Shakespeare's Trollop

One of the things that I admire about Charlaine Harris is her willingness to follow the growth of her, usually broken or stigmatized, main characters, even when the venture into politically incorrect territory.

I've seen reviews of previous books in which Harris is criticised because Lily Bard, a survivor of a vicious gang rape, saw the promiscuity of, Deedra Dean, one of her customers, as a lack of self-respect. Lily cannot understand why Deedra would put herself at risk just to have sex with men that she does not care about. This raised a red flag for some readers. How dare Lily judge this woman!

Yet the point of this series of books is to get inside the head of Lily Bard as she does what she can to rebuild her life. Lily's impatience show more with Deedra speaks more to her own need for security and her lack of trust in men than it does to any moral condemnation of Deedra's behaviour.

This book starts with Lily discovering Deedra Dean's body in a car in the woods, apparently the victim of one the many men she had sex with. Part of the power of this series is that Lily grows and changes with every book. Lily is not as locked away emotionally as she was in book one. Her reaction to Deedra's death, which she cannot get out of her mind, shows that while she still cannot grasp why Deedra behaved with such little self-regard, she cannot abide the idea of her being killed for it. This unwillingness to accept that Deedra "got what she deserved" eventually leads Lily to unravel what really happened to Deedra.

Along the way we also see how Lily deals with people who treat her badly (a sleazy man in his nineties, too used to getting his own way and too lascivious for polite company) or who suspect her honest (a Deputy Police Chief who sees her as perpetrator, not rescuer) and see that, although she has grown strong enough to withstand these people, she still behaves honourably towards them.

We also see that Lily has built a home for herself in Shakespeare. She has friends and people who respect her. She is no longer the invisible person she used to want to be.

The plot has enough twists and turns to be interesting and picks up on characters and storyline from previous books in a consistent way but, ultimately, it felt a little too elaborate for me.

I enjoyed the book, not so much for the plot, as for the opportunity to spend more time with Lily and see who she is becoming.

Although I found this too be the weakest of the Lily Bard books so far, it is still a good read, well-written, thought provoking and intimate. show less

Shakespeare's Trollop
4 Stars

When Lily stumbles across the dead body of Deedra Dean, Shakespeare’s most promiscuous resident, everyone assumes that her lifestyle has finally caught up with her and the suspects pile up. However, a series of seemingly unrelated incidents soon reveal that there is more to Deedra’s death than meets the eye.

To begin with, it should be noted that the strongest criticism of this installment in the Lily Bard series is that Harris appears to be engaging in “slut shaming” and “victim blaming”. While I can certainly see why this is the case considering Deedra’s characterization, once cannot escape the fact that Harris is presenting a phenomenon that is, unfortunately, common in our society not show more because she condones it herself, but because she seeks to expose it for the misogynistic rubbish that it is. As with the 2nd book in the series, denying that something distasteful exists will not make it go away!

Personally, Lily Bard and the colorful residents of Shakespeare, Arkansas, have been one of the highlights of my reading year. The characters, the town and the mysteries have made the series come to life for me and I’m sad that there is only one more book to go.

It is great to see the growth and development in Lily’s character. While she remains brusque and anti-social, she is slowly opening herself to friendships and to the emotional connection that she is forming with Jack. Even though they have to deal with one or two obstacles in their relationship, Lily and Jack emerge stronger than ever and it looks like they are moving in the right direction.

The who-dun-it has some interesting twists and turns although it is easy to guess the culprit once the clues start making sense. The climax and resolution are as exciting as ever and I particularly enjoyed the fight at the end.

All in all, Harris a skilled storyteller and once I’m done with Lily and company, I will be on the lookout for more of her books. show less

I really enjoy the Lily Bard series as a whole, and I think this is a good contribution to the series. In this one, a minor character in previous books is "elevated" to the status of murder victim - if you've read those books, the title will probably tell you who it was.

