And When She Was Good

And When She Was Good by Laura Lippman (2012), narrated by Linda Emond

Heloise has it all: a big house, expensive car, perfect son, and a successful business. One day, while in line for a latte at Starbucks, she hears that a suburban madam has died, apparently of suicide. But it's not as simple as it seems, and neither is Heloise. Her lobbying firm is in fact a cover for an escort service and though she has been careful over the years to make sure she and her girls are protected, suddenly everything seems like it may begin to unravel.

Most summaries of this novel contain a lot more information, but it's best if you know little going into it because Heloise's past - and much of her present life - is revealed slowly over the course of the novel. In fact, although I knew that Lippman was a crime writer (I've read two of her other books), this didn't even seem like a crime novel most of the way through, more like a novel about Heloise and how she came to be a madam. Which is fine, because it was fascinating to read about how she ran her business to look legitimate - she filed taxes and everything - and how she kept that side of her life so separate from her life with her son.

Heloise's childhood and young adulthood - during which she was known as Helen - were troubled, to put it mildly, and she was still haunted by her cruel father and the other men who mistreated her. But she emerged strong and hard and capable. It's sad though, as she has had little contact with men who aren't horrible (except professionally, and they paid money for that bit of intimacy), and she isolated herself even from potential friends. I like to think these things changed for her later.

I should mention the narrator - I barely thought of her at all, which is a testament to her expertise. Worthy of mention is her portrayal of Heloise's assistant, Audrey, who is hearing-impaired. Her voice was convincing in its subtle tone sounding much, but not exactly, like someone who is deaf. I would think it's difficult to get it right without overdoing it, and Emond succeeded at that.

This is the third book I've read by Laura Lippman, and each one has been just as good as the last. She is quickly becoming one of my favorites.

Heaven to Betsy : a review

Heaven to Betsy and Betsy in Spite of Herself by Maud Hart Lovelace (1945-1946)
Written in the 1940s, the Betsy-Tacy series is set in Deep Valley, Minnesota at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. The two main characters, Betsy and her friend Tacy, are children in the early books but the series follows them into adulthood, the reading level increasing as they age.

Because I’m so fond of YA, I skipped the kids’ books and started with the combined volume Heaven to Betsy/Betsy in Spite of Herself, which covers their first two years of high school. And what fun and exciting years they are! Betsy Ray is such a typical, recognizable teenage girl that it’s easy to forget she’s starting high school way back in 1906. The girls are silly and fun, writing songs about the boys they like, using a Ouija board to predict the future, talking on the phone, putting off homework until the last minute, and trying to create new and mysterious personas for themselves. They have inside jokes and catch phrases, at one point constantly crying “O di immortales!” and during another period, “Hully Gee!”

The period details are just the best. Every night Betsy puts her hair in Magic Wavers, and then styles it into a pompadour. Cars are new and Betsy at one point has a boyfriend with a car and they drive around at a thrilling 20 miles an hour! Imagine!

Lest you think being a teenager was all fun and carefree in those days, it’s important to mention their more serious concerns as well. When Betsy and her sister Julia decide they want to become Episcopalian though they were raised Baptist, they are both terrified of confronting their father about it. And like any teenager, Betsy has ongoing struggles to remain true to herself. She gets so caught up in being part of a crowd that she goes along with them regardless of what she really wants. Although Betsy hates skating, “she always pretended radiantly to like whatever the others liked, and the others…adored skating.” Another time, after a failed romance with a boy, she is sleighing with a large party including said boy and his new flame. “It was a horribly party for Betsy who remarked at frequent intervals that she never had had so much fun in her life.”

We frequently think of women in that era as being confined to the roles of housewives and mothers, but one of the great aspects of these books is that the characters have big ambitions. Sure, Betsy is as taken with romance as any teenage girl, but she has always wanted to be a writer and that doesn’t take a back seat to any man. Similarly, her sister Julia is devoted to music and even turns down a marriage proposal because she wants to pursue her dreams. Betsy is a bit appalled at how fixated on marriage some of her friends are, having alrady picked out silver patterns and started embroidering towels for their hope chests. “When Betsy and Tacy and Tib talked about their future they planned to be writers, dancers, circus acrobats.” It’s all very hopeful and inspiring!

This recent edition includes a forward by Laura Lippman, which was an added bonus. There’s also some great author information in the back – the whole series is apparently strongly autobiographical, which would account for how realistic it is. In a way, it’s like a slightly more grown-up and modern version of the Little House books. Which of course is my way of saying how much I loved it.

I'd Know You Anywhere : a review

I’d Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman (2010)

Eliza Benedict is a wife and mother living a quiet life in the suburbs. But one day she receives a letter from someone who came across a picture of her in a magazine and recognized her instantly. Back when she was 15-year-old Elizabeth Lerner, this man kidnapped her for several weeks. Although he killed all his other victims, she was mysteriously spared. Now on death row, he wants to get back in touch with Eliza. Flashing back to the summer of the kidnapping, we learn more about the complicated relationship between Walter and Elizabeth, while in the present Eliza tries to finally resolve her unanswered questions about what happened so long ago.

In some ways Lippman tried to be a little too ambitious by bringing in Walter’s go-between Barbara Fortuny and washed-up journal Jared Garrett. They each certainly had a place in the story but I wasn’t interested enough for the chapters that were devoted to them. Or maybe I was just so engrossed by the main story and characters that I didn’t want to be sidelined.

Despite these minor shortcomings, I zipped through this book, enjoying both the present day story and the flashbacks to the kidnapping. It’s a complex story with equally complex characters. Based very loosely on a true story, it’s crafted with just the right level of creepiness to be believable.