Ms. Demeanor

This is my favorite [a:Elinor Lipman 63681 Elinor Lipman https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1482327276p2/63681.jpg] book so far. (I'm trying to read them all.)Maybe the best start to a book. Spoken like a true lawyer, Jane finds herself convicted of indecent exposure and sentenced to six months of house arrest simply for having sex at midnight on the roof of her apartment building with a younger colleague. While the guy gets off with a slap on the wrist, Jane not only loses her freedom, but her job and her bar license is suspended.What does an intelligent woman, barring one lapse in judgment, do for six months home alone? She can't even take in work in her profession. How she handles her “downtime” is really the heart of the story. One can only watch so much TV. Jane's passively aggressive twin sister helps by paying for food while suggesting possible hobbies. As a dermatologist/plastic surgeon, she enlists Jane's help in finding nutritional “face-saving” recipes. It's Jane who makes the leap making those recipes on TikTok and baring her soul. “Hi, I'm Jane. My license to practice law was suspended, so here I am, about to make boiled onions for your dining pleasure.” Her sister's other suggestion was to cater meals for Perry, who is also under house arrest at the same, sprawling apartment complex and has been ordering takeout 7 days a week.What should have been a boring six months turns into a real romp for someone who can't leave the building. There's the story of the prude who turned in Jane for her midnight escapade. The Polish siblings of dubious heritage who were the prude's charges. There's Amanda, a dentist and Jane's socially inept neighbor who is ready to marry any man and have his baby. Perry's weird foot-in-mouth mother, Jane's supportive parents, and all those lousy coworkers who dropped Jane like a hot rock after her conviction. . . all except one.Every twist and turn in this book was equally unexpected and perfect. Need a break from your life? READ THIS BOOK!

3.5 stars

Some of the characters didn't seem that realistic.

Elinor Lipman's book are the equivalent to novelized New Yorker articles. A majority of the plot is superfluous, the stakes never feel as high as they should, and the heroine usually manages an overly involved family and an understated romance with wit and general pushiness. Ms. Demeanor's heroine Jane Morgan is under house arrest for indecent exposure after a nosy neighbor with binoculars sees her having sex on the building rooftop and calls the police. During her confinement, she deals with her flamboyant twin sister, the other guy in the building who is also wearing an ankle bracelet, a murder investigation, old cookbooks, and a Polish count. I found it to be a welcome return to form for Lipman after 2020's disappointing satire of Trump-era politics, [b:Rachel to the Rescue 57870519 Rachel to the Rescue Elinor Lipman https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1619496768l/57870519.SY75.jpg 86954008].