Customer Reviews

Courting Trouble

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(23)

 

 

If you're new to the Scottoline's blend of women lawyers, Philadelphia and murder, prepare for a treat. Scottline introduced Mary DiNunzio and Judy Carrier, young associates in a starchy male-dominated law firm, in Everywhere that Mary Went.

As the series evolved, Mary and Judy moved their adventures to Bennie Rosato's all-woman law firm,
Courting Trouble introduces, Anne Murphy, a red-head who takes big risks in law and in life. When she reads her own death notice on page one of the local paper, Anne realizes she needs to play dead until she can identify the person who wants her dead.
As usual, the legal team avoids poring over dusty files. They solve cases by creating undercover capers that Scottoline insists are perfectly plausible. Would three women lawyers dress up as hookers to gain access to a sleazy motel room? Well, it could happen.

Courting Trouble reveals the tender side of tough-lawyer-and-boss Bennie Rosato. Off-duty she wears cut-off shorts, builds muscles by rowing a boat, and keeps a traditional single-woman-minimalist refrigerator. On or off duty, she dispenses wise advice about love and law.
Scottoline also introduces a family theme. Mary's magical Italian family, a staple of the series, contrasts with Anne's distant mother. Readers can decide if these sections are warm and fuzzy or just plain mushy, and whether a law firm can --or should -- be a family.

For some readers, the red herring that occupies most of the book will be transparent and the ending willl seem contrived. However, I suspect that Scottoline fans read less for plot than for answers to, "What are those women doing now?" And for transplanted Philadelphians, each volume in the series offers a brief glimpse of home.

This book answers the question: what do you get when you cross Alfred Hitchcock with "I Love Lucy"? The answer: a rip-roaring read.

Anne Murphy is a Lucy fanatic who's memorized every episode (not that she'll admit it out loud). An aggressive Philadelphia attorney, she's not above Lucy-esque plans in and out of the courtroom. In fact, she had me at "uh ...Hello??" -- that is, from the first chapter where she engineers a um ... very interesting courtroom demonstration to prove a point about sexual harassment.

But, life takes a far more serious turn in the days that follow. The chaos begins when Anne leaves town for a holiday weekend and awakens to headlines blaring news of her own very violent demise. Who was the real murder victim? And, what will the killer do when news gets out that Anne is still very much alive? Can she trust anyone under such dubious circumstances? And what about the big sexual harassment case Anne's supposed to take to trial three days hence? -- for a client who may or may not be telling her the truth?!

Intrigue abounds as the story gets underway and surprises await in every chapter. Along with the unrelenting tension, Lisa Scottoline delivers wonderful turns of phrase, and a nice dose of Lucy-type schemes and references. As only a deft writer could, Scottoline perfectly balances the lighthearted with the deadly serious. Just as you think everything is tidily wrapping up, chilling chaos reigns down once more. I don't want to ruin the ending, but will just say that I happily ignored a sunny Saturday afternoon in favor of gluing myself to this book until I reached the end. It was worth it.

I've been a Scottoline fan since FINAL APPEAL, and I've enjoyed watching her evolve into an accomplished writer.

Having said that, I must agree with 'booklover10' and say that Scottoline's latest effort has left me a bit flat.

The book centers on beautiful Anne Murphy, up and coming associate at the all-girl firm founded by Philadelphia legal eagle Bennie Rosato.

Anne, in the middle of a difficult case, decides to take an unplanned week-end off at the beach. She leaves her house in the care of an acquaintance, with deadly results.

Thus begins the story of mistaken identity, obsession, and a red herring plot so obvious as to be annoying.

I liked Anne and her dogged determination to find the killer, but the story becomes so outrageous as to ridicule common police procedures and it stretches credibility to the absolute breaking point.

I will continue to read Scottoline because everyone is entitled to a lapse or two, but I wish better things for Bennie Rosato and her partners. They're smarter than this!

I don't like to review books that I don't really like, I normally just review the ones I read that I can give at least 4 stars too.But....this book was such a disappointment. I normally like her books, I like the characters in the law firm that Ms. Scottoline writes about, and I normally like the stories. This book, however, was silly, very silly, and very hard to get through. Hard really to explain, just not a good addition to the Lisa Scottoline library.I felt like it was rushed and the characters were portrayed as silly and shallow. Not like themselves at all. It won't stop me from reading her next ones, but I might wait for other reviews or paper before I rush out to purchase it! So...Ms. Scottoline, if you are out there, try again, and any new readers to Ms. Scottoline, try her others before you read this one, I'm afraid this one will discourage you from reading her others, and I hate for that to happen.

Attorney Lisa Scottoline's ninth and newest thriller is lighter than air, set in Philadelphia over a Fourth of July weekend. As these things go, it's a well-crafted and totally readable book.

Her heroine is a troubled beauty, Anne Murphy, a recent hire in the all-female law firm featured in earlier Scottoline mysteries, who's come East to escape a stalker (or "erotomaniac"). In a case of mistaken identity, Murphy is thought to have been murdered at the outset of the weekend. She evades the media, reveals herself to a few trusted associates, and sets out to catch the killer, presumably the stalker, and thus ensure her future safety. Along the way, there are little nuggets of wisdom -- the importance of family and so forth.

Here's a book that you could whip through in an afternoon on the beach, or a three-hour plane ride. It's entertaining enough, in a cotton candy sort of way. It's nicely done, but like cotton candy, it just sort of melts away.

I'm not even kidding! I bought this book since I wanted to try a new author in the mystery/thriller genre, and this is, hands-down, the worst book I have read in over 10 years.

The dialogue is flat, the descriptive text is basic, and I would swear this novel was written for a 13 year old, but it certainly is not being sold in the young reader's section. Plus, there are no real plot twists! I went through half the book figuring the killer couldn't really be the person the protaganist thought it was -- no, that would be too obvious! But of course the plot WAS that simple. Horrible, horrible writing.

Then, to top this all off, the book I got in my order had a printing error where pages were jumbled in the end and I had to jump around to read it in order. But this only added frustration to my disappointment of the novel.

If you want to read a well written novel with a strong female character, read any of the Jane Whitefield novels by Thomas Perry and you will see how a good novel is constructed. The ironic thing is, Perry won an Edgar just as this author seems to have, but I CANT imagine she wrote this bad a book after winning an Edgar for crying out loud!

But she did. Don't buy it.

This is my second book by Scottoline. Although the book is well-plotted and moves right along (after the first 15 pages or so), the literary quality just wasn't there. I was surprised to read that the author is an attorney given some of the more preposterous plot turns. I also felt at times that she was trying to imitate Janet Evanovich rather than concentrate on what she's good at (plotting).

The story begins with a trial attorney Anne staging a stunt in the courtroom to win a motion -- a stunt that it's difficult to believe could or would ever happen. She's defending an old friend accused of sexual harrassing an employee. New to Philadelphia, Anne feels isolated in general but particularly from the other women in the all-female law firm she has joined. She decides to go to the Jersey shore for the 4th of July weekend, and as a result, someone misidentified as her is killed. For rather unconvincing reasons, she lets her legal partners know she is still alive and keeps the police in the dark while they track down the killer. There are several twists and turns of the plot, some of which I anticipated. The attempts of the women to solve the murder lead to some wild antics and romance for Anne (a la Janet Evanovich).

This book kept me entertained enough to pass the time but it's the kind of book you pass on and have no desire to keep in your own collection. I will continue to read Scottoline but I don't think this is the best example of her work.

"Courting Trouble" is about a newly hired attorney, Anne Murphy, in an all female law firm. I read it the week before the 4th of July and got into the storyline. Anne is herself out of town on a last minute 4th journey. In her absence, the house sitter is murdered. Maybe it's being a redhead (who grew up watching "I Love Lucy" religiously) that inspires Anne to continue to be dead. She hopes by doing this to catch the killer. She is forced to ask for help from her co-workers, whom up to this point have not given her the time of day. Needless to say, sisterhood prevails and some memorable predicaments occur.

The story is not a traditional mystery, as we find out who the prime suspect is early in novel. However, the tempo is consistent and there are some unexpected turns to keep you interested. There were a few things thrown at you that could have been left out. Anne's relationship with her mother left me unfulfilled and I would have appreciated more scenes with the opposing counsel.

With that said, this was the first book by Lisa Scottline that I have read. I have since bought some of her earlier books with the anticipation that they will be as pleasurable.

If you are a die-hard mystery fan, this will probably be a disappointment. On the other hand, if you enjoy entertaining, crisp written or suspenseful (with a dash of romance, but not on the level of Elizabeth Lowell) books, this should keep you busy on a lazy day.

Anne Murphy is the defense lawyer in a high-profile trial. She heads out of town to prepare for her defense in peace and wakes up dead. Sort of.

The headlines read, "Lawyer Found Murdered," and her picture's plastered all over the front page. And Anne plays dead in order to stay alive.

But a twist of fate lands her face-to-face with a colleague from her law firm. Anne confides in her and two other associates and they soon begin their own murder investigation.

One name keeps popping into her head: Kevin Satorno. Just one date and he became fixated on Anne. After stalking her, he almost killed her and he was put away as a result.

Anne has to catch him herself or the nightmare will never end. There's only one way she can beat Satorno. She has to play him at his own game.

The only downfall to this novel is the overuse of the phrase, "Mental Note." Character Anne Murphy has a lot of mental notes and these sidebars tend to detract from the flow of the novel.

Overall, "Courting Trouble" is an easy book to curl up with. Anne is an interesting character - good personality with true to life flaws. Her personal story takes interesting turns and it's a nice variation from the woman as a victim theme.

Although a fan of the first few books in Ms. Scottoline's series, I find this one formulaic and very predictable.