Devil's Corner [Hardcover]

Lisa Scottoline (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 31, 2005

When prosecutor Vicki Allegretti arrives at a rowhouse to meet a confidential informant, she finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. She's almost shot to death, and two others are gunned down before her disbelieving eyes. How did a routine investigation become a double homicide? She can identify the killers, now all she has to do is to find them. The deeper she probes, the more she realizes that she's dealing with ruthless killers. Her suspicions take her to Devil's Corner, a place on the brink of ruin thick with broken souls, innocent youth and a scourge that plays on both. Sadly, her delectable colleague Dan Molloy is too married to give her the kind of support she really needs, but when she teams up with an unlikely ally, she buckles up for a wild ride down a dangerous street. And into the crossfire of a powerful and relentless conspiracy. Set against the pulsing backdrop of Philadelphia, with a storyline driven by strong female characters and the breakneck pace that has become her trademark, DEVIL'S CORNER is Lisa Scottoline's most satisfying novel yet. Lisa Scottoline has been added to my list of must-read authors. Her stories are filled with teeth-gnashing suspense, her characters are compelling, and her humor cuts to the heart of the issue with laserlike accuracy' Janet Evanovich

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Scottoline's 12th novel was inspired by a real-life jury trial for crack-cocaine trafficking of members of one of the most violent gangs in Philadelphia history (in her acknowledgments, the former trial lawyer admits she watches cases like these "for fun"). Such inspiration lends a tough, uncompromising realism to this stand-alone legal thriller. Scottoline (Killer Smile; Dead Ringer; etc.) sets the book in Philly, of course, and her lead this time is assistant U.S. Attorney Vicki Alegretti, whose petite frame belies her gutsy, unbridled determination on the job. While conducting a routine interview with a confidential informant on a straightforward matter, things go awry, and Vicki's partner—along with the informant—is shot. Resolved to find the killer, Vicki takes on the case (unbeknownst to her boss), and that's when the twists begin. In short chapters with cliffhanger endings, Scottoline spins a tale that finds Vicki joining forces with Reheema, a gorgeous black woman from the drug-ridden West Philly neighborhood of Devil's Corner. Reheema wants to find the person responsible for murdering her crack-addicted mother, and as she and Vicki play detective, they realize the murders may be connected and that they're getting increasingly closer to bringing down a sizable drug ring. Scottoline's ability to mix humor with serious subject matter, combined with her intense research of inner city drug trafficking and a side plot involving Vicki's love life, make for compelling entertainment. Agent, Molly Friedrich. (June)

From Booklist

Assistant U.S. attorney Vicki Allegretti's meeting with a confidential informant goes terribly wrong when the routine appointment turns into a bloodbath, leaving Vicki's ATF partner, Morty, dead along with the informant and her unborn child. Vicki's bosses tell her to move on to her next case, but Vicki, determined to find the killer, launches her own investigation, in the course of which she takes on an unlikely partner, Reheema, an African American woman whose mother was killed in a drug-related murder that may connect to Vicki's case. Vicki and Reheema--the former a product of privilege and private school and the latter a product of Devil's Corner, an aptly named, drug-riddled Philly neighborhood--make an unlikely but very appealing pair. The interplay between the two women shows Scottoline at her best--chatty but intelligent, biting but respectful. Although we miss the all-female Philadelphia law firm of Rosato & Associates, whose members are the heroines of Scottoline's popular series, this stand-alone thriller (inspired by a real-life case) makes an entertaining and exciting change of pace. Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Harper (May 31, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060742887
• ISBN-13: 978-0060742881
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #494,963 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lisa Scottoline is the New York Times bestselling author of seventeen novels including her most recent, THINK TWICE, and also writes a weekly column, called Chick Wit, for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Lisa has won many honors and awards, notably the Edgar Award, given for excellence in crime fiction, and the Fun Fearless Female Award from Cosmopolitan Magazine. She also teaches a course she created, called Justice and Fiction at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and regularly does speaking engagements. There are twenty-five million copies of her books in print, and she is published in over thirty other countries.Lisa graduated magna cum laude in three years from the University of Pennsylvania, with a B.A. degree in English, and her concentration was Contemporary American Fiction, taught by Philip Roth and others. She graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She remains a lifelong resident of the Philadelphia area, where she lives with her array of disobedient pets.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice read, solid story, nasty plot twists..., May 16, 2005

By 

Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Devil's Corner (Hardcover)

The kind folks over at HarperCollins sent me an advance reader copy of Lisa Scottoline's newest novel Devil's Corner. This is another author that I haven't read before, but will probably end up doing catch-up reading on her titles...

Vicki Allegretti is an Assistant U.S. Attorney, and she's due to interview a confidential informant on a case related to an illegal gun sale. But things go horribly wrong when she arrives at the meeting house only to find two guys who have broken into the house and murdered the informant. During the confrontation, her partner is killed and she almost joins him in death before the killers decide to flee. In the process of interviewing leads on the killing, she assaults a prisoner and is suspended from her job. But instead of just taking the safe road, she decides to conduct her own investigation so that the case doesn't get dropped. To get into the parts of the city where the crime occurred, she has to team up with the person she assaulted, and thus starts an unlikely personality pairing that will either pay off or get them both killed...

Scottoline was formerly a trial lawyer and apparently now watches court cases for entertainment (and potential story ideas). Her in-depth knowledge of the legal system and how things actually work shows through in this novel, as I got the feeling that she has been here before. Watching Allegretti try and balance her work and personal life is interesting, as her romantic interest may or may not be all he's cracked up to be. And I really liked the interplay between her and Reheema, the girl she assaulted. Matching up an urban black street-smart girl with a suburban Harvard grad leads to rather sticky situations that neither can relate to but that both have to work through.

Solid writing, good pacing, a story with some meat, and a few plot twists to boot... Can't ask for much more in a recreational crime thriller read.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "People ... can fool the devil, but they can't fool the neighbors." Edgar Watson Howe, February 26, 2010

By 

michael a. draper (Guilford, CT) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Devil's Corner: 1 (Kindle Edition)

Vicki Allegretti, Asst. U.S. atty. goes to an informant's home and runs into two men who have just killed the informant. Vicki's associate is also killed before the killers escape.

Raheema Bristow is the person the CI claimed to have evidence about and she is freed after the CI is murdered.

Vicki goes to Raheema's home thinking that she might get evidence against her before the case is dismissed and is surprised to find that Raheema's mother is a crack addict. Eventually, Raheema and Vicki agree to an uneasy truce and decide to work together in attempt to find those guilty of Vicki's partner's murder and another death. These two women with nothing in common begin spying on an inner city crack house.

If the reader can put logic aside and experience the story as a work of fiction, it is a fun read. Vicki is a Harvard educated attorney attempting to be undercover in the slums. I picture Reese Witherspoon of "Legally Blond" in this setting and wonder how Vicki could go undetected and survive.

Scottoline did a professional job creating suspense and maintaining the dramatic flow of the novel, adding a well placed plot twist to keep the reader guessing and make the story more interesting.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New twists for a solid author, June 16, 2005

By 

Dr Cathy Goodwin (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Devil's Corner (Hardcover)

Scottoline experiments with a new heroine and a new type of crime. But fans will recognize Scottoline's writing touches, as individual as a fingerprint.

From the beginning, we get Scottoline's delicious combination of girl-think with violent crime. Staring down the barrel of a gun, Assistant DA Vicki Allegretti wonders if a black gun "makes you look thinner." It's just the kind of combination of gritty suspense and girl talk that we have come to expect from this author -- and she delivers magnificently.

Other surprises surface. Allegretti, product of upperclass parents and good schools, teams up with an accused criminal to solve a crime. Along the way, she takes risks, gets suspended from her job, and finds an unlikely criminal.
As with Scottoline, the heroine begins to seem like an old friend -- someone we admire and want to follow. And as always, we get a suspenseful page-turner that superbly paced, with not a word wasted.

Like many fans, I miss Scottoline's traditional characters: Mary, Judy, Bennie and Anne. Scottoline takes a big jump here with a character whose parents are both lawyers -- someone from the upper echelons of Philadelphia society. She seems most comfortable when dealing with scrappy up-from-nothing women like Bennie and Mary,

But I wouldn't be surprised to seem them all come together in a future novel (Scottoline has a way of doing that). Let me guess: Bennie's law firm would be defending a client, Allegretti would be prosecuting, and they'd all unite on the side of justice -- and the pleasure of their loyal readers.