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By a Spider's Thread

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

Mark Rubin's family is missing—and the police won't get involved because all the evidence indicates that his wife left willingly. So the successful Baltimore furrier turns to Tess Monaghan, hoping she can help him find his wife and three children. Tess doesn't quite know what to make of Rubin, who doles out vitally important information in grudging dribs and drabs. According to her client, he and his beautiful wife, Natalie, had a flawless, happy marriage. Yet one day, without any warning or explanation, Natalie gathered up their children and vanished.

Tapping into a network of fellow investigators spread across the country, Tess is soon able to locate the runaway wife and the children who have been moving furtively from state to state, town to town. But the Rubins are not alone. A mysterious man is traveling with them, a stranger described by witnesses as ""handsome"" and ""charming"" but otherwise unremarkable. And the deeper Tess digs, the more she suspects that the motive behind Natalie's reckless flight lies somewhere in the gap between what Rubin will not say and what he refuses to believe.

An intricate web of betrayal and vengeance is already beginning to unfold, as memory begets rage, and rage begets desperation...and murder. Suddenly, much more than one man's future happiness and stubborn pride are in peril. For the lives of three innocent children are dangling by the slenderest of threads.

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  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      July 1, 2004
      Tess Monaghan is back. After last year's haunting standalone novel Every Secret Thing, Lippman returns with her eighth installment in an award-winning crime series. This time out the determined reporter-turned-private detective agrees to help a handsome but off-puttingly rigid Orthodox Jewish furrier Mark Ruben find his missing wife and children. Monaghan was recommended to the uptight furrier by her Jewish uncle, who spent years working with Ruben in a volunteer program that instructed Jewish prisoners in Jewish rituals and traditions. Ruben makes Monaghan feel as if she knows nothing about being Jewish, even though her mother's family is Jewish. He also makes her feel as if she knows nothing about commitment. About the only thing that makes her like Ruben is the cash he's willing to pay her up front. As weeks go by, Monaghan uncovers a tangle of lies and dark plans that reveal that Ruben's gorgeous young Russian Jewish bride is anything but innocent. Yet much to Monaghan's amazement, nothing seems to dim Ruben's faith in his own tradition or to rock his sense of his role and responsibilities as a husband and a father. Lippman delivers a smart, fast-paced, nuanced story that features a well-drawn supporting cast, including the endearing if dangerous city of Baltimore itself. Lippman's bad guys never become as interesting as her good guys, but there are some captivating touches here, including a criminal who studies the plots of crime novels in prison. Lippmann's many fans will be thrilled.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Why would Natalie Rubin take her three children and run away from her supposedly happy marriage to a rich furrier? The deserted husband hires sleuth Tess Monaghan to find out. What follows is a search involving, among others, the Snoop Sisters, online female PIs. Linda Emond's unhurried pace allows listeners to absorb the details of a well-thought-out plot, even in abridged form. Each character's personality comes out through intonation--Rubin's intractability, Tess's feistiness, and young Isaac's courage and intelligence. Tess, a serial PI, already has a lot of fans and should only win more with this well-presented adventure. J.B.G. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      August 1, 2004
      Baltimore PI Tess Monaghan's Jewish roots (her mother was a Weinstein) show in her eighth outing (after The Last Place). Hired by Mark Rubin, a successful furrier and Orthodox Jew, to find his missing wife, Natalie, and their three children, Tess is driven to research the religion of her client, who's secretive, controlling, and apparently in denial. (For further assistance, Tess calls on Snoop Sisters, an online network of female PIs that even provides a retired librarian to tail her quarry.) Readers know early on that Natalie leaves for love, but only by the end are all the connections revealed among Mark, Natalie, her lover, and a former outreach program for Jews in Maryland prisons. Ex-journalist Lippman's knowledge of social services and public records serves her well here, as she spins another taut, masterly tale full of complex characters, including feisty Tess herself. Lippman lives in Baltimore. [See Mystery Prepub Alert, LJ 4/1/04.] Michele Leber, Arlington, VA

      Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      The wife of an Orthodox Jewish furrier disappears with their three children. He's sure foul play is involved. Using the Internet and a network of dedicated female investigators, Jewish-Irish PI Tess Monaghan, of Baltimore, tracks the fugitive family and uncovers a shockingly complex plot. Barbara Rosenblat's impressive vocal range and flawless accents breathe humanity into all the characters, even those only briefly met. Whether delivering the slightest hint of Baltimore in one character's speech patterns or the broader Russian accents of another, she does so with the artistry of the master voice actor she is. In her eighth Tess Monaghan mystery, award-winning author Laura Lippman offers a fas-cinating look at the world of Orthodox Judaism, as well as a chilling reminder of how deeply held resentments destroy lives. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine

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