When an eccentric antiques dealer tries to hire Tess Monaghan to find out the identity of the Poe Toaster, a local Baltimore legend who visits Edgar Alllan Poe’s grave every year on the anniversary of his death, he starts in motion a bizarre series of events that puts Tess in the middle of another murder investigation.  With the Poe angle bringing in media attention from around the world and a possible tie-in to an earlier beating making the murder a potential hate crime, Tess has to dig through all of the players and the false leads to find the true motive, and culprit, for the crimes.

The sixth entry in Laura Lippman’s Tess Monaghan series, In a Strange City, revolves around the mysteries surrounding one of Baltimore’s most famous residents.  The Poe Visitor was a real thing, an unknown man, or men, who visited Poe’s original grave annually in the early hours of January 19, leaving three roses and an unfinished bottle of liquor behind.  It certainly makes a good backdrop for a mystery, as it is a mystery in and of itself.  I’ve got six more Tess novels to go, not to mention any other works in Lippman’s oeuvre.