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    And When She Was Good
    And When She Was Good
    And When She Was Good
    Audiobook9 hours

    And When She Was Good

    Written by Laura Lippman

    Narrated by Linda Emond

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    “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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateAug 14, 2012
    ISBN9780062190543
    And When She Was Good
    Author

    Laura Lippman

    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.

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    Reviews for And When She Was Good

    3.5/5

    356 ratings55 reviews

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    • 3/5
      And When She Was Good by Laura Lippman is the third stand-alone book I have read of Lippman’s many books, this however, was my least favorite. The writing is solid as I have come to expect from Lippman, unfortunately I did not care for Heloise/Helen. It is rather rare for me to thoroughly enjoy a book when I dislike the main character, and that was the case with And When She Was Good, I just could not get past my disdain for Heloise/Helen. Would I recommend the book to others? Of course, I cannot dismiss the book simply because I felt nothing for the main character, however I would suggest readers look at other reviews as this may be just the mystery you are looking for.
    • 4/5
      Eat less. Move more. Be mindful.
    • 2/5
      Heloise is an independent single mother with a high powered job and a complicated relationship with her son's father. She also happens to be the owner of a very successful escort service. Juggling her two lives is getting to be a bit much especially now that her son is getting old enough to ask tough questions. Things start to really go wrong for Heloise when another "suburban madam" is murdered. When Heloise learns that she knew this woman from her prostitution days, she begins to get truly concerned. Could her son's father, Val, be behind this crime? And is Heloise next?This book wasn't bad, per se, but it wasn't great. Heloise is very smart and savvy, but she's also incredibly stupid. Her relationship with Val is inexplicably twisted. She thinks of herself as smarter than her mother but continues to make the same sort of mistakes. Maybe that's the point of the book, but I found reading it frustrating. It's just "okay".
    • 4/5
      This book has helped change my relationship to food and eating to make it even healthier than it already was. For anyone who has challenges in this area and wants an introspective and 'zen' approach, read this!
    • 5/5
      love laura lippman
    • 3/5
      I very much liked the first 25% or so of this book. After that it was repetitive and I lost interest. I skimmed through some of it and saw advice about handling specific problems with eating and moving which looked good, but my interest was in what mindful eating is and the aspects of it. I got that in the first part of the book and did not want to wade through the rehash.
    • 3/5
      "If forced to pick a label, Heloise will admit to being agnostic. But in her view an agnostic is an atheist who's covering her bets."A surprisingly entertaining read. I'd read very mixed reviews, so did not know what to expect. I understand why so many have said that they couldn't connect with the book due to not liking the main characters, but sometime's that can make a book all the more interesting. Heloise doesn't fit the stereotypical suburbanite, but she makes a nice change to the rich, unemployed, alcoholic, busybodies usually found in fictional suburbia. Some aspects did not ring true. Yes, Heloise was a victim of circumstance, yet she'd had the means to escape that life and her poor choices long ago. Nevertheless an enjoyable and thought provoking read.
    • 3/5
      Fair…. Good characterizations
    • 3/5
      This thriller is fine, I just found it a bit overly long. A few too many players that don't seem necessary. Do we really need so much of Heloise's childhood history? Or so much of the day-to-day?Maybe I would have felt different reading this one. It might have been faster to read than to listen.——Heloise is a suburban Maryland widow, a lobbyist. Only she's not. That is the cover for the "escort" service she runs. She has always played straight--pays taxes, offers heath insurance, and has to pay her former pimp (now jailed) a monthly cut for helping her set up in the first place.The ballistics expert that put the former pimp in jail (with Heloise's help) has been found to have falsified his qualifications all those years ago. Val is looking for a new trial and wants to eliminate potential witnesses.And Heloise wants out of the business. She wants to go straight. Without even a high school diploma.
    • 3/5
      I do like this author. This book, although a stand-alone, gave a nod to the characters from her series.
    • 4/5
      Although this wasn’t my favorite Laura Lippman book, it was an enjoyable story. I empathized with the main character, Heloise. It was interesting seeing how an intelligent woman becomes enmeshed in an illegal career. Most of the characters seemed one-dimensional, but that may because that is how society treats prostitutes—as one-dimensional tools. As usual, Lippman has quite a twist for the ending. It seemed rather easy to accomplish, but then when reading novels its best to just enjoy.
    • 5/5
      I've read this book four times. Each time, I never get bored with it. The adventures and plights of Helen kept my eyes glued to the book. Laura fleshed out her character very well. When she was good, she was very, very good. When she was bad, she was terrible.
    • 4/5
      A high end prostitute with a dark past tries to juggle multiple problems to provide a good life for her son.
    • 2/5
      What a disappointment. I hated the main character of this novel roughly as much as I love Tess Monaghan in Lippman's great series. I literally wanted to bitch slap Helen/Heloise. Yeah, she had a rough start to life but nowhere near as bad as many with worse origin stories who sucked it up and overcame their pasts. Helen had the chance to get out of her situation when Val went to prison. All she had to do was disappear and start over. I know it's a fictional tale, but it's a fictional tale of a stupid, self-absorbed idiot.
    • 3/5
      Wanted to like this but felt it missed the mark in some spots. The actions of the main character were not always very believable.
    • 4/5
      In Laura Lippman's And When She Was Good Heloise Lewis, aka Helen, is, from all appearances, a single mother and successful lobbyist for the Women's Full Employment Network living in Turner's Grove, Maryland. Only a select number of people know that in reality she is a suburban madam. Heloise keeps her personal life and privacy carefully guarded while she tries to run her successful business and raise her son.

      Heloise grew up as Helen Lewis, the daughter of an abusive father and submissive mother. When her father told her that her looks were forgettable (and later beat her), she took it to heart and now, as an adult, she tries to blend in, and avoid arousing anyone's suspicions. While she blames her father for the path her life took and her lack of education, they are the result of Heloise's own poor choices. But Heloise is intelligent and resourceful, as she manages to build up a successful business behind a legitimate business facade.

      The chapters alternate between the current day Heloise and Helen from earlier times. As Heloise struggles with her current problems, we slowly learn what took place in her life as Helen and how her actions and decisions back then are encroaching on her life today. Heloise wants to live a quiet life with her son, Scott, but circumstances are looking more and more like someone wants her dead - and it could be Scott's father, a man who knows nothing about his son. Most people think Heloise is a widow, but Scott's father is alive and well - and in prison.

      The suspense slowly builds as more and more of Heloise's past is revealed and the reader begins to suspect the problems that may arise in her present situation. While it's no real surprise who the bad guys are in this novel, it is a pleasure reading to find out what is going to happen next. In deference to Lippman's considerable talent and writing ability, I'll admit I read And When She Was Good quite quickly because I was simply unable to put it down.

      I did struggle with an inability to be completely accepting of Helen's feelings that she was trapped in her life's choices. I just kept saying in my mind that her problems were a result of her poor choices. Yes her father was an abusive jerk, but he didn't force her down the path she chose. And, while I agree that in the sex and porn industry that the women are someone's daughter, neighbor, mother, sister, it should be noted that the men who objectify and take advantage of the woman are a large part of the problem. It is a hot topic that merits debate way beyond the scope of a novel.
      Highly Recommended

      Disclosure: I received an advanced reading copy of this book from the publisher and TLC for review purposes.
    • 3/5
      This is a stand-alone psychological thriller from crime writer Laura Lippman. Heloise is a suburban Madame (posing as a lobbyist). We learn her life story--an abusive childhood from which she ran away to become a street prostitute, and her subsequent "rescue" by a wealthy pimp. The pimp is now serving a long jail sentence, but before going away set her up in her business. In her respectable suburb, she is known merely as a young widow, raising her son. She is leading a comfortable life, but when a Madame in nearby suburb turns up murdered, Heloise begins questioning her life. She is also concerned that her young son is becoming old enough to ask questions about her life. She decides she wants to leave the life and go "legit". However, this proves harder than she expected. This is an interesting crime novel, with lots of information on the business of prostitution.
    • 4/5
      For more than a decade, Heloise believed she was safe. But her secret life is under siege. One county over, another so-called suburban madam has been found dead, an apparent suicide. As forty ooms and her son enters adolescence. Heloise is facing a mid-life 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.
    • 3/5
      Heloise is a single mom living in a nice suburban neighbourhood. Smart and good looking her neighbours have no problem believing that she is a lobbyist. How else could she afford the lifestyle she is living? The truth is Heloise had a rough start to her life and was introduced very early on to the world of drugs and prostitution. Instead of letting it drag her under, she made use of her talents and now is a madam in her own highly successful escort service. Her former boyfriend/pimp is behind bars and everyone else from her former life is either lost or dead. She felt safe. Until a chance run in with a former co-worker and a murder of another make Heloise just how safe she and her son really are.

