Ms. Lippman’s stand-alone novels have been much more nuanced and interesting than her Monaghan books. And When She Was Good is the latest case in point ... there’s nothing that strains credibility in Ms. Lippman’s view of Heloise’s profession, and a lot is observed ... Heloise is especially well drawn ... Ms. Lippman is too smart to wallow in the obvious. She is less concerned with the psychology that would draw Helen to a father figure than she is with Val’s Pygmalion role in Helen/Heloise’s transformation ... And When She Was Good is a steady, surprising tale about how Heloise adapts when her business is put in jeopardy. It would spoil this story to describe the warning signs, but Heloise is quick to pick up on every little whiff of peril ... Call it sustainability: this book gives Heloise power, versatility and the gift of foresight, all of which serve her well in a crisis.
The story of a bright girl, verbally and physically abused by her father, who runs off with a heroin addict and ends up as a prostitute may seem unoriginal, but Lippman’s skill with atmosphere, character and suspense make Helen/Heloise’s story interesting and fresh. The only false note may be that Heloise is allegedly forgettable; an impeccably groomed, expensively dressed red-haired female lobbyist is unlikely to blend into the Annapolis woodwork, no matter how unmemorable her face ... Lippman has given us the elements of a great crime novel: a gritty story, vivid characters and a fast-moving, twisting plot. She has also mixed in some astute commentary on crime, hypocrisy and human nature — as well as on Maryland supermarkets.
Meet the quirky but troubled protagonist of Laura Lippman's novel, And When She Was Good, which looks at women's issues and at the sorry effects of murder, mayhem and drugs. It's not chick-lit; nor is it crime fiction. It's a little of each ... Lippman wraps her latest stand-alone novel in a who-done-it plot, but she's mainly concerned with such subjects as stay-at-home moms, the legalization of prostitution, abusive men and complex mother-daughter relationships. She examines the power of maternal love, specifically how a woman's love for her son can help her overcome dire circumstances, and glances at the role of siblings in a blended family ... Although her latest expands her traditional focus on crime, it succeeds for the most part primarily because of Lippman's nimble style and her delight in irony and inside jokes.
...she reveals a cool savvy, an appraising eye that's necessarily tamped down in a series. And When She Was Good, a stand-alone, is a smart, chilly novel, hard-edged in all the right places ... Lippman does a nice job of fashioning the noose she will throw over Heloise's neck and tighten with a particular ease ... There's authentic, hard-boiled suspense to And When She Was Good, but ironically we fear the ruin of Heloise's business as much as the loss of her life. She isn't just another soccer mom running a stable. She's an estimable businesswoman who deserves her shot as a legitimate entrepreneur if only she can live to see the day. And get a small loan.
In Laura Lippman's newest novel, And When She Was Good, the Edgar-winning mystery writer draws a nuanced portrait of a survivor who trusts no one and goes to desperate measures to give her son the kind of childhood she never had ... To create empathy for her character who is not always likable, Ms. Lippman alternates between the present Heloise and her past life when she was named Helen, a promising straight A-student ... Ms. Lippman, a new mother, has some great lines about Heloise trying to figure out the bewildering world of new motherhood while balancing a demanding career ... While she captures a new mother's anxiety, she skims over the challenges of mothering a fatherless teenager, describing Scott as a perfect child ... But Heloise is a rich character whose maternal fierceness is authentic. Laura Lippman creates a memorable mother from the suburban madam plucked from the latest newspaper headlines.
The consequences of long-buried secrets involving misogyny, motherhood, and morality play out in this excellent stand-alone set in suburban Maryland from Edgar-winner Lippman ... 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.
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 ... Like Mary Cassatt, Lippman studies families with a different eye than her male contemporaries, showing the heartbreaking complexity of life with those you love.
