2.5⭐

During a Sunday service at Trinity Hill Church, Clemmie’s friend Muffin, also a resident of the senior living village in North Carolina where Clemmie lives, catches a glimpse of someone from her past – a past she left behind almost fifty years ago. Clemmie is bewildered by Muffin’s panicked reaction. Even after Muffin shares the traumatic events from her past and expresses her fears, Clemmie isn’t quite convinced that anybody would harm Muffin over events that occurred so long ago. But over the following week, Clemmie realizes she is wrong. But in trying to help her friend will she be able to protect her own secrets? Not only Clemmie and Muffin, but others in their community carry burdens from their pasts and would want to protect themselves their families and the lives they have made for themselves from falling apart if those secrets ever saw the light of day.

With its fast-paced narrative, sensitive themes and strong characterizations, The Wrong Good Deed by Caroline B. Cooney has a lot of promise but falls short in execution. The author blends both past and present timelines combining social issues and an element of suspense. The author gives is a brief but impactful look at the racism, white supremacy, desegregation and resistance to integration among certain factions during the 1960s. In the present-day narrative, we follow Clemmie and her friends, all seniors, and their lives in their residential community. The author touches upon themes of aging, isolation, and loneliness among seniors. I appreciate that the author attempts to address several sensitive topics but I wasn’t quite satisfied with how the story plays out. After a suspenseful build-up, the resolution of the mystery leaves a lot to be desired. The significance of past events is diminished largely by how the author chose to end this story. The friendships between the characters came across as forced and/or obligatory rather than fueled by genuine regard for one another or emotional attachment. I also failed to see the point in bringing up Clemmie’s past and her secrets in bits throughout the narrative given that ultimately Clemmie’s storyline is left for the most part, unexplored. While I didn't dislike this book in its totality, I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped.

Many thanks to author Caroline B. Cooney, Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This book is due to be released on May 02, 2023. ( )

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 ( )

The Wrong Good Deed gives readers a fun visit with Clemmie/Helen who we first met in Before She Was Helen. Clemmie has brought her friend Muffin with her to church, but then Muffin spots someone among the congregation and panics. As they rush away, Muffin hides out of sight. She’s not quite sure why Muffin is so afraid, and perhaps to show her skepticism, she stops and helps some teens who were in an accident, calling the police to get a tow truck, etc. A stranger stops and Clemmie wonders if he is the one who set Muffin off. It’s all very suspenseful and cinematic.

Then Clemmie drives away and later, Muffin explains her panic, telling a story of a crime that happened half a century ago. Clemmie does not think that event alone would set off such panic, but then Muffin is run down, murdered. Clemmie gets to work, discovering even more secrets from the past and even more suspects.

After a suspenseful, fast-paced beginning, The Wrong Good Deed peters out. I can admire Cooney’s desire to add historical and emotional heft to her series, to tackle serious subjects, but it resulted in an unsatisfying mystery. Much of the story was in the past and many of the conversations were not with Clemmie. It spread out a bit too far and promised so much more than it delivered. Even though there was a bit of excitement and personal jeopardy at the end, the resolution of the murder mystery was such a bust. I want my mysteries solved, not revealed.

I received an e-galley of The Wrong Good Deed from the publisher through NetGalley

The Wrong Good Deed at Poisoned Pen Press | Sourcebooks
Caroline B. Cooney author site

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