What do you think?
Rate this book
The Typist
1966. Washington, D.C. To survive in this town, sometimes a good girl has to be bad. Really bad.
Longing to transcend her Midwest roots and strict religious upbringing, Judah Lundquist spends her days obediently typing insurance policies for Tom Lawrence of Standard Life Insurance. But Washington is not Peoria, and she finds herself caught up in a nightmare that threatens to subvert all the values she’s tried to uphold while exposing secrets from her past. A shameful one-night stand with neighbor Ralph Hicks lands Judah in a trap of her own doing. To protect what is left of her tattered reputation, Judah must become a seductress and a thief, betraying the only man who can possibly save her—a man with secrets that have nothing to do with crime and everything to do with the Cold War.
Longing to transcend her Midwest roots and strict religious upbringing, Judah Lundquist spends her days obediently typing insurance policies for Tom Lawrence of Standard Life Insurance. But Washington is not Peoria, and she finds herself caught up in a nightmare that threatens to subvert all the values she’s tried to uphold while exposing secrets from her past. A shameful one-night stand with neighbor Ralph Hicks lands Judah in a trap of her own doing. To protect what is left of her tattered reputation, Judah must become a seductress and a thief, betraying the only man who can possibly save her—a man with secrets that have nothing to do with crime and everything to do with the Cold War.
Kindle Edition
Published June 27, 2018
About the author
Caroline Taylor
13 books15 followersCaroline Taylor grew up in the mountain west and traveled widely before enjoying a brief stint in the Foreign Service. Her adventures along the way included being abandoned by her father in a foreign country when she was a teenager, an adventure that came awfully close to stories she later read in The Mosquito Coast and The Poisonwood Bible. While living abroad, she climbed two active volcanoes in two different countries; nearly succumbed to heat stroke on a hike through the Negev Desert; sang folk songs in a bar for American oil workers in Quito, Ecuador; and took her Volkswagen beetle onto a raft across the Pastaza River during a trip to the Amazon. Having crossed the Equator, she is now entitled to keep both elbows on the table.
Caroline’s novels have won several International Firebook Book awards. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.
Caroline’s novels have won several International Firebook Book awards. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 18, 2018
The Typist by Caroline Taylor? Let me start out by saying that at 250 pages you’ll be able to read this one in one sitting if you choose to but actually because you can’t help it.
Set in 1960s Washington, D.C. the atmosphere is perfect. If you lived there during that time you would swear you were right back there again as you turn the pages. Taylor nailed it.
Judah Lundquist moves to DC to make a better life for herself after growing up having been used in schemes by her father and conflicting being bible thumped by her mother. That had to be confusing, but she finds the courage to move on and she ends up right in the middle of the deep end of secrets at an insurance company. Yes, an insurance company. Think about the 1960s and how easy it would be to do things less than the straight and narrow.
But the intelligent young woman doesn’t back down as the stories moves on although she is a bit naïve about certain things, it still doesn’t stop her.
You get twists and surprises by the end. The only thing I can say against the book is that it that is a bit slow to begin with, which I have found to be common in books lately. I think we as a society are just used to things being crammed into an hour or two hour filmed piece that we forget that books just like this one are behind what we see on screen, just cut up and pieced together. So keep reading and you’ll get in to a groove and finish before you know it.
Set in 1960s Washington, D.C. the atmosphere is perfect. If you lived there during that time you would swear you were right back there again as you turn the pages. Taylor nailed it.
Judah Lundquist moves to DC to make a better life for herself after growing up having been used in schemes by her father and conflicting being bible thumped by her mother. That had to be confusing, but she finds the courage to move on and she ends up right in the middle of the deep end of secrets at an insurance company. Yes, an insurance company. Think about the 1960s and how easy it would be to do things less than the straight and narrow.
But the intelligent young woman doesn’t back down as the stories moves on although she is a bit naïve about certain things, it still doesn’t stop her.
You get twists and surprises by the end. The only thing I can say against the book is that it that is a bit slow to begin with, which I have found to be common in books lately. I think we as a society are just used to things being crammed into an hour or two hour filmed piece that we forget that books just like this one are behind what we see on screen, just cut up and pieced together. So keep reading and you’ll get in to a groove and finish before you know it.
June 21, 2018
The Typist by Caroline Taylor
Persevere! My initial reaction to this book was it was slowwwww! However I persevered and I ended up really enjoying it. A young woman from the mid-west goes to Washington D.C. to work in the sixties. She is both naïve and experienced. A criminal father used her as a foil as a child. A bible-thumping mother engendered guilt as her daily entrée. Judah ends up working at an insurance agency that appears to harbor a secret.
Judah will drive you crazy with her naïveté and yet she has a strength of character that is admirable. It is important to remember the time in which the story is set. Although the emotions Judah express often seem to be a decade earlier than the sixties.
The story plods but comes together and ends satisfyingly.
I recommend the book.
Web: http://www.carolinestories.com/about....
