fraeon
Films
BrowseTop 250
Series
TV ShowsAnimeTop 250 TVTop 100 Anime
Games
BrowseTop 100
Books
BooksMangaTop 125 BooksTop 100 Manga
For youTrendingTier ListsThe ArchiveLeaderboard
Log inSign up free
fraeon

Everything you watch, play and read — tracked, rated and remembered in one library.

Explore

  • Films
  • TV
  • Anime
  • Games
  • Books
  • Manga

Discover

  • Trending
  • Leaderboard
  • Find people
  • Lists
  • Tier lists

Company

  • Tour
  • About
  • Community guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Contact

© 2026 fraeon. All rights reserved. ·

Metadata from TMDB, RAWG, Jikan & Open Library. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.

Questions or ideas? mehmet@avortas.com

HomeFeedProfile
By a Spider's Thread

By a Spider's Thread

by Laura Lippman

2004Tess Monaghan (Fictitious character)Women private investigatorsFictionJewish familiesSuspense
4.0
Open Library
Open Library

About this book

The winner of every major literary award in crime fiction, Laura Lippman brings back her complex and vulnerably human Baltimore P.I., Tess Monaghan, in a tense, expertly spun tale of a family torn asunder by forces it can barely comprehend.Mark Rubin's family is missing -- and the police can't do a thing because all the evidence indicates that his wife left willingly. So the successful furrier turns to Tess Monaghan, hoping she can help him find his wife and three children. Tess doesn't know quite what to make of Rubin, a wealthy Orthodox Jew who refuses to shake her hand and doles out vitally important information in grudging dribs and drabs. According to her client, he and his beautiful wife, Natalie, had a flawless, happy marriage. Yet one day, without any warning or explanation, Natalie gathered up their children and vanished.Tapping into a network of fellow investigators spread across the country, Tess is soon able to locate the runaway wife and her stolen progeny, moving furtively from state to state, town to town. But the Rubins are not alone. A man is traveling with them, a stranger described by witnesses as "handsome" and "charming" but otherwise unremarkable to these casual observers, who have no way of sensing the fury beneath his smooth surface.The motive behind Natalie's reckless flight lies somewhere in the gap between what Mark Rubin will not say and what he refuses to believe. An intricate web of betrayal and vengeance is already beginning to unravel, as memory begets rage and rage leads to desperation -- and murder. And suddenly much more than one man's fut…

Themes & subjects

Tess Monaghan (Fictitious character)Women private investigatorsFictionJewish familiesSuspenseMurderers
First published 2004

Setting

MarylandBaltimore (Md.)Baltimore

About the author

Laura Lippman
Laura Lippman

1959

Laura Lippman (born January 31, 1959) is an American journalist and author of over 20 detective fiction novels.[1] Her novels have won multiple awards, including an Agatha Award, seven Anthony Awards, two Barry Awards, an Edgar Award, a Gumshoe Award, a Macavity Award, a Nero Award, two Shamus Awards, and two Strand Critics Award. -Wikipedia

Author

Laura Lippman

First published

2004

Pages

368

Read time

≈ 9h

Editions

16

Languages

English, Dutch

Publisher

Orion Publishing Group, Limited

ISBN

9789026985225

Where to buy

TR
Amazon Bookshop

Reviews

No reviews yet — be the first to write one from the Log screen.

Quotes

No quotes yet.

Discussions

Similar books

Baltimore Blues

Monaghan, tess (fictitious character), fiction · Baltimore (md.), fiction

Baltimore Blues

Laura Lippman

1997

In Big Trouble (A Tess Monaghan Investigation)

Monaghan, tess (fictitious character), fiction · Fiction, mystery & detective, women sleuths

In Big Trouble (A Tess Monaghan Investigation)

Laura Lippman

1999

The potting shed

Drama · Family secrets

The potting shed

Graham Greene

1957

The sugar house

Mystery · Detective and mystery stories

The sugar house

Laura Lippman

2000

Another Thing to Fall

Actresses · Mystery

Another Thing to Fall

Laura Lippman

2008

Butchers Hill (A Tess Monaghan Investigation)

Fiction · Women private investigators

Butchers Hill (A Tess Monaghan Investigation)

Laura Lippman

1998

In a strange city

Detective and mystery stories · Tess Monaghan (Fictitious character)

In a strange city

Laura Lippman

2001

No good deeds

Mystery · Tess Monaghan (Fictitious character)

No good deeds

Laura Lippman

2006

Charm City

Fiction · Tess Monaghan (Fictitious character)

Charm City

Laura Lippman

1997

The last place

Serial murders · Tess Monaghan (Fictitious character)

The last place

Laura Lippman

2002

The girl in the green raincoat

Fiction · Tess Monaghan (Fictitious character)

The girl in the green raincoat

Laura Lippman

2008

Hush, hush

Homicide · Women detectives

Hush, hush

Laura Lippman

2015

The Moving Finger

Fiction · Women detectives

The Moving Finger

Agatha Christie

1942

A Caribbean Mystery

Agatha Christie · Miss Marple

A Caribbean Mystery

Agatha Christie

1964

The Thirteen Problems

Jane Marple (Fictitious character) · Fiction

The Thirteen Problems

Agatha Christie

1932

Män som hatar kvinnor

Fiction: Literature · Novels

Män som hatar kvinnor

Stieg Larsson

2005

An Unsuitable Job for a Woman

Fiction · Women private investigators

An Unsuitable Job for a Woman

P. D. James

1972

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Fiction · Precious Ramotswe (Fictitious character)

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Alexander McCall Smith

1997

Similar across media

Same mood, other forms — books, series, anime, games and beyond.