      I like this book very much. As grim as the heroine’s story is Heloise is a strong woman who has not only high standards but good morals as well. I know considering her profession that seems like an odd thing to say, but read the book and you’ll find its true. The action part of the book was good and played well into the plot, but I really enjoyed Heloise’s story.
    • 4/5
      This was the first book I've read by the author. I enjoyed it. Liked the characters and their stories. I'll read another book by her but will be selective, I don't think all of her books would appeal to me. It was entertaining.
    • 5/5
      What is the book about?Follow Helen/Heloise from age 15 to 37, bouncing back and forth from present to present time reflecting on how she became a young worker in the sex industry during her twenties. You'll understand and see how she went from being a call girl to a madam who overlooks young call girls. You'll see how Heloise deals with her internal issues and her social problems that resulted her making less desirable choices and professions. What did I think of the book?You normally don't read a lot of books about prostitution, call girls or any other such profession. After reading Lippman's story you can understand how one might get themselves in this situation. It's just one version of the many I am sure are out there but I really enjoyed this book. The lack of emotion in the character kind of shows how dead inside she must feel. Despite being treated poorly over and over her response is dead like. She handles everything with a grain of salt, which I guess I expected considering the working conditions and the choices she makes.
    • 2/5
      And When She Was Good held my interest and kept me coming back to satisfy my curiousity, but I never really developed a connection with Heloise. It might be ironic to say this about a suburban madam, but she was too perfect -- too level-headed, too intelligent, too in control of herself and her life. The ending was somewhat pat and strained credibility.
    • 4/5
      This is the first novel I've read by Laura Lippman. She certainly is a talented author and I hope to read more of her works.'And When She Was Good' is the story of Helen/Heloise who is pushed into prostitution as a teen by her boyfriend. She came from a dysfunctional family and, while she was smart and ambitious, she had no self-confidence because of an abusive father and a mother who did nothing to protect her. This novel portrays her as a 'victim' until she becomes a mother and then she decides to turn her life around.Lippman makes Helen/Heloise a very strong protagonist and most of the other main characters are strong as well. I didn't want to like her because of the lifestyle she was leading but understood how hard it was for her to change her lifestyle, so I ended up liking and routing for her. I felt there were too many minor characters and it was hard for me to keep track of their relationship to Helen/Heloise. The villains were so well-written that it was very early to dislike them!The flow of the story is good but I didn't like a backstory every other chapter. The ending was just what I expected though so no surprises there. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it and wish that all young women could read it before getting into prostitution. There are lots of lessons to be learned.
    • 4/5
      Heloise Lewis has worked hard to create a comfortable and secure home for her son Scott and herself in an upscale suburban community in Turner's Grove, Maryland. She has also created a successful small business which supports them very well. The problem is that she must be vigilant to keep her two worlds from intersecting. She calls herself the CEO of Women's Full Employment Network, but her employees are high end prostitutes and her job title is actually Madam. For nearly twelve years, she has carefully kept records, paid taxes, seen to it that her employees are safe and have health insurance at her expense, so that she can avoid unwanted attention from the police and the IRS..But now another woman in an adjacent county is making the news in an apparent suicide. She is identified in the newspaper as a Suburban Madam. Heloise's friend at the Police Department has offered her protection from notoriety for years because Heloise was able to provide them with key information that put her former pimp/Scott's father in prison for life for murder. But now her friend is retiring and he warns her to be extremely careful. There is now a possibility that the conviction could be overturned on a technicality.Author Laura Lippman is a master at slowly building tension, introducing provocative details as she reveals the back story that makes Heloise the woman she is today. Heloise's parents, her current clients, even her employees are carefully nuanced and add to the richness of the story. As the story unfolds, complications multiply, but nothing Heloise can't handle. Even the relationship with Scott's father is dynamic and complex, though it is beginning to have an ominous aspect to it... Maybe it is a little too much to handle after all...losing the business may be least of Heloise's worries. There is an exciting ending and this is a book that suspense fans, not to mention Laura Lippman fans, will definitely want to read.
