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: excellent crime drama
Review: Beautiful, sassy and bright lawyer Anne Murphy left California and moved to Philadelphia, where she took a job at the legal firm of Rosato & Associates. In her present case, she is representing her old friend in a sexual harassment lawsuit and is particularly pleased when a legal point goes her way. She decides to head out to the Jersey Shore for the Fourth of July Weekend and has her friend Willa is cat-sitting her precious feline.When she reads about her own "death" in the newspaper, Anne immediately realizes that Willa was shot in the face and since there is a strong resemblance between them, the media and Bennie and friends thought it was she who died. When she reveals herself to them and explains it was probably her stalker who followed her to Philadelphia after he escaped from jail, the gang puts a ring of protection around her. Although she is grateful for their friendship and kindness, she is determined to take control of the situation, which comes to a head on the night of July 4th. Lisa Scottoline, renowned for her legal thrillers, has written an excellent crime drama starring characters from previous novels. The friendship between the women is a beautiful thing to behold and is only one of the reasons readers will stick with this book until the perpetrator either is caught or succeeds. COURTING TROUBLE is Ms. Scottoline's best work to date. Harriet Klausner
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: 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: 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: Good summer reading
Review: I took this on vacation and it was good summer reading and I liked the Philadelphia/Camden local color...although poor Camden always gets bad press--the three lawyers cross the bridge from Philly to Camden and, of course, they go to a sleazy motel in Camden to help solve the mystery.
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: 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: Fun, light read
Review: I'm a fan of Ms. Scottoline. And I'm quite happy with her newest book, Courting Trouble. The book is a fun light read. Fast moving and never boring. One of the things I like about Ms. Scottoline's books are that most of them take place in the law firm of Rosato & Associates. What makes this different is that each book deals with a different person in this firm. This one deals with new associate Anne Murphy. Don't worry Mary, Judy, and Bennie are around too. Since Ms. Scottoline makes a different person at this firm the main character of the books, she is always building her characters and giving them a rich background. She has come a long way since her first book, Everywhere that Mary Went. Anne learns that she was killed at home when she was on a little holiday. Anne decides to find her killer while acting dead. And this is the worst best kept secert in the book. First the woman at Rosato & Associates learn the truth, then Anne's client, then the opposing counsel, and finaly the police. With that many people trying to keep it a secert it is amazing she isn't found out sooner. To make matters worse she is being stalked by a guy from her past, Kevin Satorno. Anne plays cat and mouse with Kevin in the city of Philadelphia during the city celebration of the Fourth of July. As the city celebrates our nation birth and Independence, Anne is if fight for her own Independence.
This book reminded me of Ms. Scottoline's earlier book Running from the Law. I found it very funny. Mental Note: Watch I love Lucy reruns. Anne is a Lucy fanitic. And the scene of Judy, Mary, and Anne in red, white, & blue hooker outfits is great. It reminded me something that Janet Evanovich would write. If your looking for a new author to read and you like legal thrillers Ms. Scottoline is a winner.
Rating:
Summary: The shoes fit
Review: If Lisa Scottoline's Philadelphia-based, all-women law firm novels were breakfast cereal, they'd have to be Rice Krispies. Because no matter how implausible some of the antics may seem, the plotting and prose just snap, crackle and pop their way off the page. And "Courting Trouble" (2002), Scottoline's 9th such adventure, showcases the author's both snappy and careful work.
Scottoline does a fine job broadening her character base and the range of activities under foot. We don't get too many stories about one lawyer and we don't get too many long-running romances either. It's good craftsman ship accompanying zippy and compelling prose.
So, enter Rosato and Associates's newest lawyer, Anne Murphy. Murphy is smart, gorgeous and young and her law is "dress for the Milan runway in your mind, not the one at your local airport, even though it keeps her in credit card hell. So young is she that the firm's regular "kids" Mary and Judy seem seasoned and boss Bennie Rosato almost middle-aged, but not quite. All the women in Scottoline's series are vibrant and delicious, no matter their age or hair color.
Murphy and her Monolo Blahniks don't fit in and she knows it. But she's battling a stalker from her past and gets in deep. Just as the stylish redhead is about to drown, the "older" women realize that they're as guilty as any male lawyer in any shop - they're not willing to let women in as equals, particularly if they're way better looking and know it.
So the four hatch a plan that, as so many do, relies on Mary DeNunzio's old world Italian parents. It also relies on hair dye and shoes.
Socttoline introduces the "internal memo" device that works splendidly. It's Murphy's signature and she's either sending silent mental memos to herself and others, ("Memo to Bennie: don't buy clothes where you shop for food.) or she's actually announcing them.
As always, the pace is brisk, the characters multi-dimensional though humerous and the plot gets scary, but won't gray your hair.
Memo to potential reader: "Spend your money on Bennie, not Blahnik."
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