And When She Was Good: A Novel

by Laura Lippman, Linda Emond (Read by)

Overview

“Laura Lippman’s stories aren’t just mysteries; they are deeply moving explorations of the human heart. She is quite simply one of the best crime novelists writing today.”
—Tess Gerritsen, author of The Mephisto Club

Already praised as “a writing powerhouse” (USA Today) and “among the select group of novelists who have invigorated the crime fiction arena with smart, innovative, and exciting work” (George Pelecanos), New York Times bestseller Laura Lippman is constantly sending reviewers back to their thesauruses in search of new and greater accolades. Her brilliant stand-alone novel, And When She Was Good, only reinforces the fact that she stands tall among today’s bestselling elite—including Kate Atkinson, Tana French, Jodi Picoult, and Harlan Coben (who raves, “I love her books!”) Based on her acclaimed, multi-award-nominated short story Scratch a Woman, And When She Was Good is the powerfully gripping, intensely emotional story of a suburban madam, a convicted murderer whose sentence is about to be overturned, and the child they will both do anything to keep. Lippman has already won virtually every prize the mystery genre has to offer—the Edgar®, Anthony, Agatha, and Nero Wolfe Awards, to name but a few. They’ll now have to invent a few new awards just to keep up with her.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781665063456
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/09/2021
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 6.70(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Since Laura Lippman’s debut, she has been recognized as a distinctive voice in mystery fiction and named one of the “essential” crime writers of the last 100 years. Stephen King called her “special, even extraordinary,” and Gillian Flynn wrote, “She is simply a brilliant novelist.” Her books have won most of the major awards in her field and been translated into more than twenty-five languages. She lives in Baltimore and New Orleans with her teenager.

Linda Emond's credits include The Sopranos, all four Law & Orders, and American Experience: John & Abigail Adams. On Broadway: 1776 and Life x 3 (Tony^® nomination, Outer Critics Circle Award). Off-Broadway appearances include Tony Kushner's Homebody/Kabul (Lucille Lortel Award, Obie Award).

Hometown:

Baltimore, Maryland

Date of Birth:

January 31, 1959

Place of Birth:

Atlanta, Georgia

Education:

B.S., Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University, 1981

Editorial Reviews

Gripping, intricate, and deeply felt, Laura Lippman is as good as ever in this thriller…Linda Emond gives a reading that is at once reserved (as Heloise feels she is in her life now) and evocative of the nuances of Heloise’s story. Heloise’s cool demeanor, under siege as crisis follows crisis, is conveyed by reader Linda Emond with skill and clarity; and the underlying emotions are expressed subtly and skillfully. And When She was Good is gripping to the end; the listener will not soon forget Heloise and her world.”

SoundCommentary.com

And When She Was Good is a steady, surprising tale…Ms. Lippman’s nominal subject may be prostitution, but her book is not about a woman who takes care of clients. It’s about a woman who can take care of herself.”

New York Times

Excellent…Shifting smoothly from Heloise’s past to her present, Lippman delivers an intense character study about a strong, complex woman whose love for her son compels her to make some desperate choices.”

Publishers Weekly (starred review)

And When She Was Good is a steady, surprising tale about how Heloise adapts when her business is put in jeopardy…There are easy, conventional ways for Ms. Lippman to escalate and end her story. But she cares less about mayhem than about ways for Heloise to adapt her talents to changing times. Call it sustainability: this book gives Heloise power, versatility and the gift of foresight, all of which serve her well in a crisis. Ms. Lippman's nominal subject may be prostitution, but her book is not about a woman who takes care of clients. It's about a woman who can take care of herself.
—Janet Maslin

The New York Times

AND WHEN SHE WAS GOOD is a steady, surprising tale… Ms. Lippman’s nominal subject may be prostitution, but her book is not about a woman who takes care of clients. It’s about a woman who can take care of herself.” — New York Times

“Shifting smoothly from Heloise’s past to her present, Lippman delivers an intense character study about a strong, complex woman whose love for her son compels her to make some desperate choices.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“ [Lippman] slowly ratchets up the tension until the final, blood-drenched showdown . . . It’s page-turner...” — Library Journal (starred review)

From the Publisher

[Lippman] slowly ratchets up the tension until the final, blood-drenched showdown…It’s a page-turner.”

Library Journal (starred review)

Lippman, so smart, clear-sighted, and polished and yet so intense and furious, surveys the intersection of perpetual misogyny and the criminality of sex work in this psychologically astute, diabolically witty, intricately suspenseful, and stylishly righteous tale of atrocities and revenge.”

Booklist (starred review)

Lippman (The Most Dangerous Thing, 2011, etc.), who specializes in tales of feckless parents and their luckless kids, puts a madam at the center of her latest dysfunctional family. At first, nothing could be more conventional than the Lewis family saga. Helen's father, already married with two children to his credit, knocks up her mother, Beth, a 19-year-old carhop. He moves in with Beth but hangs around his ex-wife Barbara enough to give Helen a half sister, Meghan, only six months younger. As Beth and Barbara tussle over worthless Hector, he focuses on tormenting Helen, telling her that she has "a nothing face," breaking her record albums and forcing her to get a job that interferes with her schoolwork. It's while waitressing at Il Cielo that she meets Billy, the owner's stepson, who lures her to Baltimore with promises of marriage. Instead, he turns her out, making her earn money to feed his drug habit by doing lap dances at a local strip club. That's where she meets Val Deluca, whose red hair matches his fiery temper. Val offers Helen a nice house and a better class of client, all for doing what she's already doing. He also gives her the chance to be something she'd never dreamed of: a mother. That's when Helen's tale goes off the beaten path. Before he learns about Helen's delicate condition, Val is jailed for murder, and Helen reinvents herself as Heloise Lewis, running the business at a level Val had never achieved. She recruits college girls with delicately worded ads for escorts and serves clients who include state legislators, all while presenting herself as a lobbyist for the Women's Full Employment Network. But when another suburban madam turns up dead, Heloise realizes that the safe, comfortable life she's crafted for herself and her beloved son, Scott, in affluent Turner's Grove is at risk. Like Mary Cassatt, Lippman studies families with a different eye than her male contemporaries, showing the heartbreaking complexity of life with those you love.

Kirkus Reviews