Hush Hush

In bestseller Lippman’s searing 12th installment in her series featuring Baltimore PI Tess Monaghan (last seen in the 2011 novella “The Girl in the Green Raincoat”), Tess, now the mother of a three-year-old girl with longtime boyfriend Crow, reluctantly takes a security job from attorney Tyner Gray, a family friend. Tyner represents Melisandre Harris Dawes, who, 12 years earlier, intentionally left her infant daughter in a hot car to die. Melisandre, a former lawyer, successfully argued that she suffered from postpartum psychosis, and was found not guilty by reason of insanity. She left Baltimore—and her two young daughters—behind, and moved abroad. Now Melisandre is back, with a documentary filmmaker in tow, to reunite with her daughters, 17-year-old Alanna and 15-year-old Ruby, who live with their father, Stephen, his new wife, and their baby. Tess, along with her new partner, ex-cop Sandy Sanchez, must assess Melisandre’s security risks. Lippman expertly delves into what it means to be mad—and more importantly, what comes next. [em]Agent: Vicky Bijur, Vicky Bijur Literary Agency. (Feb.) [/em]