Running from the Law (Mass Market Paperback)

by Lisa Scottoline (Author) "Any good poker player will tell you the secret to a winning bluff is believing it yourself..." (more)
Key Phrases: black jaguar, Uncle Sal, Miss Sullivan, Patricia Sullivan (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
A lawyer defending a judge against a sexual harassment suit gets more than she bargained for when the judge's accuser is murdered.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Against her better judgment, Rita Morrone, a smart-mouthed, poker-playing young lawyer, agrees to represent her lover's father, a respected judge, against a sexual harassment charge brought by his secretary. As she prepares to go to trial, little does she know that her lover, Paul, is also involved in the case and that the lady in question will end up murdered; furthermore, she doesn't suspect that her own life and that of her father will lie in the balance. Yet as she investigates, it becomes increasingly clear that the good judge is being framed. Despite her fury at Paul for his infidelity and her concern for her father, she does her homework and?with a little help from her octogenarian poker cronies?deftly nails the murderer. Readers of courtroom fiction will love this latest by Scottoline, who was nominated for an Edgar Award for Final Appeal (HarperCollins, 1994). Recommended for public libaries.?Susan Clifford, Hughes Aircraft Co. Lib., Los Angeles
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: HarperTorch; First edition (September 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061094110
• ISBN-13: 978-0061094118
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #33,779 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 3 in The Rosato and Associates Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five stars for entertainment and humor, February 1, 2000

By	martha woodworth (santa fe, new mexico) - See all my reviews

Very few contemporary detective novels are as amusing as this one was. I listened to it on a Recorded Books tape and couldn't wait to get home to hear what would happen next. If a silly whodunnit can be said to be "dear," this one made it. Scottoline is fresh and fun and I intend to read more. I must say I did read her next book (I think it was 'Rough Justice' but without the family shtick, it just wasn't as much fun.) Scottoline proves that a writer doesn't have to be Shakespeare to be worthwhile - I was quite happy during the time I was listening to her book, and making people feel good isn't such a bad thing. Thanks, Lisa!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Can't put down, December 17, 2000

By	natural375 (Long Island, NY) - See all my reviews

The book is totally unrealistic but it does not matter. It's a fun read that never bores. I have read one other book by Scottoline and find her to be an author that keeps the fun coming. I am not giving it a five star review because there was not enough of Rita in court, the only flaw with the book. Take it on an airplane with you and you will finish before the flight is over.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Poker player, lawyer, sleuth and lover, October 28, 2003

By	binnsie "binnsie" (Bangkok, Thailand) - See all my reviews

A good poker player is also a good actor. Rita Morrone is certainly a good poker player and brings her acting skills to her day job as a fast thinking and tough trial lawyer in Philadelphia.

However the acting takes a low priority when she becomes defence lawyer to her prospective father-in -law, Fiske Hamilton, who is charged with sexual harassment of his young female private secretary. Soon after the first charges are laid, the private secretary is found murdered and so opens another chapter more sinister and deadly than what went before. Fiske is the prime suspect but as the tale unfolds other characters enter the frame as possible perpetrators, amongst them her fiancé Paul Hamilton. When her own father is the subject of a violent attack, the case becomes even more personal for Rita than it was already. There are more suspects, more players, more motives, more unknowns and consequently an even greater web of mystery.

As is the case in many of Scottoline's books the heroine, the lady lawyer, rapidly assumes the role of sleuth, leaving her legal role to play second fiddle to the built-in cop, her alter-ego. Rita gets tangled in a web of intrigue, conspiracy and mystery as she tries to establish the truth. Her life is in danger through her own actions as she delves more deeply into the mystery towards the final chapters. There are times when her activities really do stretch the limits of credibility but, in a work of fiction, this goes with the territory. However, with several characters having possible motives the reader is challenged (in Agatha Christie style) to try and untangle the riddle of whodunit.

A great touch in the writing is the frequent use of double dialogue in which Rita first thinks the words she wants to use but then utters the ones most appropriate, often the opposite. Example one: Paul: "Aren't two heads better than one?" Rita (Not when I want to knock yours off.) "I don't think so. If I need help we have investigators at the firm." Example two: Journalist: "Is the judge guilty Miss Morrone?" Rita (Your guess is as good as mine, bucko.) "Absolutely not. My client is innocent of any and all charges against him."

This is a light and easy read, entertaining and with enough surprises to hold the reader's attention throughout.