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Lady Killer

Lisa Scottoline
HarperCollins Publishers (2008)
ISBN 9780060833206
Reviewed by Narayan Radhakrishnan for RebeccasReads (2/08)

Remember the classic movie “Lady Killers” starring Sir Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers. It was a thriller, a mystery and, at the same time, a comedy, all rolled in one.   The same is my verdict for “Lady Killer,” the 15th legal thriller by lawyer, author and ‘female John Grisham,’ Lisa Scottoline.

It takes a lot of talent and vivacious imagination to imbibe humour in a legal thriller.  True lawyers John Mortimer and Henry Cecil had explored the lighter side of law in their novels; but their novels were not thrillers. And Lisa Scottoline is one such exception who has succeeded in this unique attempt. I have been a die-hard fan of Scottoline works--though a late bloomer to the same. I read the first Scottoline work about four or five years back, and ever since I had religiously tracked down, bought and read each and every one of her thrillers. I had grown fond of the Attorney firm of Rosato and Associates--with its gusty, hardworking attorneys namely Bennie Rosato, Mary DiNunzio, Judy Carrier and Anne Murphy. In short, they are the ‘Charlie’s Angels’ of the legal profession…at least in Philadelphia.  However, in the past three books or so Scottoline did not focus on the exploits of this firm and strayed into other venues of legal thriller writing. Sure, “Devil’s Corner,” “Dirty Blonde” and “Daddy’s Girl” were a class of their own, but I sorely missed my favorite attorneys, especially Mary DiNunzio. And my joy knew no bounds when I got hold of “Lady Killer.” DiNunzio makes a fine return and Scottoline has written a neat legal thriller which will keep her fans happy world wide.

This time around DiNunzio has her hands full with a young Indian mother seeking help for her young son, a dyslexic boy named Dhiren; another case involving a defamation suit initiated by some die-hard fans of the legendary late actor Dean Martin and, to top it all, DiNunzio’s high school Nemesis Trish ‘Trash’ Gambone needs her help. The case of Dean Martin is put on hold, and DiNunzio meets her old nemesis Gambone. It seems Trish Gambone has gotten involved with the mob, and she fears that her boyfriend will kill her real soon. Trish requires protection, but not from the court. DiNunzio cannot offer anything better than a court order, and Trish leaves in a huff and within hours disappears. Soon everyone is blaming DiNunzio for not coming to the help of Trish. Reluctantly DiNunzio begins her own investigation, taking into help three best buddies of Trish--their joint IQ will itself be smaller than their shoe size. But, after the dead body of Trish’s boyfriend floats up, the plot takes a whole new turn. Was Trish actually the abducted or the abductee? Or is there a silent killer on the prowl?

What follows is vintage Scottoline suspense--and like fine Scotch, which gets better with age, Scotch-o-line gets better with each book. “Lady Killer” is highly, highly recommended.

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