And When She Was Good
by Laura Lippman
4 stars
An excellent thriller from one of the best of the genre, Laura Lippmann!
The story really is about Helen, now Heloise, an unapologetic madame that must protect her son from the truth about her past and their present. Looming is Val, serving a life sentence that Helen was instrumental in. Also the son's father although she's never told him.
A lot of protecting, lying, spinning, plotting! And most of it by Heloise herself. But I never felt anything against her; she's been dealt a tough hand.
I enjoyed how Lippman let us see Helen's life from teenager up through current. That allowed the reader to see Heloise's circumstances and almost be able to forgive her lifestyle. Almost applaud it actually; we're just amazed she was able to make it out alive, let alone become something.
There is a good twist or two that no way did I see coming. The writing is just excellent. After all of these Lippman novels, I feel as if I know Baltimore although I've never been. Her Afterwords always tell about the liberties she takes when describing the city, but still, I feel like I've seen it.An excellent thriller from one of the best of the genre, Laura Lippmann!
The story really is about Helen, now Heloise, an unapologetic madame that must protect her son from the truth about her past and their present. Looming is Val, serving a life sentence that Helen was instrumental in. Also the son's father although she's never told him.
A lot of protecting, lying, spinning, plotting! And most of it by Heloise herself. But I never felt anything against her; she's been dealt a tough hand.
I enjoyed how Lippman let us see Helen's life from teenager up through current. That allowed the reader to see Heloise's circumstances and almost be able to forgive her lifestyle. Almost applaud it actually; we're just amazed she was able to make it out alive, let alone become something.
There is a good twist or two that no way did I see coming. The writing is just excellent. After all of these Lippman novels, I feel as if I know Baltimore although I've never been. Her Afterwords always tell about the liberties she takes when describing the city, but still, I feel like I've seen it.
by Laura Lippman
4 stars
An excellent thriller from one of the best of the genre, Laura Lippmann!
The story really is about Helen, now Heloise, an unapologetic madame that must protect her son from the truth about her past and their present. Looming is Val, serving a life sentence that Helen was instrumental in. Also the son's father although she's never told him.
A lot of protecting, lying, spinning, plotting! And most of it by Heloise herself. But I never felt anything against her; she's been dealt a tough hand.
I enjoyed how Lippman let us see Helen's life from teenager up through current. That allowed the reader to see Heloise's circumstances and almost be able to forgive her lifestyle. Almost applaud it actually; we're just amazed she was able to make it out alive, let alone become something.
There is a good twist or two that no way did I see coming. The writing is just excellent. After all of these Lippman novels, I feel as if I know Baltimore although I've never been. Her Afterwords always tell about the liberties she takes when describing the city, but still, I feel like I've seen it.An excellent thriller from one of the best of the genre, Laura Lippmann!
The story really is about Helen, now Heloise, an unapologetic madame that must protect her son from the truth about her past and their present. Looming is Val, serving a life sentence that Helen was instrumental in. Also the son's father although she's never told him.
A lot of protecting, lying, spinning, plotting! And most of it by Heloise herself. But I never felt anything against her; she's been dealt a tough hand.
I enjoyed how Lippman let us see Helen's life from teenager up through current. That allowed the reader to see Heloise's circumstances and almost be able to forgive her lifestyle. Almost applaud it actually; we're just amazed she was able to make it out alive, let alone become something.
There is a good twist or two that no way did I see coming. The writing is just excellent. After all of these Lippman novels, I feel as if I know Baltimore although I've never been. Her Afterwords always tell about the liberties she takes when describing the city, but still, I feel like I've seen it.
Goodreads review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1874701328
About the author from goodreads:
Laura Lippman was a reporter for twenty years, including twelve years at The (Baltimore) Sun. She began writing novels while working fulltime and published seven books about “accidental PI” Tess Monaghan before leaving daily journalism in 2001. Her work has been awarded the Edgar ®, the Anthony, the Agatha, the Shamus, the Nero Wolfe, Gumshoe and Barry awards. She also has been nominated for other prizes in the crime fiction field, including the Hammett and the Macavity. She was the first-ever recipient of the Mayor’s Prize for Literary Excellence and the first genre writer recognized as Author of the Year by the Maryland Library Association.
Ms. Lippman grew up in Baltimore and attended city schools through ninth grade. After graduating from Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, Md., Ms. Lippman attended Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Her other newspaper jobs included the Waco Tribune-Herald and the San Antonio Light.
Ms. Lippman returned to Baltimore in 1989 and has lived there since. She is the daughter of Theo Lippman Jr., a Sun editorial writer who retired in 1995 but continues to freelance for several newspapers, and Madeline Mabry Lippman, a former Baltimore City school librarian. Her sister, Susan, is a local bookseller.
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About the author from goodreads:
Laura Lippman was a reporter for twenty years, including twelve years at The (Baltimore) Sun. She began writing novels while working fulltime and published seven books about “accidental PI” Tess Monaghan before leaving daily journalism in 2001. Her work has been awarded the Edgar ®, the Anthony, the Agatha, the Shamus, the Nero Wolfe, Gumshoe and Barry awards. She also has been nominated for other prizes in the crime fiction field, including the Hammett and the Macavity. She was the first-ever recipient of the Mayor’s Prize for Literary Excellence and the first genre writer recognized as Author of the Year by the Maryland Library Association.
Ms. Lippman grew up in Baltimore and attended city schools through ninth grade. After graduating from Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, Md., Ms. Lippman attended Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Her other newspaper jobs included the Waco Tribune-Herald and the San Antonio Light.
Ms. Lippman returned to Baltimore in 1989 and has lived there since. She is the daughter of Theo Lippman Jr., a Sun editorial writer who retired in 1995 but continues to freelance for several newspapers, and Madeline Mabry Lippman, a former Baltimore City school librarian. Her sister, Susan, is a local bookseller.
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