Welcome to Litsy!

I was obsessed with Caroline B Cooney books as a kid so I was beyond excited to find out she had an adult novel! I met her at a conference just before the pandemic and she signed the galley for me. And a few years later I have finally read it. It‘s a thriller in an unexpected location — a gated retirement community. I loved Helen‘s strength and tenacity, but she is also a realistic character. A grandma just trying to live her life & stay alive.

I LOVED this book! Clemmie is a senior citizen with secrets, the first being that most people know her as Helen. The book alternates with a current mystery in her neighborhood with flashes to how Clemmie ended up a Helen. Absolutely loved this book.

Saturday plans for Labor Day weekend are looking mighty fine 😎 Hope everyone enjoys their long weekend!!

This mystery was a hoot! I‘ve not read Carolyn Cooney before — a mistake I‘ll rectify quickly.

Clemmie live in Sun City, a senior gated community. She has her friends, her card parties, her part-time position teaching Latin, and suddenly, a dead body in the garage of her weird next door neighbor and Clemmie has a past she‘s desperate to hide.

Deliciously complicated twists and turns keep you guessing. Well worth the quick read.

Just an FYI: I have a giveaway posted on my Facebook page (A Bookish Butterfly) and my Bookstagram (abookishbutterfly) for a copy of Before She Was Helen by Caroline B. Cooney, if you‘re interested. You can enter on both platforms to increase you chance of winning!

A MUST read.

The story line flowed beautifully, and this book is filled with regrets, lovable, quirky retired characters, fun, and a murder to solve.

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

FULL REVIEW: https://tinyurl.com/y4f7ru3z

#carolinebcooney
@sourcebooks

Not what I thought it would be. Good at times and slow at others. I think the alternating between past and present is what kept me reading.

FULL REVIEW 10/13.

How could being a good samaritan turn into a disaster even though Helen was used to being helpful as well as having disasters in her life?

We have a retirement community with lovable, quirky characters, fun, and a murder to solve.

If you need something different and enjoyable, this should be your next read because you never know what goes on in a retirement community.5/5

#carolinebcooney
#carolinebcooneybooks
@Sourcebooks

About to open this one up!

THANK YOU, Molly Waxman of @Sourcebooks for this beautiful print copy.

Review is up on my blog. Check it out. https://reecaspieces.com/2020/09/10/before-she-was-helen-by-caroline-b-cooney-pp...

I fondly remember reading Cooney‘s books when I was young, so I was excited to check out this one- her latest for adults! It‘s an engaging story of Clemmie- though she is known to her Sun City neighbors as Helen- and how her secrets risk exposure after her curiosity gets the better of her o e fateful day! The book is split between this modern storyline and Clemmie‘s past- it‘s dark, sad and my only wish is that there had been more to the ending...

My teleworking coworker 🙁 sorry peeps. I‘ve been MIA because (in all honesty) I am handling this horribly. I‘m here, I‘m reading, I‘m petting cats. Hoping you are all safe and sound. Take care ❤️❤️

Starstruck and so excited to meet Caroline B. Cooney this morning as I adored all her MG fiction from THE FACE ON THE MILK CARTON to THE TERRORIST! I got a signed copy of her first adult novel in 40 years! Thanks so much, @sourcebooks and #PLA2020! Makes me wish I could go back to the days of browsing Borders for her next book.