Customer Reviews

Dirty Blonde

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

Lisa Scottoline writes legal thrillers about a world she knows well, Philadelphia courtrooms. Scottoline has had a good run with her previous long-running series about a young female lawyer. That series seems to be running out of steam and Scottoline must have decided to branch out with some other characters in an attempt to re-invigorate her writing and her audience. This new book, a stand-alone about a federal judge named Cate Fante was a great read. Scottoline knows Philly. She writes about Italian-Americans with wit and expertise. Having enjoyed the book I decided to check out the audio version. Read by Kate Burton, a Broadway actress (most audiobooks are read by stage actors-they have the required vocal stamina) I was anticipating a great experience. I was amazed. The audiobook doesn't stand up to the print version. Burton transitions between various character voices and I had a hard time telling them apart. There was a sameness about them that was disconcerting. The story, takes us to the dark underside of a very public life, it is good, the reading less so.

I couldn't wait to get my hands on Lisa Scottoline's latest, "Dirty Blonde." The author, one of my favorites when it comes to legal mystery thrillers, disappoints this time - Big Time! What ticks me off is that she has all the components here to make a really great read...but she takes the easy road and thus her protagonist and her storyline are not at all credible.

Thirty-nine year-old Cate Fante, a newly appointed federal judge, seems to have it all - smarts, looks, health, money (she was a successful member of a topnotch Philadelphia law firm before her career change), a wonderful boyfriend and great girlfriends. What more could anyone desire? Well, she also has a terrible secret, one that no one would want...ever! Cate has a dark side that compels her to pick up strange men, dangerous men, some are even convicted felons, in sleazy bars and have down and dirty sex with them before walking out to resume business and life as usual. So far so good.

Cate presides over a breach-of-contract lawsuit involving an extremely popular TV show, "a cable blockbuster," Attorneys@Law. Plaintiff Richard Marz, claims that a successful producer and former friend, Art Simone, stole his idea for the series. Cate rules reluctantly in favor of the defendant, but not before blasting him from the bench. "You may have made a fortune, Mr. Simone, but as far as I am concerned, you stole every penny of it." That same evening, Marz apparently murders Simone and then takes his own life.

When a former detective with a grudge finds a tape featuring Cate in compromising positions and the judge's private life is made very public, front page news, the ensuing scandal puts her job at risk as well as her life. Still good.

Now our judge, who thinks there is more to the murder/suicide than meets the eye, becomes an effective sleuth, determined to solve what she believes to be a double murder and even more determined to get her life back on track. Was it ever on track?

So what could be wrong with this seemingly unputdownable novel? Well, psychologically Cate Fante has serious problems, problems that weekly visits with a therapist won't solve....unless she saw her therapist for one hundred years! Give me a break! That's like expecting an alcoholic, or a compulsive gambler, or someone with an eating disorder to turn their lives around, (let alone modify behavior), with a few sessions of therapy. I really take issue with the cavalier manner in which Ms. Scottoline deals with Judge Fante's severe neuroses in order to further her plot. Cate says I will never do this again...and stops her exploits into life's seamier side. I don't want to spoil the plot, but there's even a new love interest who never questions her behavior. Cate, who could have been an extraordinary three-dimensional character, thus comes across as flat as cardboard.

So everything winds up hunky dory, girlfriends giggle about new boyfriends and all is well with the world.

Along the way, our protagonist visits her hometown, Centralia, the Northeastern Pennsylvania town destroyed by a persistent mine fire. The events surrounding this real life town, its former inhabitants and the results of the fire are true and quite fascinating. Also of interest is the legal take on whether (and how much) the private life of a public official, a federal judge appointed for life, should impinge on the public career of same official.

