I was disappointed in The Wrong Good Deed, written by Caroline B. Cooney. I had a difficult time relating to the characters and the plot/subplots left me wanting the author to dive deeper into issues the characters faced. I listened to the audiobook and did not enjoy the narrator. I felt like my grandmother was reading me to sleep. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my opinion.

I had no idea Caroline B Cooney was still writing. Back in my teens I loved Face on the Milk Carton and a few other titles by Cooney that I cannot recall, so when this showed up on Net Galley I was really excited to read the author I fell in love with 20 years ago (gasp, Im old) Unfortunately this book read more like a YA and fell really flat.
Maybe it would have helped if I knew there was a book prior to this one, which may have made trying to keep up with all the characters/names easier. However the characters were very similar and I found myself constantly having to remind my self, okay Clemmie is this one and Muffin is that one....plus they had multiple names/personas.
The book started off with a great mystery and I was anxious to find out what was behind two old women fleeing from a church service. However from there the book bounced back and forth with times lines and the two main characters Muffin and Clemmie. The Past focused on the heavy topic of segregation, almost to the point of taking away from the story. It was like Cooney was trying to distract the reader from the present time line.
By the time the ending rolled around it was very rushed. Like you are taking SAT and have 4 minutes left to answer 14 questions and you just start filling in circles in hopes you picked correctly....well dear reader to carry the analogy you would be on your way to UNC Chapel Hill (I say that meaning you got a low SAT score because we all know NC State is the better school) It just felt rushed! When I finished the book I felt like it was Cooney reminding us of the tragedy of segregation and the white supremacy that took place in the Carolinas.

Maybe I would have enjoyed this more if I had the background of book #1, but that aside I still will keep my rating a 2 star. A plus it was a short read and fun to resist an author I loved as a teen. I am not as eager to pick up more of her adult books, but not closed to the idea!
Thank you Netgalley and Caroline B Cooney for the opportunity to review this advanced copy. I was not influenced for this honest review.

I really loved the description of tis book but once I started, it wasn't what I expected. Firstly I didn't realise this was the second in a series and that is my fault so I felt like I was missing information about the characters although this can be read as a stand-alone. I also didn't get the feelings of mystery or suspense that I expected, this might be because I couldn't connect with the characters or story. This wasn't written bad but it just was not for me.

After reading the description I was quite excited for this book. It seemed to have a good premise. It started out fast and got me hooked right away but then just flatlined. It was hard for me to stay interested and follow along. I kept listening hoping I would find out something big. I kept wanting more but just was getting bored and felt like it could have given me more. I chose to keep going and finish it hoping the end would have a big finish but when the time came I felt it just ended flat. I was disappointed.

When I asked to listen to this book, I didn't really realize the story was a story of racism. It made no difference to me, I just like to know what I'm reading. I'm one of those that wants to read the summary right before reading/listening to the book so I know what it's about. It wouldn't have stopped me from reading it, but it seems like that could be a trigger warning for some. I listened and my only concern was it was told from different POVs, and you really never knew when the POV changed. I really dislike that. The narrator did a good job with all the characters. I enjoyed getting to know the characters. I kind of wanted to know more about them, especially Clemmie and even more about Muffin's life after certain activities. Overall, I enjoyed the book. My husband even listened on a long road trip, I asked if he wanted me to turn it off and he said no, so those are super bonus points, Thanks NetGalley and Dreamscape media for the ARC. #TheWrongGoodDeed #NetGalley

As I started reading this novel I felt I was missing some key information about Clemmie. That is when I realized this was the second book in a series by Cooney.
I felt the book started with a good amount of suspense but fell short from there. The past and present timelines are effective in addressing the issues in the 1960’s, but I felt the ending was just lack luster and unfinished.
Thank you Netgalley for my ARC.

This book was okay but not as good as I had hoped it would be. The synopsis sounded promising and I was excited to delve in. I had access to both the audio and the ebook and I alternated between the two. I enjoyed the audio narration but sadly the storyline did not hook me in all that much.

I wasn't aware that this book was the second in a series, but The Wrong Good Deed works well as a standalone novel.
Muffin and Helen (or Clemmie) reside in an "active adults" neighborhood, concealing secrets from their pasts. The story takes place in South Carolina during the 1960s and the present, addressing the expected dramas of a community of over 60s and complex racial and gender-based issues from the 60s. The narrator, Mary Boyer, skillfully brings this story to life. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to her narration!

I look forward to future books from this author and will search for the first book in the series.

