By a Spider's Thread ( Tess Monaghan #8 )

New York Times BestsellerAward-winning and New York Times bestselling author Laura Lippman’s Tess Monaghan—first introduced in the classic Baltimore Blues—must track down a missing wife and unravel the secrets in her marriage that led her to flee.Mark Rubin's family is missing—and the police won't get involved because all the evidence indicates that his wife left willingly. So the successful Baltimore furrier turns to Tess Monaghan, hoping she can help him find his wife and three children. Tess doesn't quite know what to make of Rubin, who doles out vitally important information in grudging dribs and drabs. According to her client, he and his beautiful wife, Natalie, had a flawless, happy marriage. Yet one day, without any warning or explanation, Natalie gathered up their children and vanished. Tapping into a network of fellow investigators spread across the country, Tess is soon able to locate the runaway wife and the children who have been moving furtively from state to state, town to town. But the Rubins are not alone. A mysterious man is traveling with them, a stranger described by witnesses as "handsome" and "charming" but otherwise unremarkable. And the deeper Tess digs, the more she suspects that the motive behind Natalie's reckless flight lies somewhere in the gap between what Rubin will not say and what he refuses to believe. An intricate web of betrayal and vengeance is already beginning to unfold, as memory begets rage, and rage begets desperation...and murder. Suddenly, much more than one man's future happiness and stubborn pride are in peril. For the lives of three innocent children are dangling by the slenderest of threads. The winner of every major literary award in crime fiction, Laura Lippman brings back her complex and vulnerably human Baltimore P.I., Tess Monaghan, in a tense, expertly spun tale of a family torn asunder by forces it can barely comprehend.Mark Rubin's family is missing -- and the police can't do a thing because all the evidence indicates that his wife left willingly. So the successful furrier turns to Tess Monaghan, hoping she can help him find his wife and three children. Tess doesn't know quite what to make of Rubin, a wealthy Orthodox Jew who refuses to shake her hand and doles out vitally important information in grudging dribs and drabs. According to her client, he and his beautiful wife, Natalie, had a flawless, happy marriage. Yet one day, without any warning or explanation, Natalie gathered up their children and vanished.Tapping into a network of fellow investigators spread across the country, Tess is soon able to locate the runaway wife and her stolen progeny, moving furtively from state to state, town to town. But the Rubins are not alone. A man is traveling with them, a stranger described by witnesses as "handsome" and "charming" but otherwise unremarkable to these casual observers, who have no way of sensing the fury beneath his smooth surface.The motive behind Natalie's reckless flight lies somewhere in the gap between what Mark Rubin will not say and what he refuses to believe. An intricate web of betrayal and vengeance is already beginning to unravel, as memory begets rage and rage leads to desperation -- and murder. And suddenly much more than one man's future happiness and stubborn pride are in peril; the lives of three innocent children are dangling by the slenderest of threads. Although private investigator Tess Monaghan hates matrimonial cases, she hates the idea of being bankrupt even more, so she agrees to look for Mark Rubin's missing family. As far as the police are concerned, there is no sign of foul play. Natalie Rubin simply took her three children and vanished. At first Tess is inclined to agree. While Mark can't imagine why Natalie wasn't happy as the wife of a wealthy furrier, Tess can see plenty of reasons why the woman might have found her marriage suffocating. Natalie had been married young, to a man 12 years her senior. Although her husband didn't limit his beautiful wife's spending, she was expected to account for every penny. And though she'd been raised a secular Jew, Mark admits that he wouldn't have married her if she hadn't agreed to embrace the tenets of Orthodoxy. As Tess digs deeper into the circumstances surrounding Natalie's disappearance, she discovers that Mark has concealed many things, including the fact that he met Natalie while volunteering as a visitor in the prison where Natalie's father is still serving out a sentence for murder -- and that Natalie has been blackmailed by her father in the past. Battling her client for the information she desperately needs, Tess has two allies: an online network of women investigators and Mark's nine-year-old son, who is determined to reunite his family. But even Mark doesn't know that painful secrets he's concealed about his own family are about to explode violently. By a Spider's Thread is a very strong book with no holds barred when it comes to plot or emotion.

mark Rubin Claims He And His Beautiful Wife Had A Flawless, Happy Marriage. Yet One Day, Without Warning, Natalie Gathered Up Their Children And Vanished. The Police Can't Do Anything Because All The Evidence Indicates She Left Willingly. So The Successful Baltimore Furrier Turns To Private Investigator Tess Monaghan.

tess Doesn't Know Quite What To Make Of Her Client, A Wealthy Orthodox Jew Who Refuses To Shake Her Hand And Doles Out Vitally Important Information In Grudging Dribs And Drabs. But The Deeper She Digs, The More Tess Suspects That The Motive Behind Natalie's Reckless Flight Lies Somewhere In The Gap Between What Rubin Will Not Say And What He Refuses To Believe. An Intricate Web Of Betrayal And Vengeance Is Already Beginning To Unravel, As Memory Begets Rage, And Rage Leads To Desperation — And Murder. And Suddenly The Lives Of Three Innocent Children Are Dangling By The Slenderest Of Threads.

jewish Week

“the Fast-paced, Intelligent Story Involves A Maze Of Betrayal, Surprises And A Murder.”

...De kofferbak was groter dan Isak had verwacht, en hij was ook niet zo bang als hij had gedacht. Het was erg jammer dat het zon oude auto was. Een nieuwere, zoals die van zijn vader, zou misschien een lampje hebben, of zelfs een manier om de klep van binnenuit open te maken... Uit ervaring weet priv-detective Tess Monaghan dat haar klanten niet zelden oneerlijk of onbetrouwbaar zijn. Wanneer modelvader Mark Rubin haar hulp inschakelt bij de plotselinge verdwijning van zijn vrouw Natalie en hun drie jonge kinderen komt Tess dan ook voor een dilemma te staan. Moet ze Rubin op zijn woord geloven wanneer hij haar vertelt dat hun leven op alle vlakken perfect en smetteloos was? Waarom verliet Natalie dan van het ene op het andere moment haar prachtige huis en vertrouwde omgeving? Tess komt erachter dat Natalie kriskras het land doorreist met een onbekende en gewelddadige man. Een nieuw mysterie vraagt om haar eigenzinnige aanpak... CRIME & MYSTERY. Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Laura Lippman s Tess Monaghan first introduced in the classic Baltimore Blues must track down a missing wife and unravel the secrets in her marriage that led her to flee.Mark Rubin's family is missing and the police won't get involved because all the evidence indicates that his wife left willingly. So the successful Baltimore furrier turns to Tess Monaghan, hoping she can help him find his wife and three children. Tess doesn't quite know what to make of Rubin, who doles out vitally important information in grudging dribs and drabs. According to her client, he and his beautiful wife, Natalie, had a flawless, happy marriage. Yet one day, without any warning or explanation, Natalie gathered up their children and vanished Private detective Tess Monaghan gets more than she had bargained for when she is hired by Mark Rubin, an Orthodox Jew, to find his missing wife and three children, who had apparently walked away from Rubin with the help of an ex-con named Zeke