I have read glowing reviews of "Dirty Blonde," so it appears I am a lone voice with my thumbs down critique. I just believe that Lisa Scottoline is way too talented to give her readers this super-lite kind of fiction.
JANA

I've read several previous Scottoline novels. Although I do enjoy legal thrillers, for me, the main attraction of her books has always been the Philadelphia setting--having been born in Philly as well as raised in the area, many of the landmarks are familiar, which provides an added element of interest to what I might otherwise find to be fairly standard legal fare. In Dirty Blonde, Scottoline departs from her now-familiar female law firm to introduce a refreshing new lead, Judge Cate Fante. Cate has only recently ascended to the bench, and she is assigned a case which quickly becomes notorious, resulting in unexpected public attention and focus on both Cate's professional competency and her clandestine private activities.

As has been the case with Scottoline's earlier main characters, Cate's only hope to solve the mysteries building up around her and to clear her name is to undertake her own investigation. When I've read past Scottoline novels, I've sometimes felt that the protagonists acted in ways in which were completely unrealistic; here, however, although Cate's behavior is extreme at times, it rings true for her situation. In fact, my only (minor) complaints about the book were that the tie-in to Cate's background/childhood seemed rather forced and that the motives of the eventually revealed murderer seemed rather weak. But what matters most about this book is this: 1) I enjoyed reading it, and 2) I'd recommend it to others.

DIRTY BLONDE is a sexy, seedy mystery full of surprising secrets and tension-filled pages. What I liked best about the book was Scottoline's superb character development, which helped me really connect with the book. Cate Fante, a federal judge who is the book's main character, has so many dimensions, from strong and professional to terribly insecure - I hope to see more of her in future books. Another recent release about a woman professional who gets pulled into a tangle of murder and suspense is SHADOW OF DEATH by Patricia Gussin. I'd recommend it if you're a fan of Scottoline.

I have read most of Scottoline's books and at times have been somewhat disappointed however I always felt that she was true to her readers. This book eclipsed that notion. Dirty Blonde is stupid, goes nowhere, and has only 1 redeeming character (Nesbitt, a cop). The book was totally unbelievable, on any level, and had absolutely no direction. It is a shame when an otherwise decent writer becomes enamored with her 'best selling new york times author' moniker and assumes her readers will buy anything.

I won't go into rehashing the story line as you can get that from reading the publishing and other members' reviews.

I have been a fan of Scottoline's since her first book, and have loved them all. I have to say that this time I'm pretty disappointed.

The book has its up side: the plot moves along in Scottoline's trademark brisk fashion, with all the witty asides we've come to expect.

And that, to me, is the failure of this book. I fully agree with the previous reviewer who noted that the central character ( Cate Fante ) has a very serious psychological disorder that is treated so cavalierly ( other than as a plot point ), and her "recovery" is so facile, that I was left scratching my head with a big "Huh?". Further, the reaction of her new boyfriend to her problem was also totally ridiculous, as if he'd noticed she simply had a run in her stocking instead of serious psychosexual dysfunction. It was a jarring non sequitur.

This whole aspect of the character and story needed to be more fully thought through; it fatally flawed this book, in my opinion.

I am an attorney, and I have clerked for a federal judge. I can say that the plot of DIRTY BLONDE is not the most realistic or likely scenario, but boy was it a pageturner, and a break from the mundane legal issues that I have typically encountered as a clerk, or now, as a practicing attorney. But the old-school stodginess of the other sitting district court judges was real-- they are old school, and they don't seem to welcome competition from attractive young women in fancy high heels. And the issue of whether by-the-book justice is better than or above intutitive fairness is a very real issue -- one of the only issues disagreed with my Judge about.

Attorney or not, I recommened DIRTY BLONDE as fun, suspenseful, and interesting. I am not usually into mysteries, but I plan on reading a lot more Lisa Scottoline.

I am a huge fan of Lisa Scottoline, especially having grown up in the Philadelphia area and loving all of her Philly references. That said, I wasn't quite as engaged in this book as I have been with her others. First, I miss the Rosato clan. She has done such a great job of developing these characters that it seems a shame to depart. Second, it doesn't seem as if the killer's motive was really explained or made sense. That part of the story kind-of just ended. I'm hoping to see Bennie, Mary, and Judy back in Lisa's next novel.

