Reading order · 12 books · 1997 to 2015 · Set in Baltimore
Tess Monaghan Books in Order
Tess Monaghan is a reporter who loses her job when her Baltimore newspaper closes and becomes a reluctant private investigator. A big, funny, stubborn woman who rows on the harbour, she knows every corner of her city.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Series facts
- Books
- 12
- Published
- 1997 to 2015
- First book
- Baltimore Blues
- Latest
- Hush Hush (2015)
- Setting
- Set in Baltimore
The reading order
Every Tess Monaghan book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
12 books · Set in Baltimore
- 1Baltimore Blues1997With Tess MonaghanTess Monaghan, an out-of-work reporter, agrees to follow her rowing partner’s fiancée, and then a lawyer is murdered and her friend is the main suspect.Buy on Amazon
- 2Charm City1997With Tess MonaghanA Baltimore newspaper hires Tess to find out who planted a damaging story about a businessman.Buy on Amazon
- 3Butchers Hill1998With Tess MonaghanA man who shot a boy years ago hires Tess to find the boy’s family so he can make amends.Buy on Amazon
- 4In Big Trouble1999With Tess MonaghanTess travels to Texas to find her missing former boyfriend, Crow.Buy on Amazon
- 5The Sugar House2000With Tess MonaghanTess looks into the death of an unidentified young woman, for the family of the man convicted of killing her.Buy on Amazon
- 6In a Strange City2001With Tess MonaghanTess is drawn into the mystery of the Poe Toaster, the stranger who leaves gifts at Edgar Allan Poe’s grave every year, and then a man is shot there.Buy on Amazon
- 7The Last Place2002With Tess MonaghanTess is hired to look into a series of murders of women by the men in their lives.Buy on Amazon
- 8By a Spider's Thread2004With Tess MonaghanThe wife and children of a Jewish furrier disappear, and he hires Tess to find them.Buy on Amazon
- 9No Good Deeds2006With Tess MonaghanCrow brings home a teenage boy who knows something about the murder of a federal prosecutor.Buy on Amazon
- 10Another Thing to Fall2008With Tess MonaghanTess is hired as a bodyguard for a television production filming in Baltimore.Buy on Amazon
- 11The Girl in the Green Raincoat2011With Tess MonaghanTess, pregnant and confined to bed, watches a woman in a green raincoat walking her dog in the park, until one day the dog is alone.Buy on Amazon
- 12Hush Hush2015With Tess MonaghanTess is hired to help a wealthy woman who was found not responsible for the death of her baby daughter years before, and who has now returned to Baltimore.Buy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
Read in order, starting with Baltimore Blues.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | Tess Monaghan | Whitney Talbot | Tyner Gray | Kitty Monaghan | Crow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Baltimore Blues | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 2 Charm City | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 3 Butchers Hill | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 4 In Big Trouble | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 5 The Sugar House | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor |
| 6 In a Strange City | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor |
| 7 The Last Place | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor |
| 8 By a Spider's Thread | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor |
| 9 No Good Deeds | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor |
| 10 Another Thing to Fall | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor |
| 11 The Girl in the Green Raincoat | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor |
| 12 Hush Hush | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor |
Characters in the Tess Monaghan books
5 characters from Laura Lippman’s chart, with the number of Tess Monaghan books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| Tess MonaghanFormer reporter turned private investigator | 12 | Baltimore Blues 1997 |
| Whitney TalbotTess's rich college friend | 12 | Baltimore Blues 1997 |
| Tyner GrayLawyer and Tess's mentor | 12 | Baltimore Blues 1997 |
| Kitty MonaghanTess's aunt | 12 | Baltimore Blues 1997 |
| CrowMusician and Tess's partner | 9 | In Big Trouble 1999 |