EDGAR AWARD NOMINEE FOR BEST NOVEL
“As Before She Was Helen opens, readers are drawn into what appears to be a light, retirement-community caper. But author Caroline B. Cooney quickly flips expectations upside-down in this deceptively dark mystery. Between old crimes and fresh murders, septuagenarian protagonist Clemmie faces an unspeakable fear that will keep readers hooked in this twisty … will keep readers hooked in this twisty whodunit.”—Julie Hyzy, New York Times bestselling author
From the critically acclaimed, international bestselling author Caroline B. Cooney comes a domestic thriller perfect for fans of mystery books by Laura Lippman and Alice Feeney.
Her life didn’t turn out the way she expected—so she made herself a new one
When Clemmie goes next door to check on her difficult and unlikeable neighbor Dom, he isn’t there. But something else is. Something stunning, beautiful and inexplicable. Clemmie photographs the wondrous object on her cell phone and makes the irrevocable error of forwarding it. As the picture swirls over the internet, Clemmie tries desperately to keep a grip on her own personal network of secrets. Can fifty years of careful hiding under names not her own be ruined by one careless picture?
And although what Clemmie finds is a work of art, what the police find is a body. . . and she was the last person at the crime scene, where she left her fingerprints. Suddenly thrown into the heart of a twisted investigation, Clemmie finds herself the uncomfortable subject of intense scrutiny. And the bland, quiet life Clemmie has built for herself in her sleepy South Carolina retirement community comes crashing down as her dark past surges into the present.
From international bestselling author of The Face on the Milk Carton Caroline B. Cooney comes Before She Was Helen, an absorbing mystery that brings decades-old secrets to life and explores what happens when the lie you’ve been living falls apart and you’re forced to confront the truth.
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I was torn with my rating for Before She was Helen by Caroline B. Cooney. I kept going back and forth between three and four stars. The four star rating won out just because it features a group of elderly people, and I feel more suspense books and thrillers need to be written with older people and not only those in their 20’s and 30’s.
Cooney did a very good job switching between two different timelines, from Clemmie’s youth and college years to present day. I was enraged at the circumstances during her youth and even though nothing like it has ever happened to me, it made me feel a bond towards the character in regards to being a woman.
Then coming back to what is happening in the retirement currently, the mystery was executed very well. The combination of a comedy of errors (although it wasn’t funny what was happening) and lots of characters keeping secrets made me want to continue reading to find out how it was all going to end.
Now for the reason I was going to give it three stars, I felt like Cooney was often talking down to the reader. I know she’s written a lot of young adult novels (I even remember reading and enjoying her Face on a Milk Carton series when I was a kid), but that type of writing didn’t translate well into an adult novel.
It felt like Grandma was talking to her grandkids and continually saying, “In the 1950’s this happened, unlike what is happening with the whipper-snappers of today’s youth.” It would have been fine if it happened a couple of times, but it was repeatedly.
I would try reading another new, adult novel by Cooney, but if it was more of the same I know I would not end up finishing it because there are just too many other great books out there.
I’m not sure how I’ve missed author Caroline B. Cooney. She’s written ninety books, and I only just stumbled across this one, “Before She Was Helen,” when it came my way via one of the many emails I get recommending murder mysteries.
Helen is a 70-something-year-old resident in a Sun City development in South Carolina, who spends her time playing cards at the clubhouse and teaching Latin part time at a local high school. She keeps up with her family via texts and the occasional phone call. Her involvement in a murder in the community is only one of the well-developed plot lines in a book filled with twists and turns.
Add Cooney’s way with words, and you have a grand read. Consider this description of the relationship we have with our cell phones. “Like everyone these days, she used the phone as a pacifier. One stroked one’s phone, opening the comforting apps of word games and weather, headline news, and Instagram. It was quite similar to sucking one’s thumb.”
You’ll find many such clever descriptions that nail the world we live in–making you squirm or smile or both.
This stunning novel of psychological suspense had me flipping the pages like mad until the very satisfying ending. I loved this story, and I could fully relate to the restrictions and expectations placed on women during the 1950s and early ’60s. I’ll be on the lookout for more suspense novels from Caroline Cooney.
Clemmie has kept her personal life very private, never giving out her exact address. She has moved to a retirement community in Sun City, SC. But why is she so careful?
One day, she checks on her neighbor, and discovers a piece of art. She texts it to her nephew, and he shares it on social media, thereby opening a can of worms for Clemmie. Her past comes back to haunt her.
I enjoyed this tale of an elderly woman being put into a situation, and her thoughts on what to do. Her back story of why she was so private made sense, and the commentary on life in the 50s and 60s and the comparison to now was interesting.
Clemmie is an incredibly likable character. My review would have been higher, but I was taken aback by some of the darker turns the book took which I wasn’t expecting. However, I did really enjoy the storyline itself. I just wish I had a better idea of what I was getting into before I started. There were a few things that were easy enough to figure out early on, but there were still some mysteries that I didn’t solve until the end. It was overall an enjoyable book.
I truly enjoyed Before She Was Helen. Every time I picked up my Kindle to read it, it made me smile. I loved the main character and enjoyed the sociological asides about how life has changed since the 50s. This novel had great depictions of the lives of seniors, especially women. The plot was entertaining, with enough darkness that I got involved emotionally. One of the best novels with a protagonist in their 70s that I have read.
Get this book. It’s a real page turner.
I hadn’t read a Caroline B. Cooney book in a while and I really appreciated this one. I won this in 2020 through a Goodreads Giveaway, so it was an ARC copy and didn’t have all the extras in the back, and still had a couple of typos, but it’s going to be amazing. Yes, five stars. I loved how the characters thought these random things even in the midst of the REAL STUFF that was actually happening. That’s exactly what our crazy minds do, isn’t it, wonder these random little nothing-to-do-with-the-real-deal things? I think so. Mine does, at least. I loved the main character and my heart went out to her, and the reality of all of that would’ve been completely devastating. That said, at the same time as all the dreadful things about the way things were back in the day, I kind of long for at least SOME of those back-in-the-day ways, where no one shared their problems because they were just that, THEIR problems, and it was nobody’s business, and problems were problems, not glamorized like they are today. I liked the glimmers of the future the book left me with and I liked the back and forth between the two action stories, and also the times when it switched and told a different character’s point of view. It did that just enough and not too much. She, I should say, did that perfectly! Thanks so much for this free copy in the middle of the scamdemic when books are harder to get my hands on because I am, how dare I, an actual living, breathing person. Oh, and I was going to tell you I loved the part where it said SHERIFF’S LINE DO NOT CROSS. That has always driven me crazy–no punctuation. ha! And I liked when Johnny would have a thought and then unthink it or whatever. I’m botching the words, but I wrote them down in my Keepers book. There was another one too, about how Helen had never felt so elderly because she had these thoughts but couldn’t get them to coalesce. Brilliant explanation and succinct wording!
I loved this book! Clemmie is an elderly woman living in one of those communities for older adults. She’s a woman with a past, and when she checks on her next-door neighbor because she hasn’t heard from him via text, she sets in motion a situation that quickly escalates out of control. Clemmie’s at risk of having her secret exposed, not to mention at risk of getting killed. Highly recommended.
When Clemmie checks on her next-door neighbor in Sun City to see if he’s all right, she goes into his townhome and discovers an unapproved door leading to another unit. She takes a photo of a beautiful object, attracting the attention of a murderer and setting off a wild ride. Without realizing it, she has jeopardized a well-kept secret about her past. The author writes about aging in an authentic, humorous way. I loved the book’s unexpected twists and turns and didn’t want it to end. The fast-moving story will keep you guessing. Reading the last page, I had goose bumps. Thanks to NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Clemmie made a huge mistake … and now she’s the prime suspect in the death of ner neighbor. The quiet life she has led for the past 50 years is in danger as her dark past merges into her present. She was the last person to see her neighbor alive … and her fingerprints are present. What will they find when the police start investigating all her aliases she has lived under.
Although a little slow paced, the plot slips from the 50s to present day in Clemmie’s life. What has she been hiding from all this time? Character development is solid, although I would have liked to learn a little more about her neighbors, friends, acqaintances. It’s a calm mystery with a bit of suspense from start to finish.
