Shakespeare's Counselor

The Lily Bard Mysteries, Book 5

By: Charlaine Harris

Narrated by: Julia Gibson

Cleaning woman and karate expert Lily Bard is a woman with a complicated past. Trying her best to cope with her terrifying memories and horrible nightmares, she decides to join a weekly group therapy session in her hometown of Shakespeare, Arkansas.

At first, Lily can hardly believe the number of her fellow Shakespeareans who share her life experiences. As it turns out, the group members' feelings aren't the only things that need sorting out - they assemble for a session and find a woman dead, killed in bone-chilling fashion and deliberately left on display to send a twisted message. Who would commit such a horrendous crime, and who is the intended recipient of the message?

Investigate more mysterious doings with Lily Bard.©2001 Charlaine Harris (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"Infectious prose, engaging characters, crafty plotting." ( Library Journal)

Another great time

I love all of her series and never want them to end. Brava I am so thrilled with this story

A fine end to a good series

"Shakespeare's Counselor" is the final book in the Lily Bard series. I was surprised to find that I took great pleasure in this series. In some ways it is one long novel, charting Lily's journey from isolated, insomniac, night-walker, to a woman with a life that she has built through her strength, her integrity and finally by being courageous enough to allow herself to have something to lose.

The final book thankfully doesn't go down the path of unlikely happy endings. Bad things happen to Lily in this book and, at the end of it, she still has significant problems, but the book delivers credible growth for her and the people around her.

One of the ways this growth is achieved is that Lily enters therapy, with the Counselor of the title, to try to end the nightmares that rule her sleep. I was surprised at this. I'm not a fan of therapy. I'm with Willy Russel in changing Pschotherapist into Psycho The Rapist. I've never been convinced that the response to trauma should be a platitude-driven talking-tour of the route back to normalcy. I very much doubt that, after a significant trauma, normal is an option.

I was pleased to see that the therapy in the book worked less because of the skill of the counselor, than because the rape survivors in the group were willing to extend their trust and support to each other. There are some hard-to-take tales in therapy sessions. Sadly, none of them are difficult to believe. I was impressed that, even in therapy, Lily did not change her view that people are not naturally good and safety can only be obtained through vigilance and strength. Her counselor found the view bleak and wondered how Lily could live with it. I see it as a reasonable, fact-based conclusion, that provides a foundation for good choices.

The plot of "Shakespeare's Counselor" is a little complex, requiring some suspension of disbelief as the bad guys are not exactly run of the mill. The action is occasionally violent and brutal. The events in Lily's personal life add grief to an already tough situation and challenge Lily's definition of herself and her future.

By the end of the series, Lily has moved from loner cleaner, to an apprentice private detective with a husband and friends in a community that she now feels part of. Yet this is not a "Hallmark" sugar-sweet transformation. This book, even more than the rest of the series, is raised above the mundane by the authenticity of Lily's rage against what was done to her and the strength of her commitment to live her life to her own standards. It's a fine close to a series that I am sure I will read again.

I listened to the audiobook version of this series, performed by Julai Gibson. She did a wonderful job, not just in being "the voice of Lily Bard" but also in creating and sustaining voices for the other characters. She was the perfect choice for these books.

Great ending to a great series

I’m enjoyed the book. The end left me satisfied, the growth of the characters. Still a little confused how Bobo goes from rich kid close with his family to his character in Midnight, but oh well.

Good

I wasn’t a big fan of this series. I liked the quick and to the point stories but I wasn’t a fan of Lily. Great plots and some greats twists. I would recommend it to someone that loves mystery.

interesting

Wow this was a lot darker than expected. The culprits of the main mystery was really dark and twisted people. I was hooked by the red herring and did not see the ending until it was pretty obvious. I'm wondering if there is a short story or something out there that ties the period between this and when the couple shows up in the Southern Vampire series.

Again, a very easy listen and I thoroughly enjoyed it

It’s Time For A Return to Shakespeare

I have loved listening to the tales of Lily Bard and watching her change throughout some very unique situations. I would appreciate a revival of Lily”s life. Her approaches to problem solving are thought provoking in many ways. Her honesty is legend. She’s just too “damn” smart to be retired.

So sad to see the series end!

Although it was relatively easy to figure culprit, still a good twist at the end. I love Lily and Jack and am sad to realize I won’t get to see how their story grows as they solve crimes in Shakespeare.

Great series

I’ve enjoyed all the Lily Bard books. The characters are well-portrayed and believable. Lily herself is a woman of great strength who recovered from a horrific trauma and created a life worth living, one small step at a time. She’s a fascinating, imperfect character like any real human, who is able to draw on her experiences to solve mysteries without coming across as omniscient or falling over an edge into insipid sentimentality. This is the last book of the series and managed an admirable conclusion, which is a difficult task for all too many authors. The narrator was a good choice. While her rendition of each character’s voice wasn’t consistent, I didn’t get lost since the story was engrossing.

Narrator captures Lily Bard to a T!

love the premise of the story and the characters. I used to not like audio books, but have come to love then. In this series, Julia Gibson captures Lily's attitude perfectly.

Great Series!

What made the experience of listening to Shakespeare's Counselor the most enjoyable?

I have found this entire series very entertaining. I started with Book 1 and am just listening to Shakespeare's Counselor. The story lines have been believable and original, I like the main character Lily Bard and find her journey and development interesting.

Which character – as performed by Julia Gibson – was your favorite?

I have enjoyed Julia Gibson's narration throughout. She manages to portray both female and male characters believably without over-acting or being distracting to the story line.