There is no doubt this is a page turner. if for no other reason than to find out who really is the killer in this novel. Lisa Scottoline has introduced a new character to her long list of protagonists. She is Cate Fante, 39 years old, and an attorney who has just been appointed to a federal district court judgeship in Philidephia. In the crucible one must go through these days to receive such an appointment and receive confirmation, Cate's qualifications seem to be that she has none of the baggage that candidates with more experience have.

As the story gathers steam she is presiding over a jury case that involves a claim that the succesful producer of a tv series about lawyers has stolen the idea and the story lines from a local attorney who "pitched" the concept to the producer. As Cate listens to the facts of the claim unfold in court she is concerned that the plaintiff has indeed been rippped off by the Hollywood producer, but that he will also get away with it because of the lack of any written agreement between them.

At the close of the evidence she is presented with a motion for judgement for the producer which, after trying to get the parties to settle and also after giving the producer a dressing down for his conduct, she reluctantly grants.

Shortly thereafter the producer is murdered. A video of the attack caught by a surveillance camera appears to implicate the plaintiff. A while later the plaintiff commits suicide with the same gun and the police close the case.

Well, most of the police do. One Philidelphia police detective who ended up being a consultant and partner to the plaintiff and who would have shared in any award believes that Cate is the killer. You see Cate has a "dirty" little secret. For reasons that are never explained she likes to pick up men in rather seedy bars from time to time for one night stands. She had done so on the night that the murder took place.

The detective (Russo) comes into possession of information about Cate's "hobby" and also that the person she last picked up died that night after falling off a motel balcony. He catches the case and finds a video tape of the encounter the deceased had that night before the incident and believes that Cate is on both videos and sets out to try and prove it. He is rebuffed by the department who has closed the case and then sets out to ruin the judge by exposing her extraciricular interests.

From there on Cate's life, both on and off the bench, becomes a nightmare as she attempts to find the real killer, avoid being removed from the judiciary and stay alive.

I felt the author should have explained the motivation behind Cate's nightime conduct, given Russo's conduct more credibility and developed all of her characters more than she did.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Cate in another novel in the future, but I won't be in a hurry to pick it up.

Judge Kate Fante has just been appointed to a Federal Judge position, a life time appointment. She was handed a glitzy case involving the intellectual design and creation of a hit TV show "Attorneys at Law". Mr. Marz is suing producer Art Simone for stealing his ideas. While the law is clear on this issue Judge Fante delivers a lecture to Mr. Simone when she rules from the bench, which sets a number of events into motion. While she ruled in Mr. Simone's favor, she stated she believed the plaintive. This is a crushing blow to Mr. Marz and he attacks Mr. Simone in the court room. Court is cleared but later that night when Mr. Simone is gunned down Mr. Marz is blamed for it, especially when he turns up the victim of an apparent suicide.

Judge Fante also has a secret life that comes out to haunt her. She has been sneaking to seedy bars to have hot sex with strangers. Unfortunately someone has been following her and feeding the information to Mr. Simone who has already set out to make a spin-off of "Attorneys at Law" starting a woman Federal Judge.

A detective friend of Mr. Marz doesn't think that he committed suicide, or that he killed Mr. Simone he thinks Judge Fante hired a lowlife porn maker to do it for her. When trying to blackmail her doesn't work the information gets released to the press which sets into motion Judge Fante running for her life, being suspended from her job, and her determination to find out who really killed Mr. Simone.

I listened to the audio version of this story and as usual the reader did a wonderful rendering of the different male/female voices. She also is able to correctly pronounce the Italian names that are found in the Philly area and talks about the story in a fluid rendering. I think this is one of the best audios I have listened to so far this year. The ending came up a bit fast for me. But the author was able to throw me off track of the real killer, so overall 5 stars.