Many thanks to the author / Poisoned Pen Press / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
I was very happy to see that the author of THE FACE ON THE MILK CARTON had written this new book. When I started it, I was a little confused about the name of the protagonist since she called herself Clemmie but her friends at the retirement village called her Helen. One storyline is what happened in her life to make her change her identity. There was also the storyline of Clemmie having a baby and giving Billy up for adoption. The third storyline was about a strange object d’art that Clemmie finds in her neighbor’s condo. When she sends the photo to her grandniece and grandnephew, danger seems to come quickly into her life. The final storyline is about this strange glass object and the murder that occurs next door. There are LOTS of characters in this book, including most of Clemmie’s friends in the retirement village plus the people from her past. The story is told in the present and in the past, so that is something else that I had to get used to. I enjoyed the story, but I’m not sure how to classify it. It’s part thriller, part mystery and also could be read and enjoyed equally by adults and young adults. This is a fast-paced book with a lot to remember as you read it, seeming somehow disjointed at times, but it comes all together at the end.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I also won a copy from Sourcebooks via a Goodreads contest. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
Brilliant, could not put it down!
How could being a good samaritan and checking on your neighbor turn into a disaster even though Helen was used to being helpful as well as having disasters in her life?
Helen didn’t hear from her neighbor Dom which was unusual since he texted her every morning to let her know he was ok.
Today when she checked on him, he wasn’t there, but then she found a secret door between his garage and the other neighbor.
Finding that door was a big mistake…it led to finding something she didn’t want to be involved in and something she never knew was going on in her quiet retirement community.
She also should have never mentioned what she found to her nephew who actually got her in a predicament that “blew up” because he posted it on social media.
If that wasn’t enough trouble for her….her neighbor’s nephew was murdered.
BEFORE SHE WAS HELEN pulled me in because of Helen.
I really liked Helen and felt sorry for her especially since her secrets might get out after all of these years and because she had a terrible childhood filled with guilt and bad memories.
That’s why she created another persona in the first place….she used to be Clemmie. She had to hide her secrets and her past.
The story line flowed beautifully, and this book is filled with regrets, lovable, quirky retired characters, fun, and a murder to solve. It is difficult to figure out who the murderer is because it could be any number of people.
If you need something different as well as enjoyable, BEFORE SHE WAS HELEN should be your next read because you never know what goes on in a retirement community. 5/5
This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Before She Was Helen, she was Clemmie – a sweet, naive girl growing up in 1950s small-town America, a pretty girl who was easy prey for a predator.
It takes the whole book for Clemmie’s story to be revealed; though we know from early on she’s living under an assumed name, the tragedy of exactly why falls out more slowly. It’s a sad one, with rape, stalking, a forced adoption of her baby and more in Clemmie’s background… and though she’s fearful of arrest for what she did, and we know there’s at least one dead body in her wake, there was never a point at which I thought Clemmie deserved anything other than the quiet retirement she’s working so hard on having.
The problem is that trouble comes to Clemmie when her neighbour doesn’t answer one of his regular check-ins. Using a key left with her, she goes around to visit and finds nothing much out of the ordinary except for an extraordinarily beautiful glass sculpture. Taking a picture, she sends it to her grand-nephew and niece, only for them to tell her it’s not a sculpture as such, it’s a drug pipe – and it’s been stolen from an artist who badly wants it back.
The artist, Boro, isn’t just a glass artist, though, and he has no intention of getting the police involved. He’s a dealer, shipping CBD oil and other products legal in some states like his own of Colorado, around the US to other places they’re not so easy to obtain, and the glass artwork wasn’t the only thing stolen from his shop. There’s a million dollars missing, and he wants it back. A sweet little old lady should be easy enough to intimidate into telling everything she knows. Except this little old lady apparently has serious secrets of her own.
And then the body turns up.
This was such a great read. Clemmie is an object of both pity and admiration; nobody should ever have to suffer what she did (and it’s awful that in a lot of places, the attitude towards women who have been raped hasn’t changed… they are still accused of having ‘asked for it’ or disbelieved) and her strength and determination to make a life for herself was something I really liked about her. There were a few interesting little twists and I did wonder exactly what the decisions of certain people to put their DNA results into an ancestry tracing website would come back with, though the actual truth wouldn’t have any real consequences for Clemmie if she chose to tell it to the right people.
I didn’t see the murderer coming at all; it was a startling twist, but there were quite a few questions left unanswered – where did Dom and the Coglins go, for example? The shenanigans in an apparently peaceful retirement community does make one wonder; if it could happen there, it could happen anywhere!
