I was drawn to Laura Lippman's work because I know she is married to David Simon, who helped to create some of the most compelling and complex drama that has ever been brought to the screen, in my opinion. Since Lippman had the same background, Baltimore Sun writer turned author, I figured I'd be in for more of the same. While Lippman is a talented writer, her stories all come to the same conclusion. After the first few stories it was not difficult to guess what end the characters would come to -- female protagonists who were not afraid to commit murder to get what they want. It's a cheap way to write, too easy a device, and it gets redundant. One story, called "Black-Eyed Susan" seemed to be setting up a unique situation with an enterprising Baltimore family who made money off the Preakness, but alas it evitably fled into the same predicitable (and highly improbable) conclusion as all the other stories.



If you are looking for pure escapism this is an enjoyable collection, however I was looking for variety of plot and that bleak Baltimore realism that highlights every character's humanity that I had come to love in David Simon's work.

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