Mistaken Identity (Paperback)

by Lisa Scottoline (Author) "Bennie Rosato shuddered when she caught sight of the place..." (more)
Key Phrases: blood spatter analysis, jury rail, may nineteenth, Della Porta, Alice Connolly, Officer Reston (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
When confronted with the most challenging and the most personal case of her legal career, Bennie Rosato--an expert on police corruption--questions everything she has learned as a criminal attorney, and everyone she considers to be family. During a visit behind the bars of Philadelphia's Central Corrections facility, Bennie is shocked to discover that an inmate bears a striking physical resemblance to herself. The prisoner, Alice Connolly, stands accused of murdering her cop boyfriend Anthony Della Porta, and the case reeks of a police conspiracy. Connolly convinces Bennie to defend her in court. Bennie feels confused, intrigued, and even somewhat elated by this clone of herself, and dives head first into a bubbling cauldron of corruption, drugs, murder, and assault--mixed in with a thought-provoking subplot that questions the intricacies of legal ethics.

Mistaken Identity is Lisa Scottoline's sixth and tastiest dish yet. The book is gripping and smart, and it brings into bloom the highly likable character of Bennie Rosato, who made her debut appearance in Legal Tender. Bennie has her vulnerable moments--we witness this when, in some emotional scenes, she doubts the authenticity of her twin. Still, Ms. Rosato is no shrinking violet, especially when it comes to exposing the questionable goings-on of Philadelphia's Eleventh Precinct.

Scottoline keeps us in a bubble of suspense--is Connolly really Bennie's twin? Did she murder Della Porta? If not, who did and why? The author neatly ties all our unanswered questions together into a perfectly formed bow, and keeps us frantically turning pages until the very end. --Naomi Gesinger --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
Double jeopardy is more than just a legal term in this taut and smart courtroom drama by Edgar Award winner Scottoline. Bennie Rosato, the irrepressible head of an all-female Philadelphia law firm, moves to center stage after playing a supporting role in the author's previous novel, Rough Justice. Bennie's client is tough, manipulative Alice Connolly, charged with murdering her police detective boyfriend, who may or may not have been a drug dealer. Complicating matters is Alice's claim to be Bennie's identical twin sister and to have been visited by their long-lost father. Despite her wrenching emotional reaction to this revelation and her mother's deteriorating health, Bennie puts her personal and professional life on the line, immersing herself in the case. She enlists the aid of her associates, Mary DiNunzio and Judy Carrier, as well as Lou Jacobs, a cantankerous retired cop she hires as an investigator. They discover that a web of corruption may have enveloped the prosecuting attorney and judge who are now trying Alice's case. Scottoline effectively alternates her settings between prison, law office, courtroom and the streets. Readers familiar with her previous work will enjoy the continuing evolution of the characters' relationships. Judy is still the bolder of the two associates, her experiences highlighted this time by an amusing venture into the seamy world of pro boxing. But Mary, until now a timid and reluctant lawyer ("Maybe I could get a job eating"), emerges from her shell. Scottoline falters occasionally by resorting to ethnic stereotypes, particularly in her dialogue, but generally succeeds in creating a brisk, multilayered thriller that plunges Rosato & Associates into a maelstrom of legal, ethical and familial conundrums, culminating in an intricate, dramatic and intense courtroom finale. Agent, Molly Friedrich. Major ad/promo; author tour. (Mar.) FYI: Mistaken Identity is one of the six books excerpted in Diet Coke's marketing campaign.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd (June 5, 2000)
• ISBN-10: 0006499953
• ISBN-13: 978-0006499954
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,912,408 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 6 in The Rosato and Associates Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars TWIN--WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU???, January 21, 2001

By	Mac Blair "Mac Blair" (Huntingdon, TN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mistaken Identity (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the 6th Lisa Scottoline book I have read and except for some loose ends and sometimes the language, I think it is the best one I have read. Bennie Rosato is a very good lawyer, she is contacted by Alice Connolly who claims to be her twin. Alice is in jail for a murder she says she did not do. Bennie takes the case and then begins to uncover a conspiracy between the cops involved an attorney and even the judge. A retired cop, named Lou, is very helpful. I hope he is used again. The case goes to trial, you don't know until the last if Connolly is guilty or not or is she is a twin to Rosato or not.And after the trail, what happenes to Connolly. It all has a very good twist to the ending, at least one I did not expect. The action moves better than some of her other books and I enjoyed it very much. Would love to write the ending as it is very shocking but you will have to read the book.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My first book by Lisa Sottoline definitely not the last!, December 17, 1999

By	Peter Loal (Hudson, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mistaken Identity (Hardcover)

The book is a real page turner. A curve ball when not expected and a slider when you expect a curve. She keeps you guessing right up to the end.....her legal detail is excellent and story telling outstanding. I do think I know a better place for steak sandwiches....in Roxborough but that is my only complaint! Keep writing Lisa!

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book - kept me up all night!, April 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mistaken Identity (Hardcover)

Don't miss this book if you enjoy a good, fast-paced read with a legal bent to it. The review from Kirkus Associates does a much better job of describing the book than I can, so I'll leave that to them. Had never read any of Lisa Scottoline's novels before, but after finishing MISTAKEN IDENTITY, I immediately ordered her previous novel, ROUGH JUSTICE.

Ms. Scottoline's characters are real, and it doesn't take long to realize that she writes from personal experience and observation. She has been described as the " female John Grisham," but that description doesn't do her justice. Like Grisham, her past legal experience has paid off with her ability to create some very believable characters.

Lisa also has an interesting Web site at http://www.scottoline.com. and it's worth the visit to learn a bit more about the author. You'l' find a message board and online reviews there as well. That's where I found out that MISTAKEN IDENTY has evidently been optioned for development into a television series.

Looking forward to reading all of her previous novels.