It has come to our attention in the past few years that the mean streets of crime pass through Baltimore.

The TV programs "Homicide" and "The Wire" have given us gritty images of the city, while Laura Lippman's popular and widely-praised crime novels combine wit and grit in her chronicles of murder in "Charm City."

What? You don't immediately identify Baltimore with that title? Well, Lippman, a former Baltimore Sun reporter, does. She knows and loves the provinciality of the town. Her descriptions of the funky local language, food and lore, even the strange street arrangements, become an integral part of this newest Tess Monaghan tale.

		"ANOTHER THING TO FALL" By Laura Lippman Morrow ($24.95)

Tess, a financially struggling private eye, is hired by a Hollywood company filming a TV series, "Mann of Steel," in town.

It seems that small disruptive events have occurred on the sets and in the offices. Confidential materials from the show have disappeared. An assistant to the producer has been fired and replaced by a local, but very ambitious young woman.

The producer of the series, son of a famous Baltimore director, fears further sabotage of the show might target Selene, the very young, ditzy, glamorous and irresponsible leading lady. Tess is supposed to watch out for her, but she's not prepared for the coming storm.

Tess discovers that all the cliches about production companies and actors, the narcissism, rivalries, power struggles and sexual escapades, are in full operation on the set and off. In one case, Selene's co-star, Johnny Tampa, is angry and jealous of her new importance in the series.

The actress uses her new power and influence to force Tess to take her to New York City just to eat supper. Tess wakes the following morning being driven back to Baltimore by Selene's chauffeur, but her star is nowhere in sight.

That same night the newly hired assistant is found beaten to death. And that is only the beginning. There's another death, a bomb blast, blackmail and a court case from long ago over the ownership of a story line.

All of these events are punctuated by the thoughts of a killer who is very worried about the comfort of his invalid wife and his longtime friend.

Tess finds that she is being deceived by almost everyone including, in a very minor way, by the man who hired her. And Lippman misleads us with enough red herrings to fill Baltimore's spacious harbor.

But she plays fair, and her ending, with Tess extracting herself from physical danger by using her intimate knowledge of a Baltimore native's pride and habits, is a real gem.

Lippman has lots of fun with pop culture allusions and in-jokes, too. Since she's married to David Simon, writer and producer of "The Wire," she knows the film and TV business inside and out. She uses that knowledge primarily to create interesting characters, like the bitchy and powerful finance czar of the show and the lazy and bitter, but very talented, writer.

There are also lots of allusions to shows and films, which pop culture vultures will recognize and enjoy. And beyond that, the book is full of information about Baltimore, its various neighborhoods, its restaurants and bars, its famous tourist spots and its lesser-known jewels.

She almost makes you think Baltimore is "Charm City." And that, you have to admit, takes a lot of doing.

The author will sign copies and discuss her new book Friday at 7 p.m. at Mystery Lovers Bookshop, Oakmont. Details: 412-828-4877