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Seasonal Work

Stories

Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
2 of 2 copies available

New York Times bestseller Laura Lippman showcases why she is one of today's top crime writers in this acclaimed collection of suspenseful stories featuring fierce women—including one never-before-published novella.

"A first-rate collection, an obvious must for the legions of Lippman fans, but also great reading for anyone who savors short crime fiction." — Booklist (starred review)


The award-winning master of psychological suspense is in top form in this collection of diverse and diabolically clever stories.

In the never-before-published "Just One More," a married couple—longing for that old romantic spark—creates a playful diversion that comes with unexpected consequences.

Lippman's beloved Baltimore PI Tess Monaghan keeps a watchful eye on a criminally resourceful single father in "Seasonal Work," while her mother, Judith, realizes that the life of "The Everyday Housewife" is an excellent cover for all kinds of secrets.

In "Slow Burner," a husband's secret cell phone proves to be a dicey temptation for a suspicious wife.

A father's hidden past piques the curiosity of a young snoop in "The Last of Sheila-Locke Holmes."

Plus seven other brilliantly crafted stories of deception, murder, dangerous games, and love gone wrong—irrefutable evidence that Laura Lippman's riveting fiction will more than satisfy any crime reader.

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    • AudioFile Magazine
      Each of these suspenseful stories, written over 12 years, is told by a uniquely talented narrator. The variety contributes to the listener's sense of dipping into different perspectives. Dark plots and fierce females are common threads. The author herself delivers the afterword, in which she explains how she rewrote older stories that hadn't aged well. "Just One More" is a novella featuring a married couple who sign up for a dating app during the Covid pandemic to see if they would be matched with each other. When one spouse takes the game more seriously than the other, it sparks intrigue during an otherwise boring time. Like the other narrators in the collection, Sarah Naughton uses her range of tones well. A.L.C. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      March 1, 2022

      Lippman's (Dream Girl) short story collection begins with "Seasonal Work," in which listeners discover a man's peculiar Christmas traditions. This ensemble of suspenseful and sometimes even sinister narratives will leave listeners amazed by the cleverness and deceit of the diverse range of characters. All of the stories were previously published in other works except "Just One More," which was recently written to reflect life during the pandemic. The tales are brought to life by a large cast of narrators including the author, Sophie Amoss, Eileen Stevens, Susan Bennett, Xe Sands, Jason Culp, George Newbern, Janina Edwards, Jane Oppenheimer, Jesse Vilinsky, Carlotta Brentan, Eva Kaminsky, and Sarah Naughton. From a housewife who enjoys snooping around the neighborhood to a man who regularly scams people for money, each character and detail was meticulously crafted to make these stories stand out. VERDICT Fans of the author, as well as anyone who enjoys mystery short stories, will find more than one entry in this collection to love.--Lacey Webster

      Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      November 29, 2021
      Bestseller Lippman (Dream Girl) displays her uncanny understanding of human nature and all its foibles in this worthy collection of 12 stories involving deceit, violence, and psychological mayhem. In the edgy “Slow Burner,” a married couple, Liz and Phil, engage in metaphorical fisticuffs after healing from the husband’s infidelity a year previously. Then Liz finds a burner phone in the laundry basket with incriminating texts on it. She tries to trivialize it as an example of Phil’s “delight in being new to someone, anyone,” but soon realizes this affair runs as deeply as the first. She takes matters into her own hands, with frightening results. Another standout is “Five Fires,” in which a jealous small-town deli worker is determined to find the arsonist setting nearby fires, but her schizophrenia conceals the shocking truth about the crimes. Booksellers will relish “The Book Thing,” in which PI Tess Monaghan, Lippman’s series lead, catches the man stealing inventory from indie bookstores—and discovers his extraordinary use for the books. Not every entry is top-notch, but anything from Lippman is worth reading. Agent: Vicky Bijur, Vicky Bijur Literary.

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