The Girl in the Green Raincoat

I just finished reading the “Girl in the Green Raincoat” by Laura Lippman and I’m still having trouble deciding if this is a book I would recommend or not.  In the interest of full disclosure, I am very partial to women sleuths and the Tess Monaghan series is one of my favorites.  Tess is a strong woman whose vulnerabilities can be apparent to the reader if not to her.  The other regular characters in the series add their individual dashes of flavor. 

In this particular novella Tess is near the end of an unplanned pregnancy and confined to bed rest.  With a lot of time on her hands, she begins watching the parade of people who use the park across from her house and becomes intrigued by a woman in a green raincoat who regularly walks her dog.  When the woman suddenly stops appearing Tess is convinced something bad has happened to her.  Tess wants to discover what - but in order to do so she must rely on her friends to do her legwork.  This is a frustrating position for a strong (and headstrong) independent woman to find herself in. 

The basic plot is similar to a number of movies and these are referenced throughout the story.  I enjoyed how Tess navigates her feelings, trying to remain tough, controlling her anger with her situation all the while becoming more and more vulnerable to her unacknowledged maternal instincts that are slowly entering her psyche. 

Probably because this novella was originally written to be serialized in the New York Times, each chapter is almost a story by itself.  Each story within the story focuses on some aspect of marriage, love or family that we can easily relate to. However, I found this diluted the tension and apprehension of the main plot.   

Some of the plot was a bit too obvious in that we all know when reading a mystery that inevitably the wrong person will walk through the door when the door is left unlocked. 

Because the story is short, about 160 pages, and each chapter almost stands alone, this is a good book to read in a waiting room, commuting to work or on a plane.  All in all, this book is like eating a light snack when you really crave a meal.  You are left hungry and wanting more.  Not necessarily a bad thing.