Helpful Score: 3
This was a good mystery. I liked Lily's observations about various townspeople and how she comes to terms with her preconceived notions about the victim. There was also a nice twist at the end as not everything is as it seems.
Helpful Score: 3
4th in the Lily Bard mystery series. In this book, Lily continues to grow, overcoming more emotional obstacles as she continues to poke her nose in the murders occuring in her small Arkansas town. The body count in this book actually ends at 4 (rather high for this series), With Deedra Dean being only the beginning. This and the remainder of the Lily Bard books are highly recommended.
Cathy C. (cathyskye) -
Helpful Score: 1
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.
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.
i enjoyed this series
This is the first in the series about Lily Bard from Shakespeare, Alabama. Promiscuous Deedra Dean is murdered and Lily, the local karate expert/cleaning woman helps solve the murder. Charlaine Harris also writes the Aurora Teagarden series, as well as the Southern Vampire series.
I really enjoy Charlaine Harris's books. She is more well known for the Sookie Stackhouse series, but I enjoy the others (Teagarden; Shakespeare; Grave). This book is about a young lady who feels she can only be loved if she will sleep with almost anyone who asks. Lily Bard is a cleaning lady with an injured past who helps solve her murder while trying to stay disattached from the people around her. It is part of a great series about a small town and the people in it.
A good continuation of the series, though not as riveting a plot as the previous 3. Enjoy that the main-stream characters continue to a place in each book. It is reassuring to see the emotional development of Lily and Jack face ups-and-downs and still continue to grow.
Mary Ruth
Mary Ruth
I have to say I really enjoy all of Charlaine Harris's books. I just finished Lily Bard Book 4 and it is my favorite so far. I am looking forward to reading the last book in the series. It really is an excellent murder mystery. If you enjoy this series and haven't already read Mrs. Harris's Harper Connelly Series or Aurora Teagarden Series, I highly recommend them. After reading both collection of books from Paperback Swap I actually purchased both collections because they are just as exciting reading them the 2nd and 3rd time around. Enjoy!
Love the entire series. Want more!!
Stacy W. (whatstacy) -
This series is an easy read, a quick book for a sunday afternoon. I love Lily Bard, she is a survivor and a character you can really get attached to. As with all of Charlaine Harris' series, there is quite a bit of humor in them. Which i find charming even in the middle of another murder in shakespeare. That poor little town can't catch a break.
#4 in the Lily Bard series - keeps you enthralled right up till the very end. Charlaine Harris does it again, as only she can do!
Great book, most sets that have more then two books to it kind of get redundent well this set dose not. It just gets better and better. This is my Third Set i have read by her
I thought this was a good read. I really like the characther of Lily Bard and love the relationship between her and Jack. I have enjoyed this series so far.
When Deedra Dan, the loca woman if ill repute, is found murdered,her lifestyle leaves more than a few suspects for Lily Bard, karate expert and professional housecleaner, to sort out. Terrific characters. Good plot.
4th book in lily bard mystery worth the read the whole series is wonderful
Christine H. (solarawynn) reviewed Shakespeare's Trollop (Lily Bard, Bk 4) on + 724 more book reviews
Found the entire series first rate. I Bought them all.
Watch Lily come out of her shell.
Really loved Lily Bard, I am on a mad hunt to find her other books!
I enjoyed this book. It is not as good a series as her southern vampire book. If you like "the Cat who" books you will like this one.
Good Mystery. Fourth book in Harris' Lily Bard series.
I just love her stories. I really like the lead character, Lily, to me she's a strong woman. Nosy too. Great to read.
A Lilly Bard mystery, very good reading
This is the first one one that I have read of her mystery series. I liked it. In fact, if I find them on here I will order them.
I cant say enough good about this series. I am very sad that there is only one more book in the series, and Harris has no intentions of adding more to it (I asked her). I admire this authors writing skills, as, being a writer myself, I pay close attention to those sorts of things when reading a book. This one is no exception to the rest it is well written and has a great plot. There is a lot of sub plots that add to the fun, and that includes Lilys relationship with Jack. I started to read this book more slowly as I got nearer the end because I simply didnt want it to be over so soon. I didnt guess the murderer until right before it was revealed (when Id started to have some niggling thoughts), and love how the author planned it all out so well.
great cozy series
Great Book. Great Series. Great Author.
Not my cup of tea.
Enjoyed the mystery. I'll definitely read the rest.
Charlaine Harris does it again. Shakespeare's Trollop is another page-turner in the Shakespeare series. You won't be able to put it down and when you're through, you'll want to read more about main character, Lily Bard. She always finds a body!
Danielle R. (danielleraybuck) reviewed Shakespeare's Trollop (Lily Bard, Bk 4) on + 76 more book reviews
Great story line with a twist at the end I did not see coming!
I think a new reader to this series would be lost as far as character relationships go; there's a lot of people and Harris doesn't give much backstory. Lily is, as always, a complicated character who doesn't usually leap to cooperate with, well, with anyone. The series is definitely darker in tone than the Aurora Teagarden series, but not bleak...justice is always done somehow. It's interesting that this series has connections to the "Midnight Texas" series and also the "Dead" series, although there's no hint of supernatural in any of the Shakespeare books.
This installment dragged and wasn't as interesting; I skimmed through the last 1/4 of the book. I still don't like Lily very much; she's not a sympathetic character and doesn't grow much from book to book. Even her love for Jack is forced and prickly.
4th in series. Not sure what to say about this one. I thought it was just OK.
No. 4 in the Lily Bard series - continuing the dective work - an enhoyable read.
Welcome back to Shakespeare -- a charming Arkansas town with endless back roads, an eclectic mix of residents, and a dollop of noir. Featuring cleaning woman/karate expert Lily Bard, Charlaine Harris's series puts a unique spin on the traditional cozy to create mysteries that "work on every level". In the latest installment, Lily discovers lifelong Shakespeare resident Deedra Dean murdered inside a car parked in a woodsy area outside town. Determined not to get involved, Lily wants to leave the police work to Sheriff Marta Schuster and her team of deputies, and concentrate on cleaning, high kicks, and her boyfriend Jack's impending visit. But when Deedra's notoriously promiscuous lifestyle provides an extensive list of suspects but very few clues, Lily has no choice but to resume the roll of amateur detective and join the investigation.
In this fourth book in Charlaine Harris's highly acclaimed and darkly compelling series, Lily Bard delivers a hard-hitting mix of Southern charm and street smarts, a combination so alluring that long-time readers and newcomers will be dying to visit Shakespeare again.
In this fourth book in Charlaine Harris's highly acclaimed and darkly compelling series, Lily Bard delivers a hard-hitting mix of Southern charm and street smarts, a combination so alluring that long-time readers and newcomers will be dying to visit Shakespeare again.
