A collection of short stories previously printed in other publications, this book will leave you wanting more from Laura Lippman. Luckily, she has an extensive body of work from which to choose. Not all of the stories include a murder (let's face it, Lippman is known for her mystery-writing) but they are definitely suspenseful. And of course, most take place in Lippman's hometown of Baltimore, MD. (Which, I LOVE, being a fellow Marylander.)

"Special thanks to HarperCollins and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this novel.*

Seasonal Work is a collection of twelve short stories. Most have appeared in other collections, but one was written especially for this collection. I have read many of Lippman's standalone thrillers as well as her Tess Monaghan mystery novels and was excited to read this book.

There is a wide range of stories in the book. Two of them feature Tess and another one is about Tess's mother when she was first married. If you've read other books by Lippman, you'll love these stories. If you're new to the author, this is the perfect introduction. Her stories are intelligent and clever and many in this book are on the dark side. I had read some of the stories before, but enjoyed reading them again and reading those that were new to me.

Of course I liked some better than others, but all are very good. My favorites were Seasonal Work in which a Baltimore newspaper features an article about a single dad and his children whose Christmas gifts were stolen. PI Tess Monaghan investigates when she suspects there's more to the story. I also enjoyed what I would call a coming-of-age story called The Last of Sheila Locke-Holmes in which an eleven year old girl does some sleuthing at home, but learns more than she wanted to. The last three stories deal with marriages and all three (Waco 1982 about a reporter, Slow Burner about a woman who deals with her husband's cheating in a unique way, and Just One More about a couple who become bored during the pandemic) are all excellent.

I highly recommend this collection to anyone who likes well-written mysteries, often with a twist. Even though they are all by the same author, there is enough variety in the stories that there should be something to appeal to most mystery and suspense readers.

I received this ebook from NetGalley through the courtesy of William Morrow. An advance copy was provided to me at no cost, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

I normally don't care for short story collections, but I'm a big fan of Laura Lippman so I decided to give this one a try and I'm glad I did!
The stories are all really fascinating in their own ways, a bit of mystery in most and very dark twists in others. Don't get thrown by the title, this isn't a collection of work stories, these are more intense and, as I said, dark at times.
My favorite stories in the collection are "Five Fires"--which was gut wrenching and shiver-inducing, "Just One More"--married couple decide to join a dating app during Covid lockdown to see if they are actually compatible and "Slow Burner"--wife finds the burner phone her husband is using to contact a potential love interest. One of the most overarching themes of these stories are strong women characters, even if they are strong in a bad way.
Overall, a collection well worth reading.

In Seasonal Work, Lippman strays from her longstanding history of detective crime novels into a collection of short stories. The collection of 12 short stories introduces some new characters and one-off stories as well as bringing back some old favorites such as Baltimore PI, Tess Monaghan. Each of the stories in Seasonal Work still bear Lippman’s signature marks of deception, murder, and love gone wrong and are a perfect introduction into the work of the great psychological suspense writer. What I loved about this book is that none of the stories are the clear “weak link” and absolutely none of them feel like filler material. Especially for those of you who, like me, haven’t read any of the Tess Monoghan series, the three non-monaghan parts are wonderfully entertaining and the one part dedicated to Lippman’s defining character are a great introduction to a beloved series

This collection of short stories by Laura Lippman is incredible! My favorite had to be "Just One More", where a married couple decides to join a dating app during COVID to see if they match up. Other strong contenders include "Slow Burner" ( a woman discovers her husband's burner phone that he uses with his other love interest), and "Five Fires", (a teenage girl knows who is setting fires in her town, but is reluctant to tell authorities). There isn't one story that I didn't like actually.

I haven't read Lippman's Tess Monaghan series yet (though it's been on my list for a long time), but I've read all her standalone books. There is a story in this collection "The Book Thing" that features Monaghan and now I'm anxious to read these books.

Available January 4, 2022.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow and Custom House for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley & Wm. Morrow for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

You really can't go wrong with a Laura Lippman short story collection; her briefer works are sharp and clever, and often have an icy twist you never could have seen coming. These are no exception. As usual, Lippman's love of Baltimore shines through.

The only story I did not love was the Tess Monaghan story with the book thief. It was just a little tew much, and makes me think that maybe I have outgrown Tess. She works best these days in small snippets, as her appearance in "Dream Girl" will attest. Carla Scout is adorable, I'm sure, but she seems to have taken all of Tess's edge and left her a bit cranky - I suspect this is down to Lippman's recent motherhood, but who knows.

All in all, a great way to get your Laura Lippman fix while awaiting a new novel.

Why did this have to end so soon? Of course, 5,000 pages would have been too soon.

There is not one bad, meh, or boring story in this collection of short stories.

Highly recommend, but dammit, I need more.

Beautiful collection of short stories! Lots of wonderful twists that the author is known for. I was surprised that mysteries could be in a series of short stories but it truly works. Also, super fun to see Tess Monahan appear in some stories. 100% recommend!

Thank you to both #NetGalley and William Morrow and Custom House/William Morrow for providing me an advance copy of Laura Lippman’s latest fiction novel, Seasonal Work, in exchange for an honest review.

#SeasonalWork is a collection of short stories that contain some unexpected twist or event. I knew I was biased and would fall in love with these stories the moment the author alluded to one of my favorite childhood authors. This also gave me slight déjà vu, which I discovered made sense once I reached the Afterword. Some of the stories are updates or reprints that were published as parts of other novels.

Nevertheless, this unsettling series of short stories are worth reading through a second time even if you are already familiar with some of them. I am not one to normally read short stories, with a few exceptions (e.g., Stephen King, Kelly Link, Shirley Jackson, Edgar Allen Poe), so if you enjoy reading short stories by any of the authors I just listed, then this will certainly be a treat.

Overall, 4.5 stars with an emphasis on the following passages: The Book Thing, every short story included in Part II, Slow Burner, and Just One More.

These short stories drew me in and held my attention. It's interesting to see new characters--like the Walker--and also see tidbits that further develop the backstory for Lippman's long time characters.
An enjoyable collection, recommended!

These short stories were absolutely amazing!! They were so fun and entertaining - I definitely had such a great time with these!

Guess who just found her new favourite short story collection!? Meeeee! I loved these stories, every single one was near perfect. They were all suspenseful, had amazing endings and featured strong, willful minded women. I loved how each one of them stood up for themselves in the most unique ways. It was really hard to pick a favourite but at the end of the day it has to go to the titular story Seasonal Work. Once I read that one there was no putting the book down. To be honest I could have read a full novel about that one alone.

Laura Lippman has always been a favourite author of mine and with these tales she just proven herself to be worthy of that even more. She has written a selection of stories that will suck you in and won't let you go. The stories and the writing flow seamlessly while reading and at times it feels like you are on a journey with these characters. As always I got such a kick reading about Tess Monaghan again. If you are a fan of Ms. Lippman these will exceed your expectations, if you are new to her you will become a one. All. The. Stars.

Laura Lippman has crafted a collection of short stories full of strong, shrewd characters, where very little is as it seems. The stories are separated into four parts, with each part containing three stories that muse on different variations of the part's overarching theme.

This was one of those rare collections of short stories where there isn't much unevenness. Most were winners here, with a few that were standouts. Five Fires in particular was heartbreaking and difficult to read, but had so much depth. And Snowflake Time had me laughing out loud. Don't worry Ms. Lippman, no offense taken by this Goodreads reviewer ;)

I would recommend picking this up for just a story or two at a time, as some of the themes and story progressions tend to echo each other. They'd benefit from some space between readings and will be perfect short breaks to sneak in between lengthier reads. Despite sometimes seeing where stories were going, I quite enjoyed the journey and effortless feel of Lippman's writing.

Fans of the author will be excited to see that Tess Monaghan pops up in a few stories here, and for those newer to her work like me, it will definitely pique your interest. I'll absolutely be checking out the Tess Monaghan series after this.

I’ve had Laura Lippman on my Want to Read list for so long I’m not even sure if it was a recommendation or something I thought was interesting on my own. But I knew I recognized her name when I saw the advanced copy of Seasonal Work and decided it was time to give her a shot!

I found this to be one of the best short story collections I’ve ever read. I often am unimpressed and unamused by short stories that never seem to have a point, but these stories were quite the opposite. They were so interesting and packed with so much into only a chapter’s worth of pages. Lippman truly has mastered the art of the short story, in my opinion.

Some of the stories involved crime, relationships, or both. There were a couple that involved infidelity but they were so unique from each other. I liked that it made sense to group them together. So often I read a short story collection that I just don’t get, but I really enjoyed all of these stories individually and as a unit. It was nice how some stories were connected with their characters or by a common theme. All of the characters were so realistic and there were often shocking endings to the stories. Some were my favorites more than others but overall I really liked it!

This collection of short stories, most published prior to this book, is divided into four parts with the stories very loosely connected thematically. We have book lovers, young girls, haunting ghostly stories, marriages (some troubled, some one-sided, mostly sad), eavesdropping, cats and technology.

I sped through these stories, fascinated by the depth and sadness and the slow reveals. I loved the humor, with several laugh out loud moments (Lippman even manages to squeezes in A Confederacy of Dunes reference) in the middle of the darkness. There's a lot of darkness as our protagonists navigate through their repressed lives.

"She could have stayed in and watched soap operas, but she was more interested in the soap operas playing out in the neighborhood. In plain sight, once one knew where to look."

Lippman makes everyday life interesting, stories taking off in various directions, some foreshadowed, some twisted, some predictable (in a good way).

Last observation - there's a covid story that does not feel tacked on, or forced, or pandering. Finally. It just felt real and true to the time.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow and Custom House for this ARC which I received in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange of an honest review.

I totally loved this. Definitely recommend it.

Engaging collection of short stories that feature characters from the authors other works. A compelling assortment of mystery pieces and emotional, thought provoking stories that feature strong female leads. A modern classic

A fun collection of short mysteries. Fun characters and funny plots abound. Lippman fans will especially enjoy.

Excellent story! Totally engrossing!. Looking forward to reading more by this author! Could not put this down!

Laura Lippman writes really entertaining novels and these short stories do not disappoint. Some were better than others, but none were bad. Tess Monaghan makes a few appearances. If you like Laura Lippman or enjoy mysteries, you'll enjoy this collection of short stories.