Rating: 
Summary: Ninth Outing disappoints with skimpy suspense, silly action
Review: We've said before that Lisa Scottoline seems to be improving with each new book. Her last, the "Vendetta Defense", featured a good story, suspenseful courtroom scenes, and humorous dialogue. Unfortunately, we seem to have taken a step backward with "Courting Trouble".The all-female, Philadelphia law firm of (Ms) Bennie Rosato is back, and the supporting cast of Bennie, Mary, and Judy, all reprised from the eight earlier novels, add some familiarity and interest to the leading lady this time, Anne Murphy. She is the firm's newest member, having moved from California partially to escape the attention of a violent stalker, Kevin Satorno, who was imprisoned for his attempts on her life. Now, he's escaped from jail and apparently has moved to Philly and mistakenly killed a housesitter who resembled Anne at first glance. The rest of the story surrounds the lawyers chasing around trying to catch this guy before Anne really does get hurt. There's no courtroom action at all in this book except for a brief event involving a ploy with a naked man in the opening chapter, which itself seemed so highly unlikely the lawyers would probably have been disbarred. Most of the action was equally inane, with the girl lawyers running all over the place and totin' guns and such. In one scene, Anne even sleeps with opposing Counsel from an active case -- come on! There was some entertaining dialogue from time to time, but little mystery, little suspense, little lawyering - little to capture our imaginations and our interest. Most readers will probably smell the same rat we did with the outcome. Moreover, two sub-plots, involving Anne's long lost mother and Anne's sudden discovery of girlfriends, were too shallow to fill in the blanks of an otherwise lackluster book. We count Scottoline among our favorite authors and were sorely disappointed this time. You can't carry a mystery on the back of a few funny scenes. Hopefully this is an aberration that will see her next offering return to a hardier plot, courtroom suspense (or at least a good mystery), and action more appropriate to the characters at hand.
Rating: 
Summary: A MUST read!
Review: Young attorney Anne Murphy is the newest addition to the law firm of Rosato & Associates, and while she is smart and savvy, she is also wet behind the ears when it comes to practicing law. After performing a pre-trial stunt that works in her favor, Anne decides to take a Fourth of July weekend vacation and prepare for the high-profile trial she is working on, but as fate would have it she reads a newspaper headline claiming she has been murdered. Who was the woman found dead in her apartment? Who would want Anne dead? Does any of this have connection to the current case she is working on? Puzzled with questions, Anne begins looking into her supposed murder, but in order to do this she must play dead to stay alive, and out wit a killer who is tracking her every move. 'Courting Trouble' is another suspense masterpiece from best-selling author Lisa Scottoline. Chapter one lays the ground work for this unstoppable thriller, and for three hundred more pages the reader is plunged into a page-turning race of action, suspense, wit, and twists galore; complete with a surprise ending. Lisa Scottoline squashes the competition when it comes to creating original legal thrillers, and her newest novel is her best to date. A MUST read! Nick Gonnella
Rating:
Summary: Loved the book
Review: I was surprised to see the negative things said about this book. This is the first book of Lisa's that I have read but I plan on reading all of them. I loved the story and characters. I usually don't waste time writing reviews but I really wanted to for this book. Dont listen to the negative posts, read it and decide for yourself.
Rating: 
Summary: Perfect for July 4th !
Review: If you're new to the Scottoline's blend of women lawyers, Philadelphia and murder, prepare for a treat. Scottline introduced Mary DiNunzio and Judy Carrier, young associates in a starchy male-dominated law firm, in Everywhere that Mary Went. As the series evolved, Mary and Judy moved their adventures to Bennie Rosato's all-woman law firm,
Courting Trouble introduces, Anne Murphy, a red-head who takes big risks in law and in life. When she reads her own death notice on page one of the local paper, Anne realizes she needs to play dead until she can identify the person who wants her dead.
As usual, the legal team avoids poring over dusty files. They solve cases by creating undercover capers that Scottoline insists are perfectly plausible. Would three women lawyers dress up as hookers to gain access to a sleazy motel room? Well, it could happen. Courting Trouble reveals the tender side of tough-lawyer-and-boss Bennie Rosato. Off-duty she wears cut-off shorts, builds muscles by rowing a boat, and keeps a traditional single-woman-minimalist refrigerator. On or off duty, she dispenses wise advice about love and law.
Scottoline also introduces a family theme. Mary's magical Italian family, a staple of the series, contrasts with Anne's distant mother. Readers can decide if these sections are warm and fuzzy or just plain mushy, and whether a law firm can --or should -- be a family. For some readers, the red herring that occupies most of the book will be transparent and the ending willl seem contrived. However, I suspect that Scottoline fans read less for plot than for answers to, "What are those women doing now?" And for transplanted Philadelphians, each volume in the series offers a brief glimpse of home.
