She Had It Coming (Thorndike African-American) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Mary Monroe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2009 | Series: Thorndike African-American

New York Times bestselling author Mary Monroe delivers a powerful and provocative new novel about one woman's search for love in a world where secrets don't always stay hidden, friends don't always have our backs, and the choices we make in one rash moment can change everything...If there's one thing Dolores Reese knows, it's how to keep a secret. It's a skill she learned early in life, watching her best friend Valerie Proctor do whatever it took to protect her family from her violent stepfather. Back then, Dolores was in foster care -- just like Floyd Watson, a local boy who intrigues Dolores from the moment they meet. Even in high school, Dolores knows with certainty that she and Floyd are soul mates. When one bad decision sends an innocent Floyd to prison for life, Dolores pays clandestine visits and -- out of a mix of love and pity -- promises to stick by him.While Floyd's world stands still, Dolores's horizons open up in exciting new ways when she lands a position working for a cruise line. There, she meets Paul Dunne, an accomplished businessman who promises her the kind of future she's always wanted -- the kind she once imagined having with Floyd. Dolores is sure she can continue to visit Floyd without revealing that she's now married to another man. But when Floyd is suddenly freed on new evidence, Dolores is torn and makes a fateful decision -- to live a double lie, devoting herself to two different husbands in two different cities. With Valerie as her confidante and accomplice, Dolores hopes to pull off the ultimate deception. But into this risky situation comes another man, one Dolores can't resist. And if she isn't careful, Dolores just might find out what happens when love, dishonesty, and dangerous jealousy collide...

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The question in Monroe's steamy but seedy shocker is who should suffer the most: the unreliable narrator or her BFF who commits murder on the night of their senior prom? Dolores Reese, a foster child, and her best friend, Valerie Proctor, get caught in a web of deadly secrets after LoReese witnesses Valerie killing her stepfather, Zeke Proctor, to protect her mother. The friends drift apart but stay in sporadic touch, and 16 years later, Lo, now married, confides her own secret: she's jailhouse married to her first love, Floyd Watson, who's been locked up for years on a bogus rape/murder charge. When Floyd is belatedly cleared of the charges, Lo's determined to stay married to both men, and Valerie agrees to help her. Monroe draws a bleak picture of how secrets can wreck friendships, but she fails to create much sympathy for either the sometimes sarcastic and conceited Lo or Valerie. Readers might find Lo's bigamy lifestyle a little too unbelievable and a late-breaking affair too out-of-left-field, but those who can sit back and go along with the chain of double-crosses and deception should enjoy the ride. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Dolores Reese has had a rough life, but she has managed to stay out of trouble. A foster child in South Central L.A., her boyfriend, Floyd, ends up wrongly arrested, charged with the brutal rape and murder of a young girl, and sentenced to life in prison. Dolores is crushed, but she slowly rebuilds her life while promising to stick by Floyd no matter what. However, she meets and marries Paul, keeping Floyd a complete secret even though she visits him monthly. On one of these visits, Floyd asks her to marry him, and feeling pity, she agrees and goes through with the ceremony. Then Floyd is released, and Dolores finds herself building lies on top of lies as she lives two separate lives with two separate husbands. It’s only a matter of time before she is found out. Though it all seems rather farfetched, Monroe keeps the suspense high, and readers will draw a bated breath with the turn of each page. --Hilary Hatton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 535 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press; Lrg edition (February 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1410410781
• ISBN-13: 978-1410410788
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,453,535 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars WHICH ONE HAD IT COMING?, October 6, 2008

By 

Ms LeDiva "Diva loves drama!" (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: She Had it Coming (Hardcover)

WAS IT VALERIE OR DELORES OR BOTH? I LOVE THE HUMOR MARY DESCRIBES HER CHARACTERS WITH. SHE DOES THIS IN EVERY BOOK AND IT'S SOMETHING I LOOK FORWARD TOO. HOWEVER, THE STORY LINE WAS A GOOD ONE BUT TOO DRAWN OUT. IT SHOUDL'VE JUST TOLD US WHY DELORES FELT SHE OWED FLYOD HER TOTAL DEVOTION THEN GOT ON WITH THE PLOT. WE SHOULDN'T HAD TO GO THROUGH THEIR CHILDHOOD AND MR ZEKE'S DEATH. IT COULD'VE BEEN IN THE STORY BUT AS A MEMORY OR A SECRET NOT A FULL BLOW BY BLOW ISSUE.

