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

And When She Was Bad...

Wow! How to describe this book and its main character? Different, compelling, intriguing, appalling, thought-provoking - all come to mind.

Laura Lippman is a great writer, and she delivers here. The characters are well-developed and interesting. The book is structured in the one-chapter-in-the-present, one-chapter-in-the-past format. I'm not generally a fan of that style, but it works here, and the build up of interest and tension is palpable.

If you are like me, you will find your sympathies shifting around a lot in "And When She Was Good." Whether you believe this unique character and her story to be symptoms of the decline of civilization or an increase in tolerance, I think you'll find it to be thought-provoking and entertaining.

She WAS good

A truly well-written novel with complex, imperfect characters - - in other words, real people. I like that this book talks about sex and prostitution without having to rely on the stereotypical graphic sex descriptions (not that there's anything WRONG with that) and relies instead on understanding the why and how of the main character. Love the narrator - - good job with being able to differentiate between characters. Throw in a family study and good who-dun-it and you've got a really good summer novel.

A curious tale, slow and ponderously boring.

This was a strange tale. It started out a bit of a feminist rant, which was going to get boring even if true. I don't come to Audible to be morally improved, but entertained. It failed almost utterly to entertain me, apart from the final encounter, which was diverting for a few moments.

The rest is pretty sordid, as references to prostitution, "the life," tend to be. It is a nasty, brutal, usually short life. Men are pigs, yes they are.

The book was factually incorrect in that it plays out that there is a lot of money to be made in prostitution. There is, but nowhere near the figures that Heloise seems able to extract from it. The working girls almost _never_ earn what they work.

Weirdly enough, hearing Linda Emond's wonderful narration use the few cuss words within the text rather sounded like effluvium in a cathedral. Even Emond's talent could not bring the tale to life for me.

While I agree with the conclusions that Lippman makes overall in the book, and her post book notes, the book wasn't worth the time it took to listen to it.

I know some will be disappointed in that review, especially Lippman fans, but it was a 2, no more.



brendan

Thank goodness for Heloise and excellent narration

Where does And When She Was Good rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I've listened to every Laura Lippman book on Audible. This was one of her best - Linda Emonds rocks as a narrator. I wish she narrated more books!

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes. There were unexpected twists and turns to the story that kept me wondering what would happen next. Heloise's choices make sense based on what we learn of her past. Laura Lippman is a master of character development.

Have you listened to any of Linda Emond’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I've listened to every Linda Emond performance of L. Lippman's books. This was one of her best. They are all good though.

Who was the most memorable character of And When She Was Good and why?

Oddly, I was drawn to the character of Audrey and her pivotal role in the story. She was a constant yet she still remains a mystery. In a good way.

Any additional comments?

Please write more books, Ms. Lippman!

Difficult to Appreciate

This book fails in a number of ways. It is difficult to really like the heroine. There are threads that are not developed--there is a problem between Heloise and her half sister that is introduced but never explained. The ending is very predictable, unrealistic and way too pat. I think that there was a reason that this book was put on hold for ten years.

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.

You won't want to stop listening.

It's easy to be a Laura Lippman fan, especially when she writes such rich and complex characters like Tess Monaghan. But in this novel we meet another strong and complex woman in Heloise Lewis. As always, Lippman keeps you guessing to the very end. I hope we hear more from Heloise, and maybe even a novel featuring Tess and Heloise together!
It's a good one.... you won't be sorry!

Fast forward is my friend

I probably missed the finer points at the end of this book. I listened to only the first few minutes and the last few minutes of the last 1/3 of the book. It became tiresome. I hate plot lines that only work if you accept the central stupidity of the main character; particularly when that character is painted as a sharp business woman. It is a shame because this author is capable of better.

Great find!

Any additional comments?

Very interesting story, may seem slow to some, but I liked it. I thought this story had a great plot line and definitely wasn't predictable! Now I'm interested in the rest of the books by Laura Lippman. I would def reccomend this book.