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Goldilocks
When a mysterious blond stranger comes to a small town controlled by a woman crime boss it disrupts the whole community
250 pages, Hardcover
First published December 31, 1919
27 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 18, 2010
PROTAGONIST: Louise Baker, connections to the Mob
SETTING: Massachusetts
SERIES: Standalone thriller
RATING: 3.25
One of the more welcome trends in the publishing industry today is the republication of books that have not been in print for years. Such is the case for Goldilocks by Andrew Coburn, which originally appeared in 1989 and was a finalist for the Edgar. It's interesting to see how crime fiction standards have changed in the intervening 18 years; what was likely to seem fresh and new at that time seems merely average today.
Louise Baker is a woman who has achieved success the old-fashioned way—using her looks, intelligence and sexual appeal to get what she wants. She's married to one of the scions of society in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Her husband, Ben, is an emotionally fragile man whom she treats almost as a child. Louise doesn't merely depend on Ben to support her lifestyle; over time, she has become one of the leaders of a Mafia loan operation.
Whenever Ben has a mental breakdown and is institutionalized, Louise plays the field. Her latest conquest is a good-looking man named Henry Witlo ("Goldilocks") who is way below her socially and intellectually. When her husband is released from the hospital, Louise makes it clear that Henry has to go. If only it were that easy. At the time this book was written, stalking was probably not the issue that it is today. Witlo is proving more difficult to get rid of than Louise would like. She calls upon her childhood friend, a lawyer named Barney Cole, to take him off her hands and direct him to a new line of work in a different town.
From the title of the book, I assumed that Witlo would be the central figure of the book and provide the suspense elements of this so-called thriller. However, once he's away from Louise, his life takes a curious turn that has the end result of removing him as the focal evil figure in the book. Instead, the Goldilocks narrative thread goes far off into Weirdsville. That leaves the character of Louise to focus on. She's a strong and dominating woman, but Coburn only briefly shows us the business part of her life. Yes, she is threatened and faces danger; but there are never any details revealed that bring depth to the suspense.
Goldilocks was very readable, but ultimately, it was an average book that missed the chance to be something more. I wished that Coburn had focused less on the relationships and more on the machinations of the characters. How Louise worked within the Mafia and how she managed to pull off her double life would have been an interesting avenue to travel. I do wonder if I had read this book in 1989 if it would have seemed more compelling.
SETTING: Massachusetts
SERIES: Standalone thriller
RATING: 3.25
One of the more welcome trends in the publishing industry today is the republication of books that have not been in print for years. Such is the case for Goldilocks by Andrew Coburn, which originally appeared in 1989 and was a finalist for the Edgar. It's interesting to see how crime fiction standards have changed in the intervening 18 years; what was likely to seem fresh and new at that time seems merely average today.
Louise Baker is a woman who has achieved success the old-fashioned way—using her looks, intelligence and sexual appeal to get what she wants. She's married to one of the scions of society in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Her husband, Ben, is an emotionally fragile man whom she treats almost as a child. Louise doesn't merely depend on Ben to support her lifestyle; over time, she has become one of the leaders of a Mafia loan operation.
Whenever Ben has a mental breakdown and is institutionalized, Louise plays the field. Her latest conquest is a good-looking man named Henry Witlo ("Goldilocks") who is way below her socially and intellectually. When her husband is released from the hospital, Louise makes it clear that Henry has to go. If only it were that easy. At the time this book was written, stalking was probably not the issue that it is today. Witlo is proving more difficult to get rid of than Louise would like. She calls upon her childhood friend, a lawyer named Barney Cole, to take him off her hands and direct him to a new line of work in a different town.
From the title of the book, I assumed that Witlo would be the central figure of the book and provide the suspense elements of this so-called thriller. However, once he's away from Louise, his life takes a curious turn that has the end result of removing him as the focal evil figure in the book. Instead, the Goldilocks narrative thread goes far off into Weirdsville. That leaves the character of Louise to focus on. She's a strong and dominating woman, but Coburn only briefly shows us the business part of her life. Yes, she is threatened and faces danger; but there are never any details revealed that bring depth to the suspense.
Goldilocks was very readable, but ultimately, it was an average book that missed the chance to be something more. I wished that Coburn had focused less on the relationships and more on the machinations of the characters. How Louise worked within the Mafia and how she managed to pull off her double life would have been an interesting avenue to travel. I do wonder if I had read this book in 1989 if it would have seemed more compelling.
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December 12, 2019Synopsis: in Lawrence, Massachusetts, Louise Baker is not worried about jilting her latest lover, Henry Witlo, aka Goldilocks. She should be.
January 18, 2009
This book is about several characters. Henry (Goldilocks)- The demented weirdo, Loiuse- the self made women mob boss, Barney Cole- The childhood friend and lawyer to Loiuse, Emma Goss- the shy reclusive widow. This book did not have a lot of twists and turns like I expected. This book is a character study about childhood friendship, betrayal, love, trust and loyalty. Well written but I still do not know why this book was called Goldilocks because Henry is not the central character in the book. Louise Baker and Barney Cole are. Borderline boring.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews