Tuesday, February 01, 2011

Teaser Tuesday 70: Baltimore Blues

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few “teaser” sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


I have literally just started this one. Laura Lippman has been recommended to me based on other mystery/suspense authors I like. It's a bit of a longer tease, but I liked how this paragraph juxtaposes the feel of the city with the main character's mood.


But this morning, as she tried to feather her oars in air thick as particleboard, everything suddenly seemed futile. The first day of September should be cool, she thought, or at least cooler. She should be good at this [rowing] by now, or at least better. Abruptly, she pulled her oars out of the water and let the boat drift. She scanned the sky for rain, hoping for an excuse to quit. A thick haze hung over the skyline, but no clouds. From this vantage point Baltimore simply looked dirty and discouraged. (pg 4)




Ah, who hasn't felt like this from time to time?


From GoodReads:

Baltimore Blues
By Laura Lippman
(Tess Monaghan #1)

Until her paper, the Baltimore Star, crashed and burned, Tess Monaghan was a damn good reporter who knew her hometown intimately—from historic Fort McHenry to the crumbling projects of Cherry Hill. Now gainfully unemployed at twenty-nine, she's willing to take any freelance job to pay the rent—including a bit of unorthodox snooping for her rowing buddy, Darryl "Rock" Paxton.

In a city where someone is murdered almost everyday, attorney Michael Abramowitz's death should be just another statistic. But the slain lawyer's notoriety—and his noontime trysts with Rock's finacĂ©e—make the case front page news...and points to Rock as the likely murderer. But trying to prove her friend's innocence could prove costly to Tess—and add her name to that infamous ever-growing list.



18 comments:

Alice Audrey said...

It does make for an interesting juxtaposition. The feathering of oars and drifting should be peaceful, not lead into discouragement.

Beth said...

Great teaser! Here is my teaser from Nightingale.

Heather said...

Alice: Exactly. It really sets the tone of the scene as well as gives one a glimpse into the heroine's mindset (at least for this point of the book).

Beth: Thank you!

Wendi said...

Sometimes longer teasers just make better sense, and this was a perfect one. Thanks for the teaser!

Here's my Teaser! ~ Wendi

Jennifer said...

Fantastic teaser and book selection. My TT: http://www.rundpinne.com/2011/02/teaser-tuesdays-shadowfever.html

Marg said...

Nice teaser.

Here is my teaser for this week

Laurel-Rain Snow said...

Oh, I really have to read this one! It's part of a series, and I guess the one I just finished was the 10th one (The Girl in the Green Raincoat). I like the character Tess Monaghan.

Thanks for sharing!

Here's MY TEASER

Kristin said...

I've heard about Laura Lippman - but haven't read her yet...I'm going to have to check her out!

My teaser can be found here.

gautami tripathy said...

Great teaser, this!

Here is my Teaser Tuesday: Blood Over Badge by Wayne Farquhar

Heather said...

Wendi: My feelings exactly, though I know there are some who disagree. Loved your teaser for this week!

Jennifer: Thank you, I am enjoying this one so far. Sort of makes me wish I had seen more of Baltimore when out there, but we only had the one day in the city.

Marg: Thanks!

Heather said...

Laurel-Rain: Yes, it is book one. I have books 3, 4, 8 and 9 (hey, you can't beat $1 clearance sales!) on my shelf. I put my name in at GR to win #10, but no such luck. For some reason, I never win mysteries or thrillers there, despite how many I read.

Kristin: I first heard about her on GoodReads, when I was invited to join a suspense Q&A featuring Lippman, Sandra Brown and Charles Todd (a mother/son writing duo). About the same time a couple peeps I know suggested I might like her, based on others authors I read. Seemed like serendipity to me! *g*

Gautami: Thank you!

Unknown said...

I've only read one book by Laura Lippman so far (I'd Know You Anywhere) & it's a great book. I want to start reading the Tes Monaghan series soon! I hope you are enjoying Baltimore Blues....the teaser is great. I for sure have felt this way!

~ Amy
Amy's Teaser Today!

Shelley Munro said...

That's excellent writing. I wish I'd written that :)

Cat said...

Great teaser - really sets the mood. I like Laura Lippman so hope you enjoy it.

kavyen said...

Wow, what a coincidence. I am halfway through Baltimore Blues as well and I loved Tess. I look forward to your review. Just became a follower as well.

PS: I almost picked the teaser from that and was lazy to walk upstairs.

Here is mine
http://www.readingbetweenpages.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/teaser-tuesday-–-feb-1st-2011

Heather said...

Amy: I have a couple of Lippman's STs on my shelf as well, but not the one you mentioned. Another to add to the book hunt list! *g*

Shelley: I had a feeling some of my writer friends would especially like this passage. You can actually feel how heavy and oppressive the air is. (Unlike the current weather here, which is wet with heavy snow...again.)

Heather said...

Thanks, Cat! I am only up to chapter five so far, but it does read fairly fast and is pretty good so far. I have a feeling I'm not going to get much sleep between the storm raging tonight and rude neighbors, so may get quite a bit of reading done.

Kavyen: GMTA! Looks like you are quite a bit ahead of me, but as I was saying to Cat, I don't think I'm going to get much sleep tonight, so might as well read. Thanks for following!

Barbara said...

love her work. living in the Baltimore area, I love her references to the city.

Here's mine