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Informationen zum Autor Since Laura Lippman’s debut, she has been recognized as a distinctive voice in mystery fiction and named one of the “essential” crime writers of the last 100 years. Stephen King called her “special, even extraordinary,” and Gillian Flynn wrote, “She is simply a brilliant novelist.” Her books have won most of the major awards in her field and been translated into more than twenty-five languages. She lives in Baltimore and New Orleans with her teenager. Klappentext On a searing August day, Melisandre Harris Dawes left her two-month-old daughter locked in a car while she sat nearby. Found not guilty by reason of criminal insanity, Melisandre left the country, her husband and her two surviving children, determined to start over. But now Melisandre has returned to Baltimore to meet with her estranged teenage daughters and wants to film the reunion for a documentary. The problem is, she relinquished custody and her ex isn't sure he approves. Now that she's a mother herself, Tess Monaghan wants nothing to do with a woman crazy enough to have killed her own child. But her mentor Tyner Gray, Melisandre's lawyer, has asked Tess to assess Melisandre's security needs. Tess has always felt that her curiosity about others is her greatest strength. Yet the imperious Melisandre is someone she cannot begin to understand, much less empathize with. A decade ago, a judge ruled that Melisandre was beyond rational thought. But was she? Tess tries to keep her distance from her mercurial yet confident client. This strategy gets tricky after Melisandre becomes a prime suspect in a murder. And as her doubts about Melisandre grow, Tess realizes that she's under scrutiny as well, followed by a judgmental stalker with an ax to grind. . . Zusammenfassung New York Times bestselling author Laura Lippman plunges Baltimore private investigator Tess Monaghan into a twisted and disturbing case. Tess Monaghan has encountered almost every possible criminal motive throughout her career: greed! revenge! jealousy! rage. But there are crimes that defy all attempts at understanding! where a search for motive seems pointless. Melisandre Harris Dawes committed such a crime. Found not guilty by reason of insanity! she fled the country! leaving her two daughters with their father. Twelve years later! she’s back in Baltimore! and Tess is asked to provide security detail while Melisandre films a documentary about her attempts to reconcile with her now teenaged children. Tess! juggling work with caring for her demanding toddler! is uneasy about the case. Still! Melisandre’s lawyer is family. And there is something about the woman herself—confident! beautiful! shrewdly intelligent—that draws Tess in. Is she a master manipulator or someone who was driven to temporary madness? Cold and calculating! or a mother concerned for her daughters’ well being? Someone is leaving Melisandre enigmatic! threatening notes. Soon Tess! insecure about her parenting abilities and receiving cryptic messages of her own! isn’t sure whether she should be protecting Melisandre from harm—or protecting everyone else from Melisandre. When Melisandre becomes the prime suspect in a murder! Tess must uncover the truth. Doing so will mean confronting her deepest beliefs about what separates good parents from bad! madness from sanity! and what lengths even the most rational person will go to! to protect what they cherish most. ...
