THE GIRL IN THE GREEN RAINCOAT

THE GIRL IN THE GREEN RAINCOAT by Laura Lippman

From the book jacket:

In the third trimester of her pregnancy, Baltimore private investigator Tess Monaghan is under doctor's orders to remain immobile.  Bored and restless, reduced to watching the world go by outsider her window, she takes small comfort in the mundane events she observes...like the young woman in a green raincoat who walks her dog at the same time every day.  Then one day the dog is running free and its owner is nowhere to be seen.  Certain that something is terribly wrong, and incapable of leaving well enough alone, Tess is determined to get to the bottom of the dog walker's abrupt disappearance, even if she must do so from her own bedroom.  But her inquisitiveness is about to fling open a dangerous Pandora's box of past crimes and troubling deaths...and she's not only putting her own life in jeopardy but also her unborn child's.

This is the first Tess Monaghan book I have read, and also the first by Ms. Lippman.  The story borrowed greatly from the movie The Rear Window, which was one of my favorites.  It's amazing what type of story can develop from someone's imagination.  In this book, Tess was determined to find out all about this mystery woman.  She and her friends uncovered quite a background story and were determined to find the girl in the green raincoat.  The story took quite a twist at the end.

I was a little surprised, and disappointed, that this book was so short.  Reading further, I found this had once been published as a serial in the New York Times Magazine.  I don't know if I was drawn in enough to want to read more books starring Tess - maybe one more to test the waters.