Thanks to Caroline B Cooney, Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for the audio ARC.

I wasn’t aware this was book 2 in a series. I will look for book 1 to get more of the character’s’ history. I think this book left a few things unanswered, so perhaps there will be a book 3 ?
This book had two timelines, 1964 and present day. It was interesting to read how different life was for women in that time period. It was a time to graduate high school and start college with the goal of finding a husband and becoming a wife. Career goals were nursing or teaching. Men made the decisions and women kept up the house and raised the children.
In 1964, Christaphine,, ( a beautiful name) is married to Tommy. She is just 20 years old and has dropped out of college to begin her life as a wife. Tommy is ready for a house full of children to fill their southern home. The South is a hotbed of angst over segregation.
Christaphine learns of plans to teach a reporter a possibly fatal lesson for his liberal ways and puts a plan in place to do a very good deed !
Doing this deed changes her life forever and the lives of five others.
Modern timeline and it is 50 years later. Christaphine now calls herself Muffin and is living a happy life in Sun City with her retired friends. She feels far removed from her secret past.
Clemmy is a good friend who also has secrets to hide. The story doesn’t really explain Clemmy’s past. We learn that the past may be coming back to find Muffin and her friend , Clemmy.
I enjoyed the book except for the ending . The ending seemed to come out of nowhere. Also some of the racial issues were very hard to read about. It did educate me about a time period I’m not too familiar and brought to mind some of the aspects of life that senior citizens face.
Thank you for permitting me to listen to this audio book ARC.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance audiobook copy of The Wrong Good Deed by Caroline B. Cooney in exchange for an honest review. This was an interesting story full of secrets and how they can catch up to you. I really liked how I didn't know what was coming next and it kept me listening.

I LOVED the narrator for this audiobook. It's always fun to come back to an author that you read in your childhood to see the differences in what they're writing. This is a quick and easy read with some complex issues and history that may be a little harder for some. I just wish it had been marketed as the second book, so I could have read Before She Was Helen first!

A story that exemplifies the ripple effect. “Just a ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far reaching effects.” Christaphine is a young married woman who discovers that her husband and his friends are about to commit a horrible hate crime that she knows she must stop. She also knows if she does they’ll kill her too. Still she does what morally she must do and runs. She runs fast and far. Many years later, living a different life under a different name she believes what happened is back in the forefront of her life. Is it or is it just a coincidence or something totally different that causes mayhem and in her world and that of her friends and community? The story is told in then and now, what if’s and how truth really does matter.

I read this novel but wanted to hear it in audiobook form. I thought Mary Boyer did a great job at narrative and the inflections in her voice kept the tone and pace of the audiobook perfectly!

Thank you Dreamscape Media & NetGalley for access to this audio arc.

I received this audiobook from NetGalley for review. This story is a mixture of elderly banter giving cozy mystery vibes and touches on racial tension in the early sixties. It's a good story and I think I would have enjoyed it more had I read it versus audiobook. The narrator wasn't doing it for me unfortunately.

The Wrong Good Deed. Is a novel I’d classify as mystery and historical fiction.

Two elderly friends, Muffin Morgan and Clemmie Murray (Helen Stephens), are attending church one Sunday when Muffin sees someone from her past. This sighting is startling and shocking and not an individual she ever wanted to see again. And for sure she does not want him to see her.

Quickly going into panic mode, Muffin convinces Clemmie to rush from the church and go home. Clemmie, is annoyed and confused by her behavior but agrees to leave abruptly. Muffin, begins the drive home only to witness a car accident involving two teenage girls in a large pickup truck. Stopping to see if they need help, they encounter a man Muffin is convinced is following them.

The incident seems to sort out and Muffin and Clemmie continue home where Muffin begins the story of her very complicated past.

In 1964, then a young woman, Christaphine Nearing is married to Tommy Nearing, and his close-knit family. They lived in Ferris, South Carolina. It’s the height of the Jim Crow era and the Nearing family does not tolerate “uppity coloreds.”

Tommy Nearing, Senior, kills an “uppity colored” and directs his son and his friends, Daniel, Webb, and Haven to take the body and bury it, it, not even referred to as a human being. The “good boys” obey Tommy Nearing without question.

The Nearings also did not tolerate northern reporters who they felt just came down to make life miserable for the good folk of Ferris, SC.. Northern newspapers described the sleepy southern town as facing high racial tension and rightly so. Then we meet this scrawny, arrogant city boy MacBurton Ward whose plan is to attend every meeting of every town board, where, said Tommy Senior, he would quote. Publicize.”

MacBurton is white, yet he is viewed as a disrupter and should be taught a lesson. The boys grab him and take him to an abandoned farm that has some hearty trees. Maybe a rope might be involved as well.

When Christaphine realizes what is about to happen, she can no longer tolerate the hatred. She jumps in her car, drives to the farm, get MacBurton in her car saving him from a dire future. Christaphine flees Ferris forever. To complicate her situation, she is pregnant and without a home, let alone basic resources for everyday life. She escapes to an aunt’s home and changes her identity and is now known as Muffin.

The old life disappears, and a new life begins when she divorces Tommy and remarries. It’s now 50 years later when the church incident happens. Muffin Morgan is running again and fears her previous life is about to be revealed. She comes across a TV program where the now much older MacBurton Ward is being interviewed. He is searching for the woman who saved him. He does not know her name, but Muffin certainly does and everything else as well.

Along with Muffin’s predicament, is a parallel tale revealing that Clemmie, now Helen Stephens, has her own demons to deal with. Both women must deal with a past no longer hidden.

Muffin, who is active, spends every morning running through the complex, now on the lookout for the man who may be ready to upend her life. One morning, on her daily routine, Muffin is hit and killed and now Clemmie/Helen finds herself in the position of searching for Muffin’s murderer.

Enter Daniel and Haven, from Muffin’s past, each who could have a reason for keeping her secret buried deep. At this point Caroline B. Cooney inserts a creative twist into the story, providing the reader with the true meaning of the title, The Wrong Good Deed.

The Wrong Good Deed is an intriguing story, well paced, and at times perplexing. I like how she wraps everything up tight with a satisfying and surprising ending.

As a reader who grew up in the Carolina’s, I enjoyed identifying with the geographical references.

This is not my favorite Caroline B. Cooley book but I very much enjoyed this audio version. The narrator’s voice was different and interesting and thankfully she didn’t overdo our southern accent.

This one was short and sweet but definitely a little unexpected. It felt like a lot of lead up to a rather simple ending honestly. There were a lot of secrets that came out only for them to not be related whatsoever to the crime that actually happened.

🌀Synopsis
It’s just a regular Sunday in church until Clemmie’a friend Muffin drags her out of church. She’s convinced a man there is from her past and he’s out for revenge.
Clem mine doesn’t understand until Muffin tells her the story of who she used to be- Christaphine- until she ran away nearly 50 years ago. Secrets from the past emerge and suddenly they find our Muffin is killed by a hit and run.
Clemmie is assuming the very worst and thinks the past returned to take our Muffin. She tells the cops who she suspects but when they figure out who actually did it, the history has nothing to do with it. It turns out it’s just small down crime that caused someone to lash out and Muffin was an easy target.

Thank you Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for this alc.

A story about two well many woman lost in the past and trying their best. The narration was really hard but quick so I could liaten normaly. The impossible secrets come out and something really not typical for a thriller. And I had no idea is a sequel but ok.

I picked up this book because of the author, I loved reading "The Face on the Milk Carton" when I was in school! This book left me wanting a little bit more and I didn't really enjoy the story. Realizing after I started, that this was a sequel, but I trudged through instead of looking for the first book. It does end on a cliffhanger, which I figured would happen as I was reading it. After finishing though, I don't think I'll go back for book 1. The book addresses topics such as racism, police brutality, abuse, addiction, and violence.

I really enjoyed the story as a whole. The main characters are in their 70's, which was a refreshing to someone who mainly reads books told from a 20-30 year old character. We were able to go back into a time where race and age was a stand out factor in the story. The story leaves you wanting more in a good way. It would be hard for anyone not to love Muffin!

Clemmie from Before She Was Helen is back and still living at Sun City. She is loving her neighbors and trying to be a good citizen, but a good deed at the beginning of the book may not yield the intended fruit. The chickens have come home to roost in unexpected ways in this new release from Caroline B. Cooney. At the heart of the story is a white reporter who claims he was almost lynched in a small South Carolina town in 1964. He knows of one person who can prove it, but does not know her name. It isn't our friend Clemmie, but it is one of her neighbors. This is not an easy read. We are forced to confront the black heart of racism and its evil results. Clemmie's neighbor Muffin and others find themselves having to revisit the sins of the past and examine their own actions. It is easy to point our finger at the Jim Crow South from our comfortable vantage point almost 60 years later. What we need to do is examine our own hearts and lives. Are we following the directive of Micah 6:8 to "do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God?" Food for thought.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.