Reviews

By a Spider's Thread by Laura Lippman

marjoryreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

vkaz's review

4.0

Confession: I am on a serious Laura Lippman jag. I finished one of her books from later in the series yesterday, and, on my sickbed, decided to kindle one today that I hadn't read yet. I picked a good one. I loved this book. Not because the plot was great. Tess Monaghan (who is half Jewish) takes on the case of a furrier, an Orthodox Jew, whose wife left with their three kids. Tess's search takes her to different groups within the Jewish community in Baltimore, as Tess reflects on her roots and considers her own faith.

The characters drove this book for me. They are so well crafted. I've learned in writing classes that you should create villains that have sympathetic aspects and make sure your heroes have their flaws. Lippman does that beautifully here. Mark Rubin is an inflexible, picky and controlling man, but he's a great dad. We see much of the action through the eyes of Rubin's son, Isaac, an endearing, enterprising kid who is just as stubborn as his dad. Tess herself grows and struggles with her past in this book, but judging by some of the reviews here, not everyone likes how she comes across in this book. For me, it made Tess even more relatable.

Now off to kindle the next in the series....

dianametzger's review

3.0

This was the first book of her Tess Moghnahan series that I'd read and I really enjoyed Tess' character: sardonic, set in her ways, quite funny. Some of the best characterizations I've seen yet in all the Lippman books I've read. I also appreciated that even though this was the 8th Tess book in the series I wasn't lost or felt I'd missed something major by not reading the previous 7, but now I'll definitely seek them out.

aspygirlsmom_1995's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

agmaynard's review

adventurous funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Narrated by the always fabulous Barbara Rosenblat. Tess M not a huge favorite of mine, but Barbara is, and enjoyable Maryland references and LBC, as well as characterizations. Ends with a wedding (not Tess, but…)

judyward's review

3.0

The wife of a successful businessman suddenly vanishes with her children and Tess Monaghan is hired by the husband to find them. This is not my favorite book in this series probably because I really didn't find myself invested with any of the characters.

brynebo's review

4.0

Although I read mostly contemporary fiction, sometimes I just crave a good "whodunit." I read a review of Lippman's "What the Dead Know" in Bookmarks magazine and promptly added Lippman to my list of mystery authors to try. So when I stumbled aupon a copy of "By A Spider's Thread" at the last library book sale, I snapped it up. Glad I did.

mrsjkamp's review

4.0

Definitely the best book in the series. This one was smarter, fast-paced, etc. It kept you guessing as to where it was going, and there were shockers along the way. Seriously enjoyed it! Mark was an interesting character.. not sure if you can trust him because he's protective of his family. Natalie didn't do a whole lot for me. She really rubbed me the wrong way, but that's probably to be expected. And Zeke.. dude.. eff that guy. Woweeeee. I just really enjoyed this novel. The narrator was great, the story was great, and I can't wait for the next one.

sbunyan's review

4.0

I checked out the audio book from the library and a few tracks in realized I'd read this before. I think my 4 start rating was validated but I enjoyed it all over again.

I enjoy the Tess Monaghan series. I like her ongoing life updates and the plots. The plot this time was intriguing, told from several perspectives. And while searching for the missing family Tess has conversations about religion with the victim who is an orthodox Jew. Tess' mother was Jewish and her father was Catholic and Tess doesn't consider herself either so the discussion is interesting.

avisreadsandreads's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5