Rating: 
Summary: MOVE OVER GRISHAM!
Review: Lisa Scottoline just has a talent when it comes to courtroom thrillers that no author, including John Grisham, can surpass. I have read every single novel that Scottoline has written and loved them all. Almost all of her novels include her usual characters, Bennie Rosato, Mary DiNuzio, and Judy Carrier. These three women work for Rosato and Associates, a powerful lawyer firm that has an impeccable record for winning the majority of their cases. Judy Carrier is the main character in "The Vendetta Defense." Her dreadful task is trying to prove that Anthony Lucia, (otherwise known as Pigeon Tony), is innocent of the murder of Angelo Coluzzi. Even though Lucia did execute Coluzzi in cold blood, Carrier somewhat feels that the murder was justifiable because of the fifty year VENDETTA between these two Italian families. Coluzzi had Lucia's lover, son and daugher-in-law killed earlier. Judy Carrier must put up with car bombs, threats, murder attempts, and her boss in order to prove that Pigeon Tony should not be convicted guilty. This is an extremely powerful courtroom drama that will leave readers tear-eyed at the end. Absolutely no one can compete with Lisa Scottoline when it comes to courtroom dramas.
Rating: 
Summary: a taut legal drama
Review: Lawyer Judy Carrier takes the case of her career when she agrees to defend elderly pigeon racer "Pigeon Tony" for the murder of his life-long enemy Angelo Colluzi, on a vendetta that began more than half a century ago. The Colluzis want revenge & its up to this gutsy lawyer to secure justice for, risking everything, including her life.Lisa Scottoline has written a legal thriller that goes beyond the definition of a courtroom drama. It's a work that defines & distinguishes two almost similar words, "killing" & "murder", & it is in this background the novel is set. This work once again reaffirms Scottoline's position as the "Female Grisham." The Vendetta Defense is a taut legal thriller that keeps the reader glued to the pages. "Pigeon Tony" confesses to rookie lawyer Judy Carrier that he killed Angelo Colluzi, on a vendetta that began almost 50 years ago in Mascoli, Italy. During WWII Colluzi & Tony, both had wooed the same girl, Silvana, & she had chosen the poor, romantic & illiterate pigeon-farmer over the rich, brash fascist. Two years after learning that Silvana & Tony had married & had a son, an enraged Colluzi kills her & Tony, intent on keeping his son alive, leaves Italy for America without taking his vengeance. After the war, Colluzi escapes his fascist past by also emigrating to the large Italian neighborhood of Philadelphia & the hatred between the two men simmers especially after Colluzi causes the death of Tony's grown son. He cannot, however, prove it. With more than half a century of festering deep revenge, Tony finally takes out his vendetta, in a sudden moment when these two old enemies happen upon each other in the club house of the local pigeon racing club. Tony is charged with First Degree murder, even as he insists that he did not "murder" Colluzi, only "killed" him & it is up to Judy to help him prove this distinction. Scottoline keeps the legal arguments thick & fine for both the Prosecution who confidently presents a case of a clear-cut murder, & the Defense that takes the stand of sudden & grave provocation, calling for acquittal. The action in & outside the courtroom is rich & titillates the reader regarding a just decision. All in all a great thriller! The author keeps the "law theme" simple devoid of heavy legalese. As a student of law, while studying the Law of Crimes, we were taught the difference between "culpable homicide amounting to murder" & "culpable homicide not amounting to murder." The area between "murder" & "killing" is a gray one, the lines are blurred & there is no clear-cut differentiation. The Vendetta Defense comes to the rescue here. It clearly distinguishes the two phrases in a simple, gripping page-turner in the truest sense of the term. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: A SUSPENSE DRIVEN NARRATIVE
Review: Mystery fans have come to respect Ms. Scottoline not only for her suspense driven narratives but for the integrity of her work as she largely bases stories on her experience as a Philadelphia trial lawyer. Legal ethics are often the core of her drama, and she has lectured on this subject at law schools throughout the country. Now, we meet "Pigeon Tony"Lucia, an elderly Italian pigeon racer who admits killing his number one enemy, Angelo Coluzzi, to avenge a fifty year old blood feud. His attorney, Judy Carrier, has more than a guilty client on her hands as Coluzzi's family want vengeance for their father's death and Judy long gone before the case goes to trial. Can she outrun and outsmart these lethal, amoral foes? Read it and see.
