Bestselling mystery and suspense author Caroline B. Cooney published her first novel in 1979, and hasn’t looked back since. Now the author of over 60 books, she gained widespread recognition for her young adult mysteries, especially The Face on the Milk Carton, which has sold over three million copies to date. After a five-year hiatus from writing mysteries, Cooney is back with a thrilling new read—this time, for adult readers. Released on September 8, 2020, Before She Was Helen is a dizzying novel of suspense that features a clever septuagenarian sleuth.
Though Before She Was Helen is aimed at adult readers, Cooney first got her start as an author by penning mystery and suspense for children and young adults. She became a household name with the 1990 publication of The Face on the Milk Carton, a gripping read about a teenager who glances at the “missing child” image on a milk carton, only to recognize her own face. The realization that her parents may have kidnapped her as a toddler prompts Janie to investigate the secrets of her own dark past, all while fielding typical teenage challenges like homework and dating.
Cooney’s other best-known work is Twins, published in 1994. Appearances are deceiving in this suspenseful novel about two identical twin sisters. Madrigal and Mary Lee are inseparable, until their parents inexplicably send Mary Lee away to boarding school all by herself. Mary Lee is jealous of Madrigal’s perfect life back at home, until an unforeseen tragedy allows her to step into her sister’s shoes—and what she finds out isn’t enviable at all, but horrifying.
Both books were widely read upon their release, and continue to draw in readers to this day. Indeed, it's no stretch to credit Cooney with introducing many of us to the world of mystery fiction. Her books have had a lasting impact on a generation of readers—many of whom have become hooked on suspenseful reads after picking up one of Cooney's chapter books as a preteen.
Related: The Face on the Milk Carton: 13 Young Adult Thrillers by Caroline B. Cooney
Now, grown readers who have fond memories of staying up all night reading through a tense Cooney narrative will be captivated all over again with Before She Was Helen. This new release packs in all the shocking twists, complex characters, and addictive thrills that you’ve come to expect from Cooney, this time tailored for an adult audience.
Before She Was Helen revolves around the misadventures of 70-something-year-old Clemmie, a resident at an idyllic South Carolina retirement community. Nestled within the safest zip code in America, Sun City has everything to satisfy a retiree’s wants and needs—with perfect weather, stores within walking distance, and a bustling clubhouse full of other retirees who pass the time playing canasta, pickleball, or mah-jongg. It’s an ideal place to spend one’s golden years—and the last place one would expect to be teeming with dark secrets.
The story takes off when Clemmie, a retired Latin teacher, checks up on her neighbor. Dom lives alone and is known as a bit of a recluse in Sun City. He spends most of his time boarded up in his shadowy villa, and when he does venture out, his standoffish attitude doesn’t exactly win him any points with the other residents.
Clemmie isn’t too fond of Dom herself, but ever since he took a bad fall and had difficulty calling for help, she’s reluctantly taken it upon herself to check in on him every morning. When Dom doesn’t answer her text one day, and doesn’t respond to her phone call or banging on his front door, Clemmie lets herself in with the spare key. Dom is nowhere to be seen, so Clemmie does a little snooping around Dom's villa to learn more about her mysterious, tight-lipped neighbor and where he might be off to. It isn't long before Clemmie uncovers a set of beguiling, baffling details: from a wondrous object that she can't help but photograph to clues that defy easy explanation about both Dom and the couple living in the unit next door.
At the same time, all is not as it seems when it comes to Clemmie herself. Right away, readers learn that she has two cell phones—an unusual choice for someone who happily spent the first six decades of her life without smartphone technology. Soon thereafter, we also learn that Clemmie lives under an assumed name: residents of Sun City know her as "Helen."
Why would a septuagenarian need a burner phone? And what secrets of the past inspired Clemmie to adopt a false name? When the investigation into Dom's disappearance gets out of hand, Clemmie starts to worry about being identified by the fingerprints she carelessly left behind at Dom’s villa. And you’ll start to wonder what other secrets this sleuth has hidden up her sleeve, and why she wants her past to stay buried.
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From the very first page, Cooney employs her signature rich characterization to give readers a vivid sense of Sun City and its cast of residents. This is no ordinary mystery narrative. Clemmie may marvel at iPhones and social media apps, may gossip about her neighbors or shudder at the thought of falling and breaking a hip. At the same time, she is far from helpless or out-of-touch—even though she’s not above feigning senility to get herself out of a sticky situation. Instead, Clemmie is sharp and curious—traits that draw her deep into a mystery that at first glance seems like a lighthearted whodunit, but quickly spirals into a dark web of secrets and deception.
Cooney’s highly-anticipated new novel is sure to make a splash in the mystery genre. Not only is Before She Was Helen an Amazon Best Book of the Month, an Okra Pick, and named one of Fall’s Most Exciting New Books by POPSUGAR, it’s received excellent reviews ahead of its release. Calling its starring sleuth “more Columbo than Miss Marple,” Booklist has deemed this “a fine mystery from a highly regarded YA author.” Meanwhile, Foreword Reviews calls Before She Was Helen “a delight” in which “predators are punished and underestimated seniors get their due.”
In a genre dominated by sprightly young sleuths, Before She Was Helen offers a refreshing spin on the whodunit. Watch the book trailer below to learn more about Clemmie and the secrets lurking in Sun City. Then get your hands on Before She Was Helen today to read a new mystery from a bestselling author who knows how to craft a riveting thriller for readers young and old alike.
Before She Was Helen
From international bestselling author Caroline B. Cooney, Before She Was Helen is an absorbing mystery that brings decades-old secrets to life and explores what happens when the lie you've been living falls apart.
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