Persevere! My initial reaction to this book was it was slowwwww! However I persevered and I ended up really enjoying it. A young woman from the mid-west goes to Washington D.C. to work in the sixties. She is both naïve and experienced. A criminal father used her as a foil as a child. A bible-thumping mother engendered guilt as her daily entrée. Judah ends up working at an insurance agency that appears to harbor a secret.
Judah will drive you crazy with her naïveté and yet she has a strength of character that is admirable. It is important to remember the time in which the story is set. Although the emotions Judah express often seem to be a decade earlier than the sixties.
The story plods but comes together and ends satisfyingly.
I recommend the book.
Web: http://www.carolinestories.com/about....
October 2, 2018
A great four star read. Entertaining and kept my attention. You don't know who to trust or believe or what is going to happen next.
July 5, 2018
Thanks to NetGalley.com for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.
I was not sure what to expect when I started reading this novel. I can tell you I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the characters and not really knowing who to trust. I always try to figure it out and can honestly say I did not guess this one right.
I liked the flow of the chapters and the writing style. Quick read! Four Stars!
I was not sure what to expect when I started reading this novel. I can tell you I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the characters and not really knowing who to trust. I always try to figure it out and can honestly say I did not guess this one right.
I liked the flow of the chapters and the writing style. Quick read! Four Stars!
August 5, 2018
The Typist is a story of a young woman who leaves her past, her father had used her as a child, having her steal for him, and she is eager to leave that all behind. She ends up with a good job, a really good job for the 60's and has a decent life. She works at an insurance agency writing insurance policies and kind of a Girl Friday for her boss Tom Lawrence.
After a new girl is hired, Judah starts to notice strange things going on in the office. She is doing things for her boss that she finds a bit weird. Aside from that, she ends up having a one night stand with her neighbor that she is ashamed of. This neighbor has a bad end and now Judah realizes that she is in a dangerous situation. She ends up lying, stealing just to find out what is going on. Politics in the 60's, of course, were tied up in the Cold War and Judah finds herself smack dab in the middle of things. At the time I found Judah to be quite naive but of course, this was the 60's and it was impressive that Judah actually worked at such a good job.
The writing was good, had me caught right from the beginning. The characters were very believable and the era brought back a lot of memories of that time. This is a historical novel that is definitely readable and gives the reader a clue as to things that happened during that time. I really enjoyed it!
After a new girl is hired, Judah starts to notice strange things going on in the office. She is doing things for her boss that she finds a bit weird. Aside from that, she ends up having a one night stand with her neighbor that she is ashamed of. This neighbor has a bad end and now Judah realizes that she is in a dangerous situation. She ends up lying, stealing just to find out what is going on. Politics in the 60's, of course, were tied up in the Cold War and Judah finds herself smack dab in the middle of things. At the time I found Judah to be quite naive but of course, this was the 60's and it was impressive that Judah actually worked at such a good job.
The writing was good, had me caught right from the beginning. The characters were very believable and the era brought back a lot of memories of that time. This is a historical novel that is definitely readable and gives the reader a clue as to things that happened during that time. I really enjoyed it!
July 4, 2018
This is the first book I have read by this author. I liked it. It had its charms about it from the time period to the characters.
I like Judah. I wished that she and the other characters had found that stronger human connection with me. However, they were still good. I didn't really like Judah's boss in the beginning but by the end of the story, you could say that I liked him. Who knew that tying up insurance policies was so dangerous. Oh what; Judah knows as she found herself in over her head. Yet, she didn't cower in a corner.
There were a few twists that I did not see coming. The pacing of this story was steady. Not over the top with intensity but it was not dragged down with tons of details either. If you are looking for a book to read one afternoon; than, check this book out.
I like Judah. I wished that she and the other characters had found that stronger human connection with me. However, they were still good. I didn't really like Judah's boss in the beginning but by the end of the story, you could say that I liked him. Who knew that tying up insurance policies was so dangerous. Oh what; Judah knows as she found herself in over her head. Yet, she didn't cower in a corner.
There were a few twists that I did not see coming. The pacing of this story was steady. Not over the top with intensity but it was not dragged down with tons of details either. If you are looking for a book to read one afternoon; than, check this book out.
May 2, 2018
This is a fantastic thriller -- sometimes I don't love hardboiled because they feel a little sexist, but this has the perfect mix of noir elements and a strong female character. I really enjoyed how Taylor played out the mystery.
July 14, 2018
Girl Takes on More Than She Bargained For
Engaging and interesting characters—even the bad guys. Twists and turns kept my attention. Really appreciated the accurate geographic references—the writer does know DC and knew it as it was in the mid-sixties.
Engaging and interesting characters—even the bad guys. Twists and turns kept my attention. Really appreciated the accurate geographic references—the writer does know DC and knew it as it was in the mid-sixties.
June 25, 2018
Steeped in atmospheric noir, "The Typist" had me saying "just one more page" until I had finished the book in just one sitting!
June 25, 2018
Fans of Taylor will recognize her signature edge-of-seat style and mysterious characters who all have something to hide!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews