Thank you to the publisher for an egalley of this book. I’ve read all of Laura Lippman stand along novels so was intrigued to read this short story collection. I’m not a big fan of short stories but they were quick and fast moving. They were short and really held my attention. I loved it and highly recommend it.

My first Laura Lippman, which I read almost ten years ago, was the story collection Hardly Knew Her. I was fascinated with the strong characters and dark humor and have been a devoted fan ever since. Not every great novelist can write successful short stories, but Lippman's talents are well-suited to these bite-sized tales of mystery. Her clever plotting, vivid characters, and dark humor are very much in evidence here.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

There is something powerful and enticing about a collection of short stories. Lippman's newest book did not disappoint. This collection of twelve stories explored the lives and emotions of women across the spectrum - from a young woman whose adoptive father forces her to participate in his swindles to a mid-40s mother lost as to how to get her drug dealing son out of her house. The emotions of the characters shine through the pages and readers will recognize some of them from Lippman's other works.

Written between 2007 and 2019, Lippman acknowledges in the afterword that the world has changed a lot since then and so, upon publication, she tried to keep the feeling of the stories while also being sensitive to what is and is not culturally sensitive.

Fans of Lippman will not be disappointed and those new to her writing will surely seek out more of her books when finishing this one.

I am a fan of Laura Lippman’s fast-paced thriller novels, so this short story anthology from her was a surprise. What was not surprising was the subtle theme of courage accompanying each short story and the brave female leads who exemplified these messages. I usually avoid slower-paced character-driven stories, but I love Lippman’s writing style so much that I was intrigued with every page turn. This book is for readers who enjoy novels focused on the everyday struggle and strength in women and girls. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced review copy in exchange for my honest review.

I am a newbie to reading short stories, but this has me searching for others like it! I really enjoyed reading each story on this collection. As a lover of thrilling reads, I appreciated the thoughtfulness behind these stories. They were woven together in a beautiful, heartbreaking, and complex way. And contained plenty of solid twists! This was a fast-paced read that had me hooked from start to finish. I’m looking forward to reading more by the author.

I don't like a lot of books with stories in them but this book didn't disappoint. Sharp and edgy it has something that everyone will enjoy. Laura Lippman won't every disappoint with her strong writing voice. Happy reading!

Author Laura Lippman serves up a collection of short stories in Seasonal Work. The book’s title comes from the first story in the collection. A man runs a con in a different city every Christmas using his kids and a down on their luck story to solicit presents, money, and gift cards from kind hearted people. PI Tess Monaghan, the main character in 12 of Lippman’s novels, uncovers the con but can’t do anything about it. The man’s 14 year old stepdaughter explains to Tess that he is all they have and when she’s old enough to take care of her younger siblings, she’ll also take care of him.

Tess also shows up in another story when she volunteers to find out who’s stealing books from a local indie bookstore. Lippman also gives Tess’s mom a starring role in one of the stories. Judith Monaghan is adjusting to life as a newlywed in Baltimore in the 1970s. She’s a little bored being home alone while her husband is at work all day. Judith entertains herself with long walks around the neighborhood observing the coming and goings of all her neighbors. Judith knows there’s something off about a crass husband and his vague wife, but she can’t quite put her finger on what’s different about them. When the husband dies suddenly, Judith knows her suspicions were correct.

The other stories in the anthology run the gambit from a fantastical story about a girl who drowned in a pond, to a mother put out when her grown son moves back home, to a young newspaper reporter who has a close brush with death. The last story in the collection is set during last year’s pandemic lockdown. A bored wife suggests to her husband they test out how well a dating app works by creating personas to see if the app would match them. It’s a cautionary tale of be careful what you wish for.

These are quick hits of crime fiction and Lippman is a master storyteller. Lippman’s skillful plotting and pacing gives each story a twist you may or may not see coming. Once again, Lippman proves she’s one of the best in the business.

A great collection of short stories that will entertain you while making you think. Laura Lippman never disappoints!

Strong female characters and suspenseful story lines make up the 12 short stories in this book. Highly recommend as I enjoyed each of the 12 stories.

This collection of 12 clever short stories is a quick and enjoyable read. Although many (most?) have been published before, in some shape or form, I'd only read one of them previously. All have a twist at the end. Some of the stories were stronger than others, some you wish were longer. It's hard to do much character development in this format, but Lippman gives us strong, intelligent women in each well-crafted story.

This is my first Laura Lippman work and I feel so lucky that this isn’t her first! Short stories that are clever and diverse and complex and smart and funny - how does she do it?! Loved the strong woman who lead most of the stories. I will be sharing this book with others - brava! Highly recommend! Heartfelt thanks to William Morrow for the advanced copy. I’m so grateful.

Just like most short story collections that I read, some stories were much better than others. I particularly enjoyed the last story. I do plan on reading more from Lippman in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free e-copy.

Short stories really need to make a comeback, as this collection of suspense short stories and a novella by master mystery/suspense writer Laura Lippman attest. Although many of these stories have been previously published, they were all new to me, and I was particularly pleased to read the first few, which featured or related to Tess Monaghan, protagonist of Lippman's early mystery series.

The other stories are linked by their strong female characters (and often duplicitous male characters). Although different, they are all good. A short story collection was the perfect read for December, when I felt guilty for spending time reading and couldn't really focus, but could read a short story in one sitting. Laura Lippman keeps getting better. Also, she has fabulous shoes. #SeasonalWork #NetGalley

A Collection of Short Stories

Seasonal Work is a collection of 12 short stories by Laura Lippman, author of Dream Girl.

The short story genre is one of the most difficult. The author has a very limited number of pages to deliver a karate chop, making an abrupt impact and then fades out. This author is still in the process of fine tuning the storytelling involved in the short story genre. The stories themselves were okay (for the most part), but the pacing was really off.

After reading the first story, I thought, "Well, the pacing should pick up from here." That was when I realized that this was a collection of short stories, and I wouldn't be hearing anymore of the first story. There was also a very boring story about a housewife, and all of the exciting occurrences happened in the very last page. It was essentially a novel boiled down to a short story. Another story involved a mystery, but even that didn't feel very exciting.

The last story contained some mention of COVID. The characters in short stories usually have very limited backstories, and the author has to rely on some character traits that will make characters likeable or not in a relatively short period of time. These characters had very little depth, and Lippman overly simplified very complex relationships. Lipmann wrote in her afterword about how woke she is. However, I would challenge her to spend some time reading Esther Perel who said something about how we should stop defining relationships by their exclusivity and rather by their uniqueness and quality.

A long-time fan of Laura Lippman's novels, I was intrigued by her choice to offer a collection of short stories. I wonder sometimes if it's harder to write a good short story because the author has less time to define both the characters and story lines, and to "hook" the reader.

I'm so glad that I read this collection! Lippman proves she is as adept at short stories as she is with novels. The stories engaged me quickly, and I loved the dark and twisted turns! Just as in her novels, little is as it seems.

Congratulations on a fine collection!

My thanks to William Morris publishers who permitted me to read an ARC of these short stories via NetGalley. The book is scheduled for publication on 1/4/22. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are freely given.

I'll admit to not being the biggest short story fan. I want to sink into a story. Often, short story endings feel abrupt and I wind up feeling shortchanged.

But given that I am an enormous Lippman fan, I gave this a chance and I am so thankful I did. She manages to craft satisfying endings, even with material that could easily be flushed out into a full novel. The women we meet in these stories are often sharp, incisive, humorous and powerful in their own ways. This is an incredible read for people who love compelling psychological mysteries. Even--especially--if you don't think you're a short story fan.

I fully anticipate buying the audiobook in the future for road trips. I say the future because these stories are so memorable that it'll take years to forget them.

**Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this advanced reader's copy in exchange for an unbiased review.**

Seasonal Work is a collection of short stories by Laura Lippmann who excels at crime and mystery fiction. I savored these stories and only read a few at a time. Woven throughout the collection are themes of deception, love, marriage, secrets, and murder. Slow Burner was my favorite, but I also enjoyed the appearance of Tess Monaghan in a few of the other stories. Crime fiction lovers will greatly enjoy this book.

Thank you William Morrow and Custom House for this ARC.

I love short story collections and this did not disappoint! This is definitely a collection worth reading. I enjoyed all of the stories and did not expect some to get dark!

3.75 stars

Laura Lippman is always worth reading, whether you are picking up one of her Tess Monahan mysteries, a standalone, or a collection of short stories.

These stories each have an unsavory edge. The characters have been put in untenable positions and seek revenge or escape through dark methods. The first story was perhaps the most compelling to me, a tale of a young teen whose stepfather is a scam artist. There are several dealing with infidelity and even a glimpse back into the life of Tess Monaghan's mother.

Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Laura Lippman for this E-ARC in exchange for my honest feedback and review.

Laura Lippman's collection of short stories makes this an easy to maintain your attention fun read. I like that I could pick it up and read a whole story in a short amount of time. Although it did make it easy to go several days between readings and it took me awhile to finish. I believe in physical copy this would make it easier to read faster but as an E-Book it made it easy for me to get distracted. I really enjoyed Seasonal work, Cougar, Tricks, and Slow Burner.