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Summary: Is the Idea of a "Vendetta Defense" Really Plausible?
Review: When someone kills another, is it always murder, and can such killing of another be justified? Lisa Scottoline tackles these moral and legal dilemmas in THE VENDETTA DEFENSE, her newest work. And saying it right up front, this reviewer feels that it's her best work to date. The very first line of this book states that Tony Lucia killed Angelo Colluzi that morning. Pigeon Tony, as he's known to his friends, is an elderly man who gets his name from the pigeons he loves and races, as he has done all his life. He is arrested for the murder of Colluzi, who it turns out, has had a vendetta going against Pigeon Tony and his family since the days when they both lived in Italy during the Fascist era. The Philadelphia law firm of Rosato and Associates will be familiar to those who have read Ms. Scottoline's previous novels. Bennie Rosato and Mary DiNunzio make appearances, but in this one Judy Carrier takes the lead role of Pigeon Tony's defense attorney against the wishes of Bennie, who is her boss. And just to further complicate issues, Judy falls in love with Pigeon Tony's grandson, Frank. A master at characterization, Lisa Scottoline writes about South Philadelphia, its environs and its people as if she's strolled through the streets, examining the cracks on the sidewalks, noting the walls that have peeling paint, remembering which parking meters are not functioning. Her attention to detail comes from one who has experienced the area and its people, not just imagined them. She makes one visualize her characters as real, multi-dimensional people, and not just flat caricatures. And speaking of descriptions, look out for the details about Judy Carrier's new bright green VW Beetle if you want an example of how the author pays attention to visualizations, right down to the flower in the glass bottle in the console. This is just one small example. As a mystery writer, Ms. Scottoline has successfully drawn on her experiences as an attorney. She further deals with touchy legal ethical issues in this book, something she has lectured on at law schools before. As in her previous novels this book is at times movingly sensitive and compassionate. At other times it is humorous, funny in a subtle way, and at other times you'll want to laugh out loud. I didn't think that a "vendetta defense" such as this was a plausible plot when I first read about it. Ms. Scottoline seems to bring her three-dimensional characters to life, and make the concept conceivable. If you have come to enjoy Lisa Scottoline's writing style, her characterizations and her subtle sense of humor, then this is a book you will find to be amongst her best. And if you haven't read any of her previous works, you may want to pick up a few of them in addition to this one. You won't be sorry you did!
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Summary: Lisa Scottoline does it again!
Review: Once again Lisa Scottoline grips the reader with a fast paced novel set in South Philly. The protagonist, Pigeon Tony, is a delightful, funny, and determined man who readily admits he killed his longstanding enemy. His hatred for Angeo Coluzzi goes back to his days in Fascist Italy. Pigeon Tony feels he is justified for the killing of Coluzzi because of the deaths of his wife, son, and daughter-in-law. He, however, does not understand the American law systems classification of this act murder. Secondary to the main plot, is a love story between Pigeon Tony's grandson, Frank, and his lawyer Judy Carrier. Judy Carrier is a member of the all female law firm Scottoline has previously used run by the hard-as-nails boss Bennie Rosato. Any Scottoline fan will recognize her love for the South Philly neighborhood where her novels are set. This story will not disappoint those who enjoy the "lawyer genre".
Rating: 
Summary: "Legal" Thriller?
Review: "Mediocre" is the best definition for Scottoline's work. This novel is not her worst, but does not really represent an exception. Scottoline's grasp of Italian culture and history is ridiculously approximate and stereotyped. Her lady-lawyer characters are both boring and annoyingly "human", "correct" and "funny" in the writer's intention.
