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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
I freaking loved this book! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN AFTER THE HUGE END PLOT TWISTS!!!
This is not the worst book I've ever read, but I didn't enjoy it. Where are Mary's morals? She seems to have a lot of Catholic rigidity but... the whole defending corporations thing is not something I enjoy reading about. I also didn't see any character development, which bothered me. Along with a few other things that are spoilers.
The first novel by Lawyer Lisa Scottoline.
This tale of corporate intrigue centers on Mary DiNunzio, a lawyer on the partner track at one of Philadelphia's top law firms, and her secret admirer/stalker. Mary, stressed by nature of her occupation, first shrugs off silent phone calls to her home and office that are eerily in sync with her comings and goings. Soon, however, when she starts getting personal notes, too, she starts to suspect her co-workers. When Brent Polk, her good friend and secretary, is killed by a car that's been following Mary around, she goads police detective Lombardo to check for similarities between his death and that of her husband a year earlier. Soon follows a chain of strange discoveries: after sleeping with friend and associate Ned Waters, she finds anti-depressants in his medicine chest; Ned's wife-beating father manages a rival law firm; a partner has been tampering with her files. An increasingly paranoid Mary cuts off relations with Ned, whom she suspects of being her stalker. But she doesn't act on her suspicions until it's nearly too late and she must fight for her life.
This tale of corporate intrigue centers on Mary DiNunzio, a lawyer on the partner track at one of Philadelphia's top law firms, and her secret admirer/stalker. Mary, stressed by nature of her occupation, first shrugs off silent phone calls to her home and office that are eerily in sync with her comings and goings. Soon, however, when she starts getting personal notes, too, she starts to suspect her co-workers. When Brent Polk, her good friend and secretary, is killed by a car that's been following Mary around, she goads police detective Lombardo to check for similarities between his death and that of her husband a year earlier. Soon follows a chain of strange discoveries: after sleeping with friend and associate Ned Waters, she finds anti-depressants in his medicine chest; Ned's wife-beating father manages a rival law firm; a partner has been tampering with her files. An increasingly paranoid Mary cuts off relations with Ned, whom she suspects of being her stalker. But she doesn't act on her suspicions until it's nearly too late and she must fight for her life.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder
So, this was an abridged CD. I looked on Worldcat, and the librarian looked, and neither of us could find an unabridged version, so this is what I read. It's approved by the author, but still, I hope I'm not missing anything vital...
I'd read many other Mary DiNunzio books, and I decided it was time now to read the first one. I expected she would be working at Rosatto and Associates, but no, she's working for some big, bad law firm, one of the triad in Philly.
I don't think I'm giving anything away. I love the courtroom scene in the first chapter, with the judge: "Repeat after me, the reason you shouldn't dismiss this case is --- I'm not going to finish the sentence for you." I love this judge. He's not taking any crap from the lawyers.
In all of the later books, she keeps talking about Mike, and how he was killed on his bicycle. In books, it's always like that. Anna Pigeon describes how her husband Zack was killed in Track of the Cat. It later books, it just comes up superficially. It's like that for Mary. We hear a lot about how her husband is killed, and we learn why.
We also get to have some long conversations with Mary's sister, something that has never happened in later books.
The only thing I didn't like about the book was that it was uncharacteristically profane. Mary just doesn't talk like that. Highly recommended, though, especially if you like Mary DiNunzio. Oh, Kate Burton doesn't really do it for me as narrator. It was too monotone, not enough emotion in her reading.
I'd read many other Mary DiNunzio books, and I decided it was time now to read the first one. I expected she would be working at Rosatto and Associates, but no, she's working for some big, bad law firm, one of the triad in Philly.
I don't think I'm giving anything away. I love the courtroom scene in the first chapter, with the judge: "Repeat after me, the reason you shouldn't dismiss this case is --- I'm not going to finish the sentence for you." I love this judge. He's not taking any crap from the lawyers.
In all of the later books, she keeps talking about Mike, and how he was killed on his bicycle. In books, it's always like that. Anna Pigeon describes how her husband Zack was killed in Track of the Cat. It later books, it just comes up superficially. It's like that for Mary. We hear a lot about how her husband is killed, and we learn why.
We also get to have some long conversations with Mary's sister, something that has never happened in later books.
The only thing I didn't like about the book was that it was uncharacteristically profane. Mary just doesn't talk like that. Highly recommended, though, especially if you like Mary DiNunzio. Oh, Kate Burton doesn't really do it for me as narrator. It was too monotone, not enough emotion in her reading.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Ummm I was enjoying the book for a decent amount of the time that I was reading it. The author obviously knows her way around the court room and you get a good inside view of litigation but... Ugh! I wish the story ended up being more interesting. I don't want to give away any spoilers. I just didn't find the -who did it- aspect to be as clever as the detailed writing about the legal profession. The important part of wrapping up the plot felt like an afterthought that wrapped up quickly at the end rather than a story slowly unraveled as you would expect from a mystery novel. I don't usually read mystery novels though so what do I know!