And When She Was Good

By: Laura Lippman

Narrated by: Linda Emond

Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Nominee, Mystery, 2013

Perennial New York Times and national best-selling author and acclaimed, multiple prizewinner Laura Lippman delivers a brilliant novel about a woman with a secret life who is forced to make desperate choices to save her son and herself.

Heloise considers it a blessing to be a person who seldom attracts attention. In her suburb, she's just a mom, the young widow with the forgettable job, who somehow never misses a soccer game. In the state capital, she's the redheaded lobbyist with a good cause and a mediocre track record. But in discreet hotel rooms throughout the area, she's the woman of your dreams - if you can afford the hourly fee.

For more than a decade, Heloise believed she was safe, managing to keep up this rigidly compartmentalized life. But her secret life is under siege. One county over, another so-called suburban madam has been found dead in her car, an apparent suicide. As 40 looms and her son enters adolescence, Heloise is facing a midlife crisis with much higher stakes than most will ever know. With no formal education, no real family or friends, Heloise has to remake her life - again. Disappearing will be the easy part. The trick is living long enough to start a new life.

©2012 Laura Lippman (P)2012 HarperCollinsPublishers

Absolutely fantastic, great, Must Read

Always liked Laura Lippman novels but this is such a great book. If you want to read a fascinating story that you can feel every second and be immersed completely, please read this. It is greatly narrated and I absolutely loved every second of this.

Good Read!

Would you listen to And When She Was Good again? Why?

This was an interesting book. I was glad to see Helen work through her struggles and turn her future around.

Not your usual mystery novel...

I loved this book. Some times when I read a book, I can't remember what it was about within a month. I will not soon forget this one.

I gave this four stars, because I really got wrapped up in Heloise's life and how she problem solved. I could not put it down.

I do believe that women will find this a better read than men. Well, worth the credit. I will definitely add Laura Lippman to my favorite authors list.

Very Interesting Plot

I am definitely going to read more Laura Lippman. I enjoyed this book very much and the narrator was fantastic. The story line was well-thought out and filled in all the details in a perfect way for the reader. Very nicely developed.

Finally Finished

This is the first Laura Lippman book I tried to read. I purchased it when it first came out, got about 1/3 of the way through and had to stop. I simply could not muster any empathy or sympathy for Heloise/Helen. At that point in the book I had yet to run across a single character that was likable.

The book put me off enough, I decided not to try the Tess Monaghan series, which I'd intended to begin.

Two years later I finally started the Tess Monaghan books and have read all of them published to date and liked or loved all of them. So I decided to give this book another try.

I started over and finally made it through the book. There were plot lines and twists I found interesting, but not fascinating. I also found the story beyond unbelievable. And the characters remained as unlikeable to me as they were originally. There was also no humor. But Lippman's writing skills shown through. She delivered a very tight, well written story, even if I didn't care for the plot that much. If you are a Lippman fan you should read this book. If you think you might want to become a Lippman fan, don't start with this book. If you do not care for her other books, I doubt if you will like this one.

Emond does a very good job with the narration.

Timely interesting story line. Good Narration

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Nothing per se. It was average quality. Worth the credit but nothing I'll 'read' again.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Unremarkable. By the time it ended I was getting a little bored with it.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

I think she captured the essence of the character well.

Did And When She Was Good inspire you to do anything?

No

Another winner for Lippman

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. I recommended this audiobook to my husband and he enjoyed it as much as I did.

What did you like best about this story?

The character development and the way the story goes back and forth in time, rolling out slowly.

Very interesting subject

What did you love best about And When She Was Good?

The characters were all very compelling and the reader did a great job defining them.

What did you like best about this story?

The way it was laid out kept me interested.

Which character – as performed by Linda Emond – was your favorite?

Can't recall.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not really

Any additional comments?

I would read others books by this author.

Will read more by the author and narrator

I found this book interesting and entertaining (frequently I find I can only hope for one of the two) and the narration - once I got into the story - was very well done though not at all overdone. Great listen!

Fabulous story!

A wonderful departure from my usual reads that were mysteries, suspense, thrillers. Although "And When She Was Good" does have suspense and mystery, however, its story is much more an adventure into the life and mind of a lovely & very likable woman you will respect & may wish for a friend. I loved the story, and the characters...especially the heroine Heloise & her assistant. Already a fan of Laura Lippman, this book's storyline & reviews caught me; the narrator and content absolutely held me. This story of a single mother...by choice....who 1/2 owns and runs a high-end, high-society level call girl operation from her home. She remains very much a loner in a wealthy suburban in Maryland. Heloise's history & the errant characters from it are the vital & violent kind of ppl associated with even high-end prostitution. High praise for the narrator, Linda Edmond who made Heloise the wealthy, extremely intelligent, loving mother, and the flawed self-possessed woman she is. Narrator also makes Heloise the extremely likeable & respected character she is. Highly recommend both author and this grand book.