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

A new stand-alone, wonderful as usual.

This is a stand-alone in which Helen, an abused highschool girl, leaves home and becomes part of an escort service. But when she finds she is pregnant, she turns in her handler/pimp for murder and he is convicted to life with no parole. Helen becomes Helloise and runs her own escort service with the cover of being a lobbyist. She does very well until a “madam” in the next county is murdered, and she realizes that it is someone who also worked for her handler. She begins to realize that she is in desperate danger, particularly to keep her son unknown to his pimp father. She has decided to get out of the game, but she has continued to pay money to her pimp in jail and he doesn’t want to lose the income. She wants out of the game, but will she live long enough to get out and bring her son with her? A gripping book which Linda Emond narrates with just the right amount of coolness to represent Helloise’s point of view. Very good, as usual.

excellent from start to finish!

this was a great and very thorough book. it's about scandalous issues and the pursuit of normality spun in a thrilling but somehow relatable way that keeps you interested in the entire time. best of all there's no cheap ambiguous ending, instead it's a complete and satisfying conclusion leaving me excited for the author's next books. very much well worth the credit.

Interesting book kept my interest

What did you love best about And When She Was Good?

I found myself totally involved with the main character.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Equality for women comes in many forms.

Any additional comments?

I would have liked a little more punch at the climax.

Great mystery

What made the experience of listening to And When She Was Good the most enjoyable?

Well written mystery. The plot moved at a good speed and switched between the present and past with ease. I couldn't stop listening and couldn't wait to figure it all out.

What does Linda Emond bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Great Narration. Linda Emonds was able to read both male and female voices without sounding phony or silly. Her voice really added to the story

It kept me interested.

What made the experience of listening to And When She Was Good the most enjoyable?

I really enjoyed the narrator's voice. Looking forward to hearing more work she's done.

If you’ve listened to books by Laura Lippman before, how does this one compare?

This is my first book from this author but I intend on listening more now that I've listened to this one.

What does Linda Emond bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I really enjoyed her voice. Not too much inflection but not too boring and she differentiates characters well without trying too hard.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I thought some things were unrealistic but sometimes even the truth is unrealistic.

Addictive

This is typical Lippman -- perhaps even a tad better than most. As usual, she entertains from beginning to end. Yes, the story is a little preposterous, but who cares? You are rooting for Heloise, even when she makes the politically incorrect decisions. (What's a girl gonna do?) The narrator is terrific, delivering the tone that I believe Lippman intended.

Great story and a great narrator!

The narration was absolutely on point. it was captivating and told the story with the correct tones and pace

Back & forth

Would you consider the audio edition of And When She Was Good to be better than the print version?

I did not read the print version so I don't know which would have been better. I would guess that for me, this time, the print version would have been better.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite character was Scott. I think the innocence of him, in the midst of all this carnage and these self destructive adults gave me hope that Heloise could attain her goals.

What three words best describe Linda Emond’s voice?

Great Women's Characters

If you could take any character from And When She Was Good out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Heloise's mother would be my supper companion. I would want to know how she reconciled her life choices with the pain it caused her daughter. I think it would help me understand some of my own extended family better.

Any additional comments?

Male characters all sounded much the same, with the same blunt pauses. Not all guys are gorillas, and some change in accent and cadence would have helped with that a lot. I loved that Heloise chose the high road and did the right thing by her employees. While I don't agree with her position on prostitution, I did like that she would only hire those who knew what they were getting into and then treated them as professionals. It gave me respect for a character I thought I would only pity or dislike.

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.

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!