I DON'T FEEL THAT THERE WAS ANY CLOSURE WITH THIS BOOK. WHAT HAPPENED WITH MOANING LISA, PAUL, FLYOD AND DID VALERIE DECIDE TO KEEP THAT MUCH OF A SECRET ABOUT DELORE'S INVOVLMENT IN THE MURDER? I FIND THAT HARD TO BELIEVE SINCE SHE SUNG LIKE A CANARY WHEN SHE LEARNED OF HER MAN'S DECIET. BEING THE FRIEND SHE CLAIMED TO BE SHE SHOULD'VE SAW WHO WAS REALLY AT FAULT EVEN IF AFTER THE FACT. I HATE THERE WAS NO MORE INTERACTION WITH DELORES AND FLYOD AFTER ALL SHE DID FOR HIM TO KEEP HIS SPIRITS LIFTED WHILE IN JAIL IT SEEMS AS IF HE WOULD'VE GOT OVER HIMSELF ADN AT LEAST FORGAVE HERT AND RESUMED A FRIENDSHIP SINCE LOYALTY WAS SO IMPORTANT TO HIM. I DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND WHY PAUL MARRIED DELORES OR HIS POINT IN THE BOOK.

THE STORY WAS ENTERTAINING BUT RUSHED AND LEFT A LOT OF UNANSWERED QUESTIONS. I GIVE THIS BOOK 3 STARS ONLY BECAUSE I KNOW MARY IS A BETTER WRITER THAN THIS AND HER LAST FEW BOOKS HAVE ALL BEEN LACKING THE APPEAL OF THE UPPER ROOM, LAY MY BURDENS DOWN, GOD DON'T LIKE UGLY ETC. MARY NEED TO GO BACK AND RE-READ THOSE BOOKS TO GET HER MOJO BACK BECAUSE FROM RED LIGHT UNTIL NOW HER STORIES HAVE ALL SEEMED THROWN TOGETHER.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good to the last page!!!, September 6, 2008

By 

PrinceLuva79 "Loves a good book!!" (Maryland) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: She Had it Coming (Hardcover)

Mary Monroe writes a book like no one else can!!! I love reading her work. I find myself laughing out loud at the descriptions she gives that are so vivid I can picture what she is describing. The descriptions about Noble, Moanin' Lisa and Glodine had me near tears!!!

In this novel you meet Dolores Reese a young woman who grew up in foster care. Valerie is Delores' best friend, and Valerie and her entire family (including the elderly grandfather Paw Paw !!) suffer the wrath of her psycho step father Mr. Zeke. Valerie will do whatever it takes to ensure that her family is protected. Dolores ends up involved in Valerie's family drama, although she is an unwilling participant. Meanwhile, Dolores falls in love with another foster child, Floyd Watson, a neighbor from down the street, and they vow to be together, until an innocent Floyd winds up in jail..for life!

Dolores tries to move on with her life while her one true love is locked up, but finds it hard to do so. Dolores eventually moves on gets a great job on a cruise line, and marries Paul Dunne while keeping Floyd as a deep dark secret. Eventually Dolores marries Floyd out of pity thinking he will never be released!! Shockingly,Floyd is released when new evidence turns up and this sends Dolores' life into a complete state of turmoil. With Valerie's help, Dolores is sure she can pull off the ultimate secret, having two husbands!!! Only some secrets won't stay a secret for long...

This book is well written, the story is filled with surprises and the characters will seem so real. This book was so good I am sad to see it end!! Can't wait for the next novel from Ms.Monroe, I know it will not dissapoint!!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Poor Performance, November 10, 2008

By 

Tamara Sawyer (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: She Had it Coming (Hardcover)

From the first chapter, I could tell this was not the Mary Monroe whose work I look forward to reading. The book is hard to read. The sentences are clunky. The details are convoluted. I gave up halfway through and tried to just enjoy the plot, but even that was hard to do.

The book also has too many remnants of her past work.

Two friends concealing a murder. A girl and the love of her youth interacting in adulthood.

I was sadly not able to enjoy this book at all.