Psichology: zero. Law: zero. Plot: why, if you really do not have anything else to read but the yellow pages and this book, I would advise you to go for the "Vendetta Defence".
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Summary: a story of revenge, love, hate & more
Review: This audio adaptation of Lisa Scottoline's the Vendetta Defense tells a story of revenge, love, hate, and more. The "Vendetta" between Angelo Coluzzi and Tony Lucia "Pidgeon Tony" over the killing sixty years ago of Lucia's wife, as well as son and daughter in law, runs deep. Judy Carrier, the attorney who takes Pidgeon Tony's case, has all she can do to keep him from ruining his case, with the jury; given the hard bitten prosecutor who'd like to see him punished. Kate Burton does a fine job at reading the book, but her accents for the "Italians" are a bit exaggerated. She does better with the English speaking doctor. Still, a fine book.
Rating: 
Summary: An okay read....but
Review: I'm not sure what happened to Scottoline with this book. I wish I knew because she's one of my favorite authors. I guess after reading some of her other works, I'm spoiled. Although I consider this book to be just an average read, it certainly won't deter me from reading more of Scottoline's novels. While reading this novel, I felt like the author was under the gun to meet a publisher's deadline, or something like that. She made statements along the way that didn't ring true and words were misplaced in sentences that threw my train of thought off balance. Sometimes, if the story is good enough, I can overlook things like this. But when a sentence jumps out at me as being incorrectly stated, then it's either I'm reading too slow or the story doesn't have me fully engrossed. I know lawyers do write mystery stories, but I'd love to see Scottoline vary a little more on story plot. Maybe she has and I haven't read the book yet. No matter, Scottoline is a very talented writer and her reading fans are probably all like me, waiting for her next book.
Rating:
Summary: Scottoline plays the violin on this one
Review: All of Lisa Scottoline's books will pump your adrenaline, but this one represents a big jump in her ability as a writer. This book is more than just a good legal thriller because it is so multilayered. It is laugh-out-loud funny, sexy, contemporary and tug-the-heartstrings poignant, but the inclusion of some history of the Italian-American community takes this one to a new level. Near the end of the book, while the jury is deliberating, the protagonist's musings on justice and the law are sheer poetry. The plot concerns attorney Judy Carrier's attempts to represent an elderly man who admits to killing a long-time tormenter whom he has known since before they both emigrated from Italy. A reprise of an earlier plot device includes a cadre of elderly men who help the protagonist as she maneuvers among the legal and moral complexities of case. The author's affection for older people is obvious, and she skillfully draws them as characters who exhibit the wisdom and experience of age while also showing the humor that can accompany being old enough not to care about appearing cool. The tale is taught and believable, and Scottoline is at her best. As in her other books, Philadelphiaphiles will appreciate the the strong sense of place the author depicts.
Rating:
Summary: Swift and entertaining
Review: The Vendetta Defense sets itself apart from generic courtroom thrillers with Lisa Scottoline's snappy dialogues and vivid characterization. No less intriguing is the the plot that revolves around hot-shot lawyer Judy Carrier stumbling onto a murder case in which Tony Lucia - an octogenarian particularly fond of pigeons - kills the influential Angelo Coluzzi out of vengeance. The read vacillates to expound on Tony's hatred towards Coluzzi. Not only did he perniciously murdered Tony's wife Silvana but claimed the lives of his son and daughter-in-law in an automobile sabotage. Lisa Scottoline shrewdly creates empathy for the defendant and then jolts us with provocative questions as to seek balance between compassion and justice. The last few pages fly by electrifyingly with Judy's twisting the evidence and solid arguments. Equally captivating is the scope on Italians' culture in Philadephia who integrates in the frenetic pacing of the novel to bring out texture beside the galvanizing action. The Vendetta Defense moves swiftly with its colorful ensemble of characters - and judiciously uses the procedural to excite and thrill.
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