Friday, March 20, 2009

Review-- Shakespeare's Trollop

Title: Shakespeare's Trollop
Author: Charlaine Harris
ISBN: 0425196992/ Berkley Prime Crime, 2004
Genre: Mystery, #4 in the Lily Bard series
Rating: B

First Line: By the time I opened my eyes and yawned that morning, she had been sitting in the car in the woods for seven hours.

Deedra Dean got very little respect in her hometown of Shakespeare, Arkansas. She liked men, and men most definitely liked her. In death, as in life, she was shown no respect: her nude body found in her car on a little-traveled road by the town cleaning lady, Lily Bard.

Lily cleaned Deedra's apartment, so it falls to her to help Deedra's mother empty it. Knowing the dead woman's proclivities, Lily manages to dispose of Deedra's home videos, photos and sex toys before the grieving mother can see and be upset by them. But Lily can't ignore the fact that this murder touches her in a way that others have not. Knowing that the easiest solution would be to pin the crime on one of Deedra's many "beaus", Lily is determined to see that justice is served.

The growth of Lily is the main focus of this series. She had a good career in Memphis, Tennessee until she was kidnapped and brutally raped and disfigured. Afterward, all she wanted to do was hide from all the publicity, heal, and mind her own business. Her body has been healed, and it's now toned and strengthened with karate. She's not afraid of being alone. Lily thought that being a cleaning lady would mean that she could exist beneath most peoples' radar, but instead the job has helped bring her back into the orbit of others. She's slowly made friends and is letting down her defenses enough to try a relationship with someone.

As interesting as the mysteries may be, this series is really all about Lily's journey from the shadows and into the light. Although it's a pity that there's only one more book in the series, if Harris brings this character fully back into the light, it will have been a good journey for both character and reader.


5 comments:

  1. Sounds like yet another good series I've missed. Just put the first one on my bookmooch wishlist. Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've had some mixed reactions to Charlaine's books. I liked the Sookie series but I didn't like her Aurora one. I guess I'll just have to check this one out! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. You're welcome, Bernadette!

    Iliana--I've had mixed reactions to her series, too. I'm just not interested in Sookie and didn't care for Aurora at all. I love her Lily Bard and Harper Connelly series, though!

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a wonderful blog, Cathy! I just found you while doodling around on LibraryThing—you know the drill: one thing leads to another thing . . .

    What topped off the wonderfulness is The Poisoned Pen: I live in Chandler and have been to Barbara's store many times.

    My favorite crime writers are Denise Mina (the Garnetthill trilogy is superb), John Connolly (the affable Irishman who writes the very dark Charlie Parker series), and James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux series (Tin Roof Blowdown was a heartbreaker).

    My blog is bookish, but I include other "stuff" too.

    I'm happy I found you, and I'm going to add you as a follower.

    Now, back to your regular blog.

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a wonderful comment, Charlie, you certainly brightened my day! I'm glad you were doodling around on LibraryThing and found me. It seems that we share a few favorite authors, and I'm definitely going to track down your blog!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to make a comment. I really appreciate it!