And When She Was Good: A Novel by Laura Lippman

about book:

She knows she is the first person he will come looking for.

Heloise believed she was safe.  Once the star employee of a low-level pimp, she put him in prison and then created a new life for herself in an insular community where her neighbors, though friendly, keep to themselves and don't ask too many questions.  But the security she's worked so hard to establish is now under siege on multiple fronts.

Her once oblivious accountant is asking loaded questions.  Her longtime protector is retiring from the police department.  Her employees can't be trusted.  And not even the best escort services are immune to the effects of the lingering recession.

Everything tells her that it's time to get out.  But the one man who knows almost all of her secrets says she has to stay in.  And given that another suburban madam has turned up dead in a nearby town, it's all too possible that Heloise's former pimp is just as lethal behind bars as he was on the outside.

A patient, determined killer.  A desperate yet resourceful woman.  An innocent child.  How far will Heloise go to protect her son and the life she's built for him?

my thoughts:

DNF.  That is what I have to declare with regards to this book.  I Did Not Finish it.  I just couldn't.  The book was just not my cup of tea.  I agreed to review it for TLC's Book Tour of And When She Was Good, because I had not read any Lippman before and figured this would be the perfect opportunity to give her work a go.  I like crime thriller/suspense types of books and having heard that Lippman is one of the best-selling crime thriller authors of our time I assumed I was in for quite a treat.  Well, you know what they say about people who assume things...anyhow, I didn't get the good read I had expected. 

From the above summary, the book does sound rather interesting doesn't it?  Well, its not.  Or at least it wasn't for me.  I honestly didn't give a fig about Heloise and her son; or the fact that she was hiding out from her ex-pimp.  There was just something unlikeable about Heloise that made me not want to read any more about her.  I just couldn't stand her voice.  And reading about her past and learning how she came to be a madam didn't make me feel sad for her in the least.  There was just something lacking in Heloise and her story.  I had expected to be captivated from the start and find myself immersed in an unputdownable novel; instead I was disappointed and left with an unfinished book.  Based on this book alone, I would not read any of Lippman's other novels.  I just don't think her writing (which I found to be rather lackluster) and characters (which I felt were all devoid of emotion) are exactly what I want to be reading. 

Of course, I am in the minority, because the majority of the other hosts on this TLC Book Tour are raving about, And When She Was Good.  So, who knows - maybe you will love this story as much as these reviewers have: TLC Book Tour site. 

Thanks to TLC Book Tours and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book!