And When She Was Good - Paperback

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(R), 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.

Back Jacket

When Hector Lewis told his daughter that she had a nothing face, it was just another bit of tossed-off cruelty from a man who specialized in harsh words. But now, Heloise considers it a blessing to know how to avoid attention. At home, she's merely a mom and a lobbyist with a good cause and a mediocre track record.

But in discreet hotel rooms, she's the woman of your dreams--if you can afford her hourly fee.

For more than a decade, Heloise has believed she is safe. Only now her secret life is under siege. One county over, another so-called suburban madam has been found dead in her car, a suicide. Or is it?

And then she learns that her son's father might be released from prison, which is problematic because he doesn't know he has a son. He also doesn't realize that he's serving a life sentence because Heloise betrayed him.

Heloise has to remake her life--again. Disappearing will be the easy part. The trick will be living long enough to start a new life.