Comfort, joy and the secrets of a small-town bordello ‘I love Elinor Lipman’s wit and lightness of touch’ Marian Keyes Running the family estate-sale business in a small Massachusetts town is not the high-flying career that Emma Lewis imagined for herself. But her parents make an offer she can’t refuse when they move to the coast and invite her to take over their home as well as the firm. Their only condition is that she take a lodger: her former maths teacher Frank, whose unfaithful wife was recently struck dead by lightning. Reluctant at first, Emma discovers in Frank the ideal housemate: considerate, a romantic ally as they each start dating different generations of the same family, and even helpful with the business. But they realise they may be out of their depth when Emma wins the contract to empty a noted local mansion, only to discover it operated for years as a high-end bordello. Will her sale of the contents reveal the secrets of half the town? This charming tale of love and licentiousness behind a respectable façade is another pitch-perfect comedy from the author of Ms. Demeanor. ‘Elinor Lipman’s new novel is all comfort and joy… Every Tom, Dick & Harry is not a rom-com packed with LOL moments; instead, it’s a masterclass in writing about small-town life without tropes or judgment. You want to hang out with Lipman’s characters. Not just one of them, but all of them. They’re quirky, they’re unexpected and they remind you that life is good in a small town even when it’s not, because people care about you — even if they taught you algebra’ Washington Post ‘Quirky and fun, with bawdy wit’ People ‘Lipmanland is a world adjacent to our own except the people there are more charming, the conversations are wittier, and love always prevails. Every Tom, Dick & Harry [is] the Lipman Literary Landscape at its irresistible best’ Stephen McCauley, author of The Object of My Affection ‘Lipman’s fans and newcomers alike will be tickled’ Publishers Weekly ‘In the delightfully reassuring rom-com tradition of Nora Ephron, the perennially mood-lifting Lipman is equally revered for her lovable characters, spitfire wit and happily-ever-after romantic escapades’ Booklist Paperback: 320pp Published: Lightning (March 2026) ISBN: 9781785634499
