A collection of short suspense stories seems unusual, but one that works well for me. While I'm new to this author, she's quite prolific, and I could see the confidence and experience in her writing. Good stuff.

Thanks very much for the free ARC for review!!

SEASONAL WORK is an interesting set of stories by Laura Lippman, ranging in topics but many centered around Tess Monaghan, a character from Lippman’s other novels. Having never read Lippman’s other work, this connection was a bit lost on me, but I’m sure Lippman readers would enjoy this overlap!

In all, I enjoyed SEASONAL WORK- The stories were often short, compelling, some mysterious, some heart wrenching. Some were more memorable and compelling than others, but overall a good, easy read!

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

I think Laura Lippman might be my favorite modern day author. This year I read the entire Tess Monaghan series. I don't usually like short stories, but I quite liked this selection. It included both some Tess stories and some standalone stories. I also appreciate the stories that flesh out Baltimore and give it more character. I've never been, but I almost feel like I would recognize it.

Laura Lippman is a QUEEN. This book of short stories is amazing, honest, and such a work of art. She can really do no wrong and I know I am getting a work of art whenever I pick something up that has her name on it. This book is a mix of everything and my only disappointment is that it was over too soon. I received an advanced copy for free and am leaving a review voluntarily.

SEASONAL WORK is an entertaining collection of short stories, many of which feature Laura Lippman's well-known character, Tess Monahan. I am an avid reader of short stories as well as novels and, after reading this collection, I have decided that, when it comes to Laura Lippman, I prefer her novels. For a mystery, there's something supremely satisfying about settling in for a longer piece and Lippman's novels are so wonderfully immersive. That's not to say these stories are "bad." They are very well-crafted. The short story format for a mystery just feels too light for my tastes. I'd rather "dig in" when it comes to a mystery storyline.

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories and I love that they were woman focused. A few of the twists were predictable but all of the situations in these stories can and do happen regularly. That’s the most insidious part and it’s what makes thrillers so intriguing for me. I had a few minor concerns and complaints but they were addressed in the afterward. I can’t wait for the rest of the world to read these.

I'm a huge fan of Laura Lippman after reading Sunburn and Dream Girl, and was super excited to see that I got to read this for NetGalley.
It definitely did not disappoint.
I love short story collections, and this was a real winner. Each story was super interesting and I found myself flying through them after the first page. Lippman's beloved character Tess Monahan makes a couple of appearances, so that was fun.
My favorite story was actually the last one, Just One More, which was set at the beginning of the pandemic.
Overall, I really enjoyed this short story collection and would recommend it to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow and Custom House for the ARC!

This book was gripping. I was sucked in and could not put it down! The concept was so unique, I loved this book.

I thought I'd give this book a try because I wanted to get into reading more short stories. However, I didn't love a lot of the stories in this collection. Some of the stories seemed connected to each other in a way, but most didn't. I enjoyed when the stories that were grouped together had a common connection (ex. a continuation of a side character's life). For the stories that I did like (Seasonal Work, Five Fires, Slow Burner) I found that I wanted a continuation of the story once it ended. I wish a lot of the stories were full length books rather than short stories. Regardless, I did like the writing style and the characters that were introduce. Overall many portions of this book made me consider DNFing because they dragged on or didn't grab my attention until the end of the story. If you enjoy this type of collection, I would still recommend giving it a read!

I recently read "Dream Girl," and when I saw Laura Lippman had another piece on Netgalley for review, I most definitely jumped for it! Fans of Lippman will enjoy these stories that include her favorite protagonist - Tess Monaghan, who also appeared in "Dream Girl." I will say I did get distracted a few times while I was reading this, but since these are short stories, it made it easy to put down and return later.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read Seasonal Work by Laura Lippman. This book releases on January 4, 2022.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.
Another great collection of short stories by Lippman!
Short stories are tricky, I think. The reader must be somewhat invested in the story, with very little character development, very little time. So it has to be done right. For me, that is Lippman.
She always manages to tell one story, and by the end, it is a completely different story than what you thought you were reading, without any red herrings or deceit, n0 shell games. But she allows the story to meander and be told by the characters the way they see it, even though sometimes things are not always as they seem......
I really liked them all, but I had a few favorites.
"Snowflake Time" told the story of a male novelist crying victim in the #MeToo era, and quite honestly he seemed not unlike the main character in her most recent novel "Dream Girl".
"Waco 1982" woo boy, a young newspaper reporter doing the grunt work, tells the story of her frustrations with her job, her boss, her sexual partners, her choices.......but then her natural ability as a journalist kicks in...............
"Slow Burner" which I've read before but love, a story of a wife who discovers her husband's burner phone, and begins to monitor it.......
"Just One More Time" told of a couple during the COVID pandemic, made to hunker down together after a very recent marital fissure (he cheated) .....bored, what if they joined a dating app to see if they would both find each other....as truly they were meant to be? All told to the backbeat of binging on all Columbo episodes............
As Lippman says..."...I find many rom-coms, with their insistence on pain-free breakups, darker than most crime stories."
Some of these stories are ultimately tinged with a bit of sadness, that comes with the experience of life. But they are all really great!
I highly recommend this book!

Charm City Charming

I am not a big fan of short stories, In fact, if I had realized this was not a novel I might have hesitated before clicking on it, but then again I really like the author. I am very happy I got it. I liked every single story. I loved Tess Monaghan's (and family) appearance in some of the stories.

This is well-written, with interesting characters and a wonderful sense of place. The author does a great job of bringing you into Baltimore in the 70s (complete with my favorite beverage, TaB) as well as present day Baltimore and elsewhere,

There was one story, "Slow Burner" that seemed vaguely familiar. When the end came and I recognized it, I was upset that the story seemed identical to one I had read not that long ago, But, when I checked the credits, it was published in 2020 by Amazon Original Stories and I read it there. I enjoyed it both times I read it

Highly recommended.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunty to previw Seasonal Work by Laura Lippman. Fans of Lippman will enjoy these stories that include her favorite protaganist - Tess Monaghan.
Sometimes short stories are a relief - you can read one, put it down and return later.
Good Stories - 3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Seasonal Work.

I'm a big fan of the author's Tess Monaghan series so I was excited to receive an ARC and to see Tess and her family pop up in some of the stories.

I enjoyed all of the short stories; they're trademark Ms. Lippman with the subtle twists in the end, complete with formidable, strong female characters.

Highly recommend this for any fan of the author's work, especially of the Tess Monaghan series.

I loved this collection! Each story is expertly paced and has Lippman’s signature taut writing style. I could have done without the final, pandemic-related story, but I really enjoyed the collection as a whole. I would definitely recommend this book.

The was a fun collections of short stories. I found the stories delightful individually, particularly those centered around books and reading. As a collection this is a quick read with a whimsical feel pulling me right in. I’d recommend to anyone.

This book was a fantastic thriller, I flew through it. Great twists and Story. Thank you so much NetGalley for this ARC!

A nice collection of short stories. It was a delightful quick read between a few longer more intense ones. All of them were fun and interesting, especially the Christmas moves and the one about books.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read and review this advanced reader copy.

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Great collection of short stories by one of my favorite writers. Most of the tales are grim and delve into the darker sides of people with unanticipated endings and twists. Be prepared to get rattled a bit!

A bit of a mixed bag. I had read a couple of the stories before but they were enjoyable enough. I thought the note at the end about seeing if the older stories were still relevant. Honestly, I do find her stories to be a bit dated. Maybe it’s her marriage but her stories about men are always really gross. I always liked that her books were a little gritty but now she veers into seedy at times. Still love the locations.