Product Description

It is a treasured Charm City tradition. Every year on Edgar Allan Poe's birthday a figure wrapped in a dark cloak visits the renowned author's Baltimore gravesite and leaves behind three roses and half a bottle of cognac. No Baltimorean worth his or her salt would ever dream of trying to determine the true identity of the "Poe Toaster," thereby possibly destroying a cherished ritual. That's why Tess Monaghan refuses to help the odd, piglike man who wants to hire her to unmask the Visitor, who the Porcine One claims has deceived and cheated him.

If nothing else, the rejected client's story has whetted Tess's curiosity—and so the following evening she and her enthusiastic boyfriend, Crow, are braving the winter chill and the graveyard dark to observe the strange, beloved rite from a respectful distance. But on this particular January 19, two caped figures approach Poe's resting place. One leaves the tribute and escapes into the night. The other dies there, felled by an assassin's bullet.

Tess sees nothing that the other witnesses didn't see. She isn't working for anyone at the moment—and the homicide detective who caught this particular "red ball" is an old and dangerous nemesis—so it might be worth her while to avoid this case like the plague. But someone else wants Tess involved in the worst way. A stranger is surreptitiously leaving her roses and cognac and bizarre, cryptic clues—someone who knows Tess's habits, someone who knows who she knows and where she lives. And suddenly home is a safe haven no longer.

Like it or not, Tess Monaghan is now a prime player in the murderous drama. And as the body count rises even higher, she uncovers links in a chain of greed, lies, false histories, and deadly acquisitiveness, a dangerously twisted mystery worthy of Poe himself.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #234416 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09-12
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 1.07" h x 4.30" w x 6.78" l, .43 pounds
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 400 pages

From Publishers Weekly
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.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Every year, on January 19th, in Baltimore, a mysterious person visits the grave of Edgar Allan Poe, leaving cognac and roses. This year Private Eye Tess Monaghan is present, along with her boyfriend, Crow, and they hear the gunshot that kills the mysterious visitor, or does it? With much detail and digression, the story unfolds as Tess and the police seek to capture the killer before he kills again. Laurence Bouvard characterizes Tess with an even, careless lilt but portrays men with squeaky, cartoonish voices. The tinny sound and continually changing volume also detract from the mystery. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Lippman's second Tess Monaghan novel is a perfectly good mystery, but even more, it's an homage to the city of Baltimore. As seen through the eyes of PI Monaghan, the city is celebrated on almost every page, but the setting provides more than just ambience. The plot itself hinges on an obscure bit of Baltimore's literary history involving an anonymous figure who places a glass of brandy and a rose on Edgar Allan Poe's grave every January in honor of the writer's birthday. No one wants to unmask the identity of the "Poe Toaster" for fear of ending the beloved tradition. When a client entices Tess and her boyfriend, Crowe, to watch the ritual, Tess is surprised to find two toasters--and then even more surprised to witness the murder of one of them. The case of the faux toaster draws Tess into a complex mystery that just may hinge on who is leaving her notes quoting Poe. Readers won't be able to resist Tess, who, like one of Baltimore's famous stone crabs, sports a tough shell that hides a sweet center. Jenny McLarin
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