One of the reasons I like Laura Lippman’s books is that I recognize the places she talks about. I’ve seen them, I know where they are and what they’re like because she’s from my hometown and the city figures prominently in most of her books.

The other reason I like her books is that they’re really good. Like all of her books, the characters in this one are very well drawn, they are not the overdrawn superheros so many authors try to pass off as “ordinary people.” Yes, I realize that if a book is being written about them, they are, almost by definition, unusual people. But even though they do not exist, we should be able to believe they could.

A mark of a good story teller is that they get their characters into situations they cannot possibly get out of, and believably then get them out of them. Plus, you have to care about the characters and you have to be interested in what they are going through. Ms. Lippman comes through here, as well.

When we meet Heloise Lewis, she is an average single soccer mom who just happens to run an escort service from her home in the suburbs. Then we meet her as a girl and learn her story. It’s nothing new: young girl thrown out on her own, turns to hooking to survive, falls into the hands of an unscrupulous pimp. Ms Lippman interweaves the girl’s history with the woman’s present life and we watch as the two synch up. To help keep the timeline clear, she uses the wonderful device of having the character change her name.

When asked, Heloise says she is a lobbyist, which, be design, stops any further inquiry cold. She is ultra careful, partly so her son never finds out what Mom actually does for a living. It is also so the IRS never has reason to take an interest in her. Her books are impeccable, she takes good care of her girls. She has even designed her own filing drawers so files can be shredded in an instant without anyone knowing it’s happening.

I was really impressed with the detail of Heloise’s “lobbying network.” Any question I could think to ask – Yeah, but how does she handle this? – she’s got a convincing lie for. And this Heloise is some cookie! She developed the survival skill of being able to think her way out of any dangerous situation. There’s a particularly interesting scene where her accountant figures out what she does for a living and tries to use that information to to blackmail her. There is no reasonable way out, he’s got her, but she still manages to send him running. She’s quite remarkable. Of course, unlike those of us in the real world, she has the advantage of rewrites.

This book is, in part, an argument for the non-criminalization of prostitution, the ultimate victim-less crime. Heloise Lewis is someone everyone would welcome in their neighborhood, their kids playing with hers, going to PTA meetings. Which is the point. It’s just what she does that bothers most of us, but her job is not who she is. None of us are our jobs, but when it’s a job we do not respect, we we do not distinguish it from the person. Fighting off a would-be murderer has made her a local celebrity and she uses that to testify before congress about this. This is where the author wraps up the moral nice and neat with a bow on top.

That’s the only part of the book that bothers me. It’s very well said, but I would have preferred it not having been said. It’s not necessary, the whole book says that. But I guess I can understand her wanting to make sure every the readers who don’t look for the lesson, get it.