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There are currently 31 member reviews
for The Girl in the Green Raincoat
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Kristen H. (Lowell, MA)
Mole hill to mountain while still mole hill
This book starts out with Tessa noticing a girl walking in the park with her dog and then the girl goes missing and while everyone else thinks that Tessa is making a mountain out of a mole hill in this girl's disappearance she is certain something is wrong. This book captivated me from the beginning for it starts with such a simple premise and the whole story stays simple though the ending is a bit of a surprise.
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Liz M. (Morristown, NJ)
The Girl in the Green Raincoat
I really enjoyed this book, it's a short story that keeps your interest with a good plot and characters. This was my first book by Laura Lippman, but not my last. I will definitely go back and find other books written by her. A good book to curl up with on a cold evening!
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Judy B. (Marysville, OH)
Don't underestimate The Girl in the Green Raincoat or Laura Lippman
Laura Lippman’s The Girl in the Green Raincoat is great fun…and it’s short! This is another in the Tess Monaghan series, a couple of which I’ve read and enjoyed. The book’s main antecedent is Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window—Tess is laid up, forbidden to move because of complications with her pregnancy (love it—I don’t know of another tough female PI in this genre who gets pregnant). Looking out her window, a la Jimmy Stewart, she watches a girl in a green raincoat walking her dog, who is wearing a matching green coat, in the park across the street. Then one day Tess sees the dog alone running as if pursued, with the leash dragging behind. Well, what has happened to the girl in the green raincoat? Tess suspects foul play and uses all her resources, minus her mobility, to investigate. The surprising and satisfying resolution puts Tess in danger of losing her life. I especially liked this book in the Tess series. Maybe partly because Tess is “imprisoned,” the story is as much about people, families, and relationships as about action, plot, and “whodunit.” I also like Lippman’s characters who are, as Tess puts it, people “the world tended to underestimate.”
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Amy H. (Benbrook, TX)
Impressive Effort for Novella
As a fan of Rear Window, I was anxious to read The Girl in the Green Raincoat, and I was not disappointed. Although the climax was predictable regarding Carole coming back into the picture and at the same time Tess going into labor, I was pleased with the character development which can be challenging for a novella. I enjoyed the peripheral characters as well, particularly Lloyd and Crow, and Tess's father. I will be looking for more books by her, and got the impression that these characters have appeared in previous books by Lippmann.
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Madeline M. (Sarasota, FL)
The Girl in the Green Raincoat
I'm a big fan of Laura Lippman, especially her stand alone novels. I enjoyed this Tess Monaghan story - it's deceptively short and simple, but it's layered not only with the mystery itself but also with themes of the various kinds of love out there in the world and all the people who bring it into our lives. It's got a snappy style with engaging characters. I also liked the Author's Insight pages at the back of the book.
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Sue J. (Wauwatosa, WI)
The Girl in the Green Raincoat
This is my first encounter I've had with Tess Monaghan, the strong-willed former reporter tuned PI. Laura Lippman is a good storyteller, it was a fun light read. The plot was unusual and the characters were interesting. I would recommend this book if you like mysteries.
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Barbra W. (Dexter, MI)
The Girl in the Green Raincoat
After reading the first few pages of this novella, it struck me as the perfect easy, get-away-from-it-all story. With a nod to "Rear Window" and likable main characters it seemed like a great weekend read. But as I got into the book, I found the overall cadence of the book rather flat and predictable. The characters seemed somewhat 2-dimensional. The main character never struck me as particularly good at her job as an investigator, nor did the "big twist" in the plot seem all that surprising. So while I'd like to recommend the book, I'd have to say that overall it was just so-so and I wouldn't seek out other books in this series.
