Rating: 
Summary: Good emotion, some flaws detract
Review: Lawyer Bennie Rosato thinks she's in trouble when a big client declares bankruptcy--leaving her in the lurch. She discovers what trouble really is when she's arrested for stealing and accused of drunken behavior in front of the judges that control so much of her life. Bennie knows the problem--her twin sister is acting up. What she doesn't know is what to do about it or how to pay her bills. When a huge potential case walks into her office, things briefly look up--but she's up against fierce lawyers, and those are the ones on her side. Author Lisa Scottoline combines legal tension with a sassy female-on-the-prowl. Bennie is a sympathetic heroine as she deals with her guilt over having abandoned her sister, her fears that she will lose the law firm that she has worked so hard to build, and with her fears as one of her clients is murdered. For me, one of the benefits of a legal thriller is seeing the legal process and legal mind at work. Scottoline gave us a taste of this with the meetings with the other lawyers interested in the class action lawsuit. Yet, Bennie's instant credulity over Robert St. Amien's story about an antitrust agreement (it is certainly possible but wouldn't she want to investigate, find whether the trade association denied the accusations, learn if there were other witnesses who were willing to confirm St. Amien's story), and the coincidence that other lawyers would so quickly respond to the case when St. Amien was supposedly the only foreign manufacturer who actually heard the plot (or did the Americans blab to everyone?). I would also have liked to see a stronger motivation for Bennie's twin sister, Alice. Her anger seems excessive, and the resolution of the conflict between the sisters a little contrived. Still, there were moments of real emotional truth as the two sