Reviews

After Anna by Lisa Scottoline

megantpetras's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

jamie_roethlisberg's review against another edition

5.0

Fantastic book. I started and finished in less than 24 hours. The twists and turns made it hard to put down to go about normal life!! Will definitely be reading more from this author!

renatalynn's review against another edition

4.0

loved it would like to know what happens to the others.

emhenneman's review against another edition

3.0

This book definitely kept me hooked until the end. I didn’t really see much depth in the characters and their relationships with each other felt shallow but the plot was interesting enough.

witkopa's review against another edition

4.0

Loved this book! It was suspenseful and had me guessing the whole way through. There were a couple loose ends I had wished were dealt with but overall it was fantastic. The switching pints of view really helped fill out the story and it was awesome to get the feelings of the two main characters.
I highly recommend this book!

redefine484's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

mschrock8's review against another edition

3.0

I read this more quickly than expected on the holiday weekend, and it helped me tie by high month of 26 books!

This is a complicated story of a blended family and deception. I am pleased Maggie and her best pal followed their instincts and pushed to make sense of it all.

Another author I've seen speak, thanks to JCPL! I miss these events.

ginabyeg's review against another edition

3.0

This book was just interesting enough to want to figure out how it all comes together. However, the writing is not the strongest. The dialogue is very fast-paced and simple; there seems to be no complex conversation between characters. Narration is better, and the plot picks up in the latter half. However, lots of new events are introduced near the end that kind of come from nowhere, even if it could technically make sense. I do feel like the events of the story are a bit unrealistic; writers typically write from experience, or from well-informed research. It doesn't seem like either was the case here.

sbermudezfinn's review against another edition

4.0

[Audio] This book held my attention, there were twists and turns that I didn't see coming. This definitely kept me in the edge of my seat waiting for the next move. A mother's love has no limits, Maggie never gave up on finding the truth.

mg_in_md_'s review against another edition

4.0

I was one of the lucky winners of a FirstReads copy of the latest thriller by Lisa Scottoline and received my copy a couple of days ago. This standalone domestic and legal thriller drew me in immediately and I could not read it fast enough! The chapters alternate between the perspective of Dr. Noah Alderman and his wife, Maggie Ippolitti. This is the second marriage for both of them -- Noah is a widower with a young son; Maggie is divorced. Their new life together is turned upside-down when Maggie's estranged teenage daughter, Anna, unexpectedly returns and joins their new family. Guilt, suspicion, and fear surface soon after, and the reader is left wondering who is telling the truth and what the characters' motivations are for their actions. Just when you think you have it figured out, another twist is revealed to keep you guessing.

For most of the book, those chapters are presented as "before" and "after" a particular event occurs. The blurb on the back doesn't specify what it is, so I won't either, even though it is revealed in the first chapter. The chapters featuring Noah move backwards in the timeline and those featuring Maggie move forward to the point in the story where Noah is. Once their timelines intersect, the timeline shifts again to the present, with the chapters continuing to go back and forth between Noah's and Maggie's perspectives. I found this technique incredibly effective and felt that it heightened the suspense even more; this one kept me guessing right up until the end. I found the legal thriller and mystery aspects of the story equally gripping, and could not wait to find out where the story was going to go. Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and the FirstReads program for giving me an early look at this excellent novel by one of my favorite authors -- definitely one of her best to date!

(Also used this for the 2018 PopSugar Ultimate Reading Challenge prompt "a book with alliteration in the title.")