Before She Was Helen by Caroline B. Cooney - ADVISABLE

Before She Was Helen by Caroline B. Cooney, 336 pages. Poisoned Pen Press, 2020. $27.

Language: PG (7 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Sun City is full of retired folk with nothing to do but play cards and be in everyone else’s business. When a murder is discovered in one of the villas on Blue Lilac Lane, everyone wants a piece of the excitement to share, but Helen hopes it all just fades away. If the police are called, they’ll poke their nose into everything, and there are secrets Helen needs to keep.

I have been a fan of Cooney since I was in middle school, and Helen’s story is a great addition to Cooney’s resume. The constant flipping back and forth between both time and characters makes for a steep learning curve, but Cooney skillfully draws readers in to make conclusions about the big picture as she slowly provides her readers with each piece of the puzzle -- I couldn’t put it down. My favorite thing about this book is the unique nature of having a murder mystery in a retirement community, a setting that Cooney fully embraces and takes advantage of. The mature content rating is for rape; the violence rating is for blood, gun use, and murder.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen