, from multiple murders to a woman buried alive. In the denouement, the clock ticks rapidly while Tess matches wits with the killer in order to rescue the victim from her tomb before her air runs out. Lippman shows in this, her sixth novel, that she's indeed deserving of all the kudos she's received. (Sept. 11)
Forecast:With national print advertising, a 15-city NPR campaign and a six-city author tour, this novel will be well positioned to climb the genre bestseller charts.
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Reviewed on: 08/20/2001
Release date: 09/01/2001
Genre: Fiction
Peanut Press/Palm Reader - 400 pages - 9780060584900
Mass Market Paperbound - 400 pages - 9780380810239
Hardcover - 367 pages - 9781585471713
Other - 432 pages - 9780061807442
Other - 400 pages - 9780061123542
Hardcover - 310 pages - 9780380978182
Hardcover - 293 pages - 9780752848105
Open Ebook - 400 pages - 9780060584924
Mass Market Paperbound - 400 pages - 9780060511395
Mass Market Paperbound - 401 pages - 9780062070876
Paperback - 432 pages - 9780062403261
Open Ebook - 300 pages - 9780571319992