Rating:
Summary: Stalking Her Stalker
Review: I highly recommend that you listen to this performance rather than read the book. The comic character of the work will be hard for you to imagine through reading, but Ms. Rosenblat hits it just right. My only objection to the taping is that there is some problem with annoying background noise during pauses. It sounds like either pages turning or the performer clearing her throat. Those who want law, mystery, women being stalked, murder and other serious matters treated literally in a realistic way, like Law & Order does on television, will hate Courting Trouble. Those who enjoy the Stephanie Plum stories may discover a wonderful new heroine in Anne Murphy. The story itself is just the context for often remarkable, surprising comedy. Anne Murphy is a fairly new associate at the all-woman law firm, Rosato & Associates. Think of her as Lucy Ricardo from I Love Lucy, Anne's favorite show. She's a bright, zany red-head representing a former law school classmate in a sexual harassment case. In the book's opening, she is trying to get some testimony excluded. After sparring unsuccessfully with the judge, she uses an inflammatory (but very funny) tactic to get the judge to rethink his position. No law school teaches this kind of off-the-wall trick, and I'm sure no lawyer I know would do it. But that's what makes it funny, because it shows up in contrast to the stark formality of legal proceedings so well. At that point, I got it. This book is a witty satire of legal practice and the female detective genre. I suspect that many people will miss that point. The reversals of expectations just keep coming. Anne finds out that everyone thinks she has been killed while she is away at the New Jersey shore for the weekend. Coming back, she disguises herself outrageously in clown-like fashion (with an obvious reference to Shakespeare's fools) . . . and listens in while her colleagues speak their regrets about her death (with an obvious reference to Tom Sawyer attending his own funeral). Having left California to escape all thoughts of a convicted stalker who threatened her with death, Anne finds out the stalker has escaped. Rather than playing the victim, she stalker her stalker. The results can be hilarious (including her visits to bar for a tea -- or is it tee? -- dance and a hot sheet motel). It's almost like Blazing Saddles coming to life in a Philly law firm. Some of the reversals that work less well involve her shift from being unable to relate to women to becoming a well-appreciated hugger, adjusting to her birth defect and reacting to her client turning out to be a pawing wanderer. This is a great audio for a long plane trip or a lengthy drive. Keep smiling! After I finished the book, I found myself thinking about why certain subjects are not normally treated with humor. It's probably because the subjects are so repugnant to us, such as child molestation.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining, light read
Review: Overall an entertaining, light read that goes quickly. Good things: interesting characters, vivid descriptions, good pacing, imaginative situations Bad things: annoying "Mental note" thing, limited character development of some of the more interesting characters, mentions of products, name brands, etc. over and over again. Final: Good, quick read, nothing earth-shattering
Rating: 
Summary: Cloying, sophomoric, and flat
Review: I very much enjoyed Lisa Scottoline's first few books, but when I sat down to read this one, from the first sentence I was profoundly disappointed. The style is almost cloyingly sophomoric, the characterizations are more suited to a comic book than a decent read, and Scottoline's attempts at clever similies fail far more often than they succeed (those are the good points, I'm not even going to bother with the plot). My only guess as to why she is writing in such a simple, one-dimensional style is that maybe her publisher or her agent promised her a TV contract if she wrote something silly with a bubbleheaded beauty as the protagonist. However, as different as the style of "Courting Trouble" is from some of her earlier novels, I found myself wondering if she had even written this one herself. I cry for the trees that were killed to make the paper for this book.
Rating:
Summary: Product placement in books?
Review: I got heartily sick of reading brands names sprinkled throughout the book. I couldn't care less what brand of shoes etc the protagonist wears. Supremely boring book, in all, and I couldn't wait for it to be over. More fool me for sticking with it until the end. Mental note: don't read another Lisa Scottoline book. Life's too short.
Rating:
Summary: What a terrific fun read!
Review: Appealing characters, witty dialogue, laugh out loud one liners... I loved it! Example: After coming in from jogging Anne says something like, "I'm convinced the Devil is alive and working for Champion." You figure it out. Funny stuff. It's a real kick to discover a new author... not that Lisa is new, she's just new to me. I'm now going to look for her other books and read them all.
Rating:
Summary: Good airplane reading and engaging once you get into it
Review: This is my second book by Scottoline. Although the book is well-plotted and moves right along (after the first 15 pages or so), the literary quality just wasn't there. I was surprised to read that the author is an attorney given some of the more preposterous plot turns. I also felt at times that she was trying to imitate Janet Evanovich rather than concentrate on what she's good at (plotting). The story begins with a trial attorney Anne staging a stunt in the courtroom to win a motion -- a stunt that it's difficult to believe could or would ever happen. She's defending an old friend accused of sexual harrassing an employee. New to Philadelphia, Anne feels isolated in general but particularly from the other women in the all-female law firm she has joined. She decides to go to the Jersey shore for the 4th of July weekend, and as a result, someone misidentified as her is killed. For rather unconvincing reasons, she lets her legal partners know she is still alive and keeps the police in the dark while they track down the killer. There are several twists and turns of the plot, some of which I anticipated. The attempts of the women to solve the murder lead to some wild antics and romance for Anne (a la Janet Evanovich). This book kept me entertained enough to pass the time but it's the kind of book you pass on and have no desire to keep in your own collection. I will continue to read Scottoline but I don't think this is the best example of her work.
| 