    • 2/5
      This book should have been named “Daddy Issues” because that it basically all it’s about. Heloise/Helen has been a prostitute (escort) since she was nineteen years old. She dropped out of school (though she was pretty much a straight A student) and ran away from home with the first guy she slept with because she thought he loved her. She blames this on her father, because he was cruel to her and beat her and her mother. She eventually hooked up with a pimp, who also beat her occasionally, this she blames on her father. And her mother for putting up with her father. She blames her father for her not graduating high school. She blames her father for every bad thing that’s happened in her life. She takes no responsibility for the decisions she’s made that led her down the path of prostitution. I understand that children that are abused by their parents suffer mental consequences, but there comes a time when you need to take responsibility for your own actions. Heloise never learns this lesson, because her in twenty years of hooking, she never once gets caught (unlikely).She’s also boring and very pretentious for someone that never graduated high school. She has a son, Scott who is constantly described as a “dream child”. He is perfect in almost every way and he has been since birth. He hardly ever cried, slept through the night, few tantrums, polite, smart, and athletic. There are no real twists or turns in the book, you can see the “twist” from a mile away. Also the book is very dry and it took me a few days to get through it. It flips back and forth from her current life to her past, leading up to how she became to be a suburban madam. This book just wasn’t for me.
    • 3/5
      I confess I have never read a Laura Lippmann book before, this title was a "recommended if you like" and so when I saw it on sale I bought it. The story sounded great a prostitute who changes the business but not her profession. The problem was the main character Helen/Heloise/Hel for me was not at all believable. She lacks common sense throughout the book and misses things that for the reader were so obvious. The whole book came off as a Movie made for Lifetime TV.This is a theory I have, I think when Gillian Flynn became such a hot selling author, many publishers wanted to get in on the act. Get their authors to write edgy books and tell them as Gillian does in both the past and the present. This author is skilled enough to pull off the past and present format, which is not easy to do, unfortunately her characters, wound up be laughable caricatures who were not at all believable.
    • 4/5
      Lippman's Heloise is a great character. She is complex and human, and even though she runs a prostitute ring, she is trying her best to do the right thing and run it in a way that protects the women who work for her. It's an engaging story, with a lovely ending. If only life would turn out so well.
    • 4/5
      Very interesting, suspenseful read about a Baltimore madam who's put a vindictive man in prison and has some other men on her trail. The central character is quite compelling.
    • 5/5
      This is the story of the trials and tribulations of a suburban madame. It starts in her youth when she is the victim of a series of abusive relationships and ends up a prostitute. She owes her life to her pimp, Val, and becomes his favorite girl. Ultimately, she takes over the business when he ends up in jail because of her doings. She must withstand all manner of financial and physical threats to keep her business afloat complicated by a young son. She is a savvy, creative and smart character and I was constantly surprised by her. ability to think her way out of jams. I really loved the book and I can see why Laura Lippman has a bevy of loyal readers. I can't recommend this book more highly.
    • 4/5
      On the surface, Heloise seems like many other suburban soccer moms, but underneath, she's a madam of a high-priced escort ring. She's worked very hard to keep her personal and professional lives separate. But maintaining total control of her life proves exhausting and Heloise is working on an exit strategy. As you can imagine, nothing goes exactly as she has planned.The story is suspenseful, but not exactly a mystery. The questions the story raises around the social issues related to prostitution are as interesting as the mystery. Is Heloise a product of her (awful) upbringing? Should she be scorned, shamed, or shunned for the choices she's made? Can she be a good madam and a good mother at the same time?In the end, I liked this book, but didn't love it. Heloise is an interesting character, but not exactly likeable.One of the things I appreciate about Lippman is her ability to write novels both as part her series and as stand-alones. Though the books are very different from each other in scope and tone, they all still feel like they come from the heart and mind of the same author. The are all great books. For contrast, see the recent stand-alones by Lisa Scottoline which feel like books written for a completely different audience.