Lady Killer

Author: Lisa Scottoline
Genre: Suspense/Mystery
Pages: 413
Published: 2008
Series: 12th book in the "Rosato and Associates" series
Series Order: See www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/lisa-scottoline/ for series order
First Line: "Mary DiNunzio sat across from the old men, deciding which one to shoot first."


Synopsis: Mary DiNunzio is a hard-working and successful lawyer who brings in a lot of work for Rosato and Associates. She has a lot on her plate with her various cases but feels compelled to help people from her neighbourhood in Philidelphia. One day Trish Gambone - aka the "Mean Girl from high school" -- walks into Mary's office in desperate need of help. Trish is terrified of her abusive boyfriend who is connected to the Philly mob. Mary remembers Trish's boyfriend because Mary had a big crush on him in high school too. Mary offers a few options to Trish but they're suggestions that Trish doesn't take.

When Trish suddenly vanishes and Mary feels guilty for not helping her enough initially. With pressure from people in her close-knit neighbourhood Mary searches for Trish which leads Mary into a nightmare that threatens her reputation, her job and even her life. Along the way Mary learns more about her own past ... and some things she had thought she had dealt with a long time ago.

My Thoughts: This was a good suspense read but not great. There wasn't the usual major twists or the strong main characters that I've come to expect from Lisa Scottoline. There were some twists ... but they were kind of expected and obvious to me.

Mary is an interesting but too flawed main character. She just seems too beaten down for my liking. The guilt she feels for not helping the horribly rude Trish is something that I just didn't understand. Mary was walked on and insulted regularly by Trish and then by Trish's gaggle of girlfriends ... and yet this successful lawyer takes it. Really? I'm not against flawed characters and actually find flawed main characters more real and believable. But when the flaw becomes too much it can make the character unbelievable.

I much preferred some of Scottoline's other books, namely "Dirty Blonde" and "Daddy's Girl". I'm not giving up on the "Rosato and Associates" series yet though. I still have "The Vendetta Defense" sitting on my dresser waiting to be read. Scottoline is a good writer ... this book, in my opinion, didn't showcase her talent.

My Rating: 3/5 stars