THE GOOD HOUSE

Hildy Good is many things: a grandmother, a descendant of one of the women hanged in the Salem witch trials, and a once incredibly successful real estate agent. For most of the people who love her, though, the word that defines her these days is: alcoholic. Both Hildy’s denial and her vulnerability are dramatized extremely well by narrator Mary Beth Hurt. Hurt deftly portrays Hildy’s tendency to hide her alcoholism under a veneer of polished perfection; she’s a woman who can deal with anyone’s problems but her own. As the novel continues, the listener feels the pain of Hildy’s breakdown and relapse in Hurt’s delivery, so well does she depict Leary's beautifully plotted story. J.L.K. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2014 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2013]