Shakespeare's Trollop

The Lily Bard Mysteries, Book 4

By: Charlaine Harris

Narrated by: Julia Gibson

Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's Summary

Lily discovers lifelong Shakespeare resident Deedra Dean murdered inside a car parked in a woodsy area out town. Determined not to get involved, Lily wants to leave the police work to Sheriff Marta Schuster and her team of deputies, and concentrate on cleaning, high kicks, and her boyfriend Jack's impending visit. But when Deedra's notoriously promiscuous lifestyle provides an extensive list of suspects but very few clues, Lily has no choice but to resume the role of amateur detective and join the investigation.

©2000 Charlaine Harris (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC

A Good Read

Nothing profound, never a classic, - but a good enjoyable read - Enjoy!

Nice addition

As a fan of Charlaine Harris This was one series I haven't updated. I am glad I had a chance to read more. I like that Lily has become more open and at the same time finding herself a bit lost because of that. The mystery was interesting, too. Nice fast easy listening!

Lily cannot let go of promiscuous woman's death

One of the things that I admire about Charlaine Harris is her willingness to follow the growth of her, usually broken or stigmatized, main characters, even when the venture into politically incorrect territory.

I've seen reviews of previous books in which Harris is criticised because Lily Bard, a survivor of a vicious gang rape, saw the promiscuity of, Deedra Dean, one of her customers, as a lack of self-respect. Lily cannot understand why Deedra would put herself at risk just to have sex with men that she does not care about. This raised a red flag for some readers. How dare Lily judge this woman!

Yet the point of this series of books is to get inside the head of Lily Bard as she does what she can to rebuild her life. Lily's impatience with Deedra speaks more to her own need for security and her lack of trust in men than it does to any moral condemnation of Deedra's behaviour.

This book starts with Lily discovering Deedra Dean's body in a car in the woods, apparently the victim of one the many men she had sex with. Part of the power of this series is that Lily grows and changes with every book. Lily is not as locked away emotionally as she was in book one. Her reaction to Deedra's death, which she cannot get out of her mind, shows that while she still cannot grasp why Deedra behaved with such little self-regard, she cannot abide the idea of her being killed for it. This unwillingness to accept that Deedra "got what she deserved" eventually leads Lily to unravel what really happened to Deedra.

Along the way we also see how Lily deals with people who treat her badly (a sleazy man in his nineties, too used to getting his own way and too lascivious for polite company) or who suspect her honest (a Deputy Police Chief who sees her as perpetrator, not rescuer) and see that, although she has grown strong enough to withstand these people, she still behaves honourably towards them.

We also see that Lily has built a home for herself in Shakespeare. She has friends and people who respect her. She is no longer the invisible person she used to want to be.

The plot has enough twists and turns to be interesting and picks up on characters and storyline from previous books in a consistent way but, ultimately, it felt a little too elaborate for me.

I enjoyed the book, not so much for the plot, as for the opportunity to spend more time with Lily and see who she is becoming.

Although I found this too be the weakest of the Lily Bard books so far, it is still a good read, well-written, thought provoking and intimate.

Perhaps over the top, but still love Lily

Would you recommend Shakespeare's Trollop to your friends? Why or why not?

I continue to enjoy the books in this series. This one is a somewhat over the top story and does have people behaving in what might not be the most believable ways. That didn't bother me, though it might bother some people who have definite rules about a mystery. I am more interested in the characters than the mystery usually. However, if you can let go of the disbelief it is an interesting mystery to follow. On a side note, it's funny how old a book feels when people are using VCRs and such. I criticized the motive in a previous Lily Bard Mystery but that was not an issue here. I felt a little sad knowing I have only one more Lily Bard book to go. I meant to mention in previous reviews that Harris spends a lot of time discussing clothes, make up, relationships, etc. A male reader's head would probably explode the 100th time we heard the description of someone's navy belt matching their navy leather pumps, or that they shaved their legs or put cream on their cuticles and if anything this installment is even more like that. Still, I enjoyed both Lily and teh mystery in this one.

Escape

Any additional comments?

Great 'simple' listen. Nothing too complicated, a great story which kept me interested until the end. I did not expect the ending, which is typical of Charlane Harris, she is a great story teller.

Not Sookie but definatly Charlaine Harris

I just finished this and I'm about to read book five. Lily Bard is a troubled woman with a past and PTSS. She is strong and tries very hard to be totally independent. I like this character and Charlaine Harris knows how to paint dark characters. I love the Sookie Stackhouse series, but I really enjoy this as well because it is so different.

meh

So I loved the first three stories. There was always something to keep me interested. This story though lost its luster. It was almost as if the author had not much to say and filled it with filler. Many episodes of how Lilly went to the gym or martial arts. There was a lot of details that i just fast forwarded. I also didn't need all the cleaning houses episodes. The story just bored me. Sorry

Great who done it book!

Charlaine Harris does an amazing job with the characters in her books. I love every series she has written. I wish they never ended.

Wow! Another great book by Charlaine Harris

Love this series! Never saw the end coming. Only one more book in the series. Boo hoo!

Lily investigates on behalf of her clients

Lily loses a client and investigates when Deidre is killed; not for her worst attribute, but her best. Then she loses another client when Joe C.’s house is set on fire. Lily and Jack come to an understanding.
Lily Bard is my second favorite Harris series after Harper Connelly; then Sookie Stackhouse; then Aurora Teagarden. I haven’t gotten into the Midnight, Texas series but I believe it features Manfred from the Harper Connelly series.
Gibson does an OK job of narration.