Film
Whiplash

Under the direction of a ruthless instructor, a talented young drummer begins to pursue perfection at any cost, even his humanity.

4.2

Whiplash

2014

Series
Lovely Runner

Right after Ryu Sun-jae, a top star, ends his life, Im Sol, his top fan, somehow ends up at a time when they were in high school and tries to protect him. A fantasy romance unfolds where people who missed each other in time finally meet.

4.3

Lovely Runner

2024

Game
L.A. Noire

Strategy · Adventure

4.5

L.A. Noire

2011

Anime
Lord of Mysteries Specials

City of Silver (Episode 1): Above the undying gray fog, Klein Moretti, the enigmatic The Fool, presided over the Tarot Club when a new, distant prayer echoed through the mists. Reaching across the veil, he summoned Derrick Berg from the City of Silver—a cursed bastion trapped within the Forsaken Land of God. Through Derrick’s haunting tales, the grim history of this sunless city was unveiled. Seeking salvation for his people, Derrick pledged his soul to The Fool’s grace. From the twenty-two Major Arcana, he chose his mantle: "The Sun." The Marked Hunt (Episodes 2 and 3): The gathering then turned to matters of blood and ambition. "The Hanged Man," Alger Wilson, proposed a high-stakes exchange. He sought the head of Qilangos, one of the infamous seven Pirate Admirals, and tasked "Justice," Audrey Hall, with leveraging her noble influence in Backlund to hunt the wind-blessed killer. In the foggy streets of the Loen capital, Audrey’s quest led her to the Beyonder duo, Fors Wall and Xio Derecha. As the web tightened around the Admiral, Klein sought the intervention of his mentor, the mysterious Mr. Azik. By weaving together the threads of divinity, ancient power, and mortal cunning, The Fool ensured the Tarot Club’s first great triumph: the fall of Qilangos. (Source: Crunchyroll)

Action · Fantasy

4.4

Lord of Mysteries Specials

2026 · 3 eps

Manga
Real

Tomomi Nomiya, former captain of his high school's basketball team turned delinquent, decides to drop out of school after he is crushed by the guilt of ruining a young girl's life in a traffic accident. As he dedicates his free time to helping her, he stumbles upon Kiyoharu Togawa, a former sprinter who has lost the use of his right leg and now plays wheelchair basketball as an alternate outlet. After challenging Kiyoharu to a one-on-one game, Tomomi is completely defeated. Inspired by this encounter, he realizes that he can't let his love for basketball die so easily and decides that he will do what he can to help others while striving to become a professional player. Meanwhile, Hisanobu Takahashi, Tomomi's replacement as the high school's team captain, gets into an accident and finds himself permanently paralyzed below the waist. Real tells the touching tale of these three young men as they struggle to overcome their disabilities and inner conflicts in order to achieve their dreams while igniting a passion that will bring them together. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Award Winning · Drama

4.5

Real

Inoue Takehiko

1999

Film
High and Low

A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.

4.2

High and Low

1963

Series
Over the Garden Wall

Two brothers, Wirt and Greg, find themselves lost in the Unknown; a strange forest adrift in time. With the help of a wise old Woodsman and a foul-tempered bluebird named Beatrice, Wirt and Greg must travel across this strange land, in hope of finding their way home. Join them as they encounter surprises and obstacles on their journey through the wood.

4.3

Over the Garden Wall

2014

Game
Half-Life

Shooter · Puzzle

4.0

Half-Life

1998

Anime
Link Click

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. In this case, it holds an infinite amount of secrets. These are secrets that only Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang are able to find. In a small shop called "Time Photo Studio," the two friends provide a special service: using their extraordinary powers that let them enter photographs, they jump into pictures brought to them by clients in order to grant their wishes. Through the eyes of the photographer, they live through the events surrounding the picture and try to decipher how to solve their client's request. But every time they jump into a picture, they take a great risk. One wrong move and they could alter the future of the person who took the picture... and possibly countless other events too. So when the events they are forced to live through in these pictures start to become personal, it will take the utmost strength to push their feelings aside and focus on accomplishing the task they were paid to do. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Drama · Mystery

4.4

Link Click

2021 · 11 eps

Manga
Goodnight Punpun

Punpun Onodera is a normal 11-year-old boy living in Japan. Hopelessly idealistic and romantic, Punpun begins to see his life take a subtle—though nonetheless startling—turn to the adult when he meets the new girl in his class, Aiko Tanaka. It is then that the quiet boy learns just how fickle maintaining a relationship can be, and the surmounting difficulties of transitioning from a naive boyhood to a convoluted adulthood. When his father assaults his mother one night, Punpun realizes another thing: those whom he looked up to were not as impressive as he once thought. As his problems increase, Punpun's once shy demeanor turns into voluntary reclusiveness. Rather than curing him of his problems and conflicting emotions, this merely intensifies them, sending him down the dark path of maturity in this grim coming-of-age saga. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Drama · Slice of Life

4.5

Goodnight Punpun

Asano Inio

2007 · 147 ch

Film
The Silence of the Lambs

Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.

4.2

The Silence of the Lambs

1991

Series
Banana Fish

A teenaged gang leader in New York City faces his abuser and rival gangs alongside a photojournalist from Japan as they investigate a deadly new drug.

4.3

Banana Fish

2018