Due to the nature of the victim (i.e., "trollop"), everyone simply assumes she slept with the wrong guy, and pretty much got what was coming to her. Since Lily knows at least a few other aspects to Deedra's character, she at least considers other motives. She also does her best to conceal the worst of Deedra's acts from her mother while helping to clean out the apartment; it's nice to see Lily being more considerate of the feeling of others - she's often depicted as show more being very "hard", due to the nature of her experiences. It was also good to see Deedra's character expanded on, even posthumously - learning about her strengths, as well as the weaknesses already alluded to in earlier books.

I also enjoyed the continued development of Lily's relationship with Jack, with both of them learning to cope with their pasts within the relationship. It seems to be a reasonably realistic depiction of a relationship where both sides come with heavy baggage. show less

In the fourth book of the Lily Bard series, another murder has taken place in Shakespeare, Arkansas. Lily moved to the sleepy town of Shakespeare to escape the spotlight after her brutal rape in Memphis four years earlier. But Shakespeare turns out not to be so sleepy, after all.

Lily finds the body of Deedra, a local “trollop” for whom she used to clean, and is pressured by the police to try to help find the killer. Since it looks like a crime of sexual passion, the suspects are legion, and Lily knows who many of the men are who have come to Deedra’s apartment.

Simultaneously, Lily is trying to define her feelings about her boyfriend Jack Leeds, and whether they should be entering into a more permanent relationship.

Lily finally show more stumbles upon the killer, and it is a big surprise, no less to Lily than to the reader, albeit a bit safer for the latter.

Evaluation: Harris continues to inject her trademark humor into even her darker series, combining insights into the human psyche with gentle fun:

"Clinton Emanuel looked down at me with those fathomless black eyes. I thought he was deciding whether or not to trust me. I may have been wrong; he may have been wondering if he’d have a hamburger or chicken nuggets when he went through the drive-through at Burger Tycoon.”

I’ve never met a Harris book I didn’t find entertaining. They’re not books you think about forever, but they are nevertheless a very fun way to spend the time. show less

In this warm and cozy mystery series Shakespeare is the name of a town in Arkansas, not a playwright. Lily Bard, a young woman who works as a house cleaner has evidently come to this small town to escape reminders of a very violent incident in her past. This is the fourth of six in the series, and I didn't feel I absolutely had to have read the previous entries to enjoy this one. I am however, going to be sure to look them up. The past sounds every bit as interesting as the present.

In this one, Lily discovers a dead body: one of her clients who had a reputation for being a bit loose with her morals. One of the trollop's latest and most consistent clients (whom Lily can identify as having been in and out of the victim's apartment) show more happens to be the local sheriff's brother. While the sheriff, with Lily's reluctant cooperation, is trying to solve the murder, Lily is also trying to resolve her feelings about her current boyfriend Jack Leeds, a private investigator who seems to be more absent than present in her life. In the meantime, she continues with her eccentric cast of clients and her personal fitness routine at the gym/karate venue. The murder is eventually solved with the perpetrator probably being a surprise to most readers.

As with other series by Charlaine Harris, humor abounds, the southern setting is charming but not cloying, and readers can settle down to enjoy a good mystery with likable characters and an interesting setting. Definitely worth checking out. show less

Deedra Dean, Shakespeare’s favorite good-time girl, has been murdered. She was left naked and violated in her car in the woods, unfortunately found by poor Lily Bard. Why was Deedra killed? One of her many boytoys? Or was it related to her great-grandfather’s will? Or yet something else?

Author Charlaine Harris doesn’t disappoint, and this fourth novel in the series is no exception. I loved the twisty plot and the evolution of Lily’s relationship with detective Jack Leeds. I can’t recommend this page-turner highly enough. (Those new to the series will be fine, but, newbies, do yourself a favor and at least read the debut to this series, Shakespeare’s Landlord first, and you’ll enjoy the book much, much more.

Shakespeare, Arkansas, is home to Lily Bard, the local karate expert/cleaning woman with a particular knack for finding skeletons in closets. But when the local woman of ill repute is found murdered, being familiar with her dirty laundry could make Lily the next Shakespearean to die.

This was light, easy to read and moved along at a good pace. Lily is a feisty character who trains in karate so as to be able to defend herself if she’s ever attacked again. Lily slowly figures things out in this small town. I enjoyed the story and might read another in this series.