"When She Was Good" most commonly refers to the 2020 psychological thriller by Michael Robotham about a forensic psychologist who investigates a girl with no past, Evie Cormac, who was found in a secret room after a brutal murder. The book describes the dangerous secrets the investigation unearths, which put both the psychologist and Evie at risk, and it is the second novel in the Cyrus Haven series. It can also refer to Laura Lippman's 2012 novel about a suburban madam, or Philip Roth's 1967 book about a pious Midwestern woman.