Although there were unanswered questions and the final twist did mean Clemmie’s story wasn’t quite over, I was quite satisfied with the ending. A thoroughly enjoyable read and I’m happy to give it five stars.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this title via NetGalley.
Helen finds a unique sculpture in her neighbors house…a house she is not supposed to be in. This sculpture leads to a death and a possible drug deal in her retirement community. Plus, Helen has a secret or two or three of her own. These are secrets she has kept well hidden for years but now, these secrets are coming back to haunt her.
Oh boy…did I love Clemmie or rather Helen…her alias. Yep…you heard right. She has a secret life and you just have to hear her story as to why and how she ended up as Helen. She is a great person and she has been through so much. And now it is all threatened. And then the story twists again. How much more can the reader take! I was stressed to the max reading this tale!
This story just reels you in. And honestly, I kept guessing and just plain guessing wrong! I love that! I love an author which keeps me on my toes and this one surely did!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
Clemmie is happily ensconced in a senior living community in South Carolina. Her next-door neighbor, a curmudgeonly man, has reluctantly given her a key to his house. She reluctantly texts him every morning to be sure he’s made it through the night. One morning, after texting and calling him with no response, she takes his key and goes next door. The house is empty, but in the garage, she finds a door connecting his home with the neighbors’ next door. When she enters that house, she finds a stunning piece of art. On impulse, she photographs it and sends it to her grandkids, who post it on Instagram. Suddenly, her life is turned upside down. Her carefully constructed life of fifty years is coming apart, especially after the police are called and find a dead body and her fingerprints.
This is a well-written book with well-developed characters and a storyline that will have you reading deep into the night. Some have classified this as a cozy mystery because no murder takes place on the page – it is that and so much more. Clemmie is a delightful older woman who is dealing with a lot – remembering where she put her keys, disliking her next-door neighbor, and hiding her true identity from everyone.
If you’re looking for a book to distract you from the Covid-19 pandemic, this is just the book to do that. It deserves to be at, or near, the top of your to-be-read list.
My thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and Edelweiss for an e-ARC.
Clemmie/Helen now in her seventies has never had an easy life.
She was raped by a teacher as a teenager back in the 1950’s
You did not report these sort of crimes back during these times. You did not share these secrets with people for fear of being called a liar.
This man harassed Clemmie for years and followed her through college as well.
Finally she actually changes her name and her life; therefore becoming Helen. He will not find her!
She has now at present day, settled down in a retirement community and only keeps in touch with her estranged family through text messages and the occasional phone calls.
Her family had no idea of the abuse Clemmie/Helen was subjected to for all those years.
Living in a quiet retirement community is just the way Helen wants it.
However, there is a murder and the body is found in the apartment next to Helen! How did this happen and who is the murderer?
Read this novel to find out! You will love it!
I truly adored and admired Clemmie/Helen.
She is a strong, determined lady that we could all stand to be like!
Excellent book!
Before She Was Helen by Caroline B. Cooney, published by Poisoned Pen Press, is a full length, stand-alone romance.
A story well written and with a storyline full of twists and unexpected turns.
I started reading and was thrown right into the story. There was no easying in.
Meet Clemmie/ Helen, a woman in her seventies, living all aone without kids or a husband. She has had a rough life, but she’s still living a secret life. My gosh, my heart hurt for what happened to her , it’s heart-wrenching and hard to bear.
Before She Was Helen is a complex story , the writing is great and I connected easily with the characters.
I was very happy to see that the author of THE FACE ON THE MILK CARTON had written this new book. When I started it, I was a little confused about the name of the protagonist since she called herself Clemmie but her friends at the retirement village called her Helen. One storyline is what happened in her life to make her change her identity. There was also the storyline of Clemmie having a baby and giving Billy up for adoption. The third storyline was about a strange object d’art that Clemmie finds in her neighbor’s condo. When she sends the photo to her grandniece and grandnephew, danger seems to come quickly into her life. The final storyline is about this strange glass object and the murder that occurs next door. There are LOTS of characters in this book, including most of Clemmie’s friends in the retirement village plus the people from her past. The story is told in the present and in the past, so that is something else that I had to get used to. I enjoyed the story, but I’m not sure how to classify it. It’s part thriller, part mystery and also could be read and enjoyed equally by adults and young adults. This is a fast-paced book with a lot to remember as you read it, seeming somehow disjointed at times, but it comes all together at the end.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”