Henry went to prison, but was killed a month later; something Ruthie is sure is connected to the original victim's identity. With very little to go on - a morgue report, a police sketch and the word of a self-admitted embellishing teen - Tess manages to track down the girl's identity. Gwen Schiller was the daughter of a man who made a fortune selling an email program to Microsoft, making it hard for Tess to figure out why the Jane Doe's trail was so cold.

Once Tess tells Ruthie the identity of the young girl, she's sure Ruthie will be satisfied. Instead, Ruthie is more determined than ever to prove that Henry's murder was connected to Gwen Schiller and her death. Now even Tess is beginning to have her suspicions, sending her head first into an investigation that takes her to the seedier side of Baltimore and across the Potomac to D.C. where she is reminded that politics really does make strange bedfellows.

As bodies begin to pile up and things get closer to the people she loves, Tess knows she must take one last big chance if she wants everyone in her life to be safe once again.

The Sugar House, the fifth Tess Monaghan mystery, proves that some things do continue to get better with time. Tess remains an indomitable heroine whose complexities make her both vulnerable and tough, while she remains very likable. Tess has certain insecurities about herself but is very able to set them aside when she needs to. She has surrounded herself with good, strong, loyal friends from boyfriend Crow to aunt Kitty to longtime friend Whitney. With the help of these people, Tess never falters.

The Baltimore Laura Lippman has created is very authentic from the posh neighborhoods to the ethnic enclaves to the more rundown sections of the city. The mystery is wonderfully complex as Tess must first solve the identity of Jane Doe and then figure out how it fits into Henry's murder and how both things fall into the grand scheme of life. Clues are subtle, and even the most astute reader will find a few surprises waiting at the end of this completely engrossing mystery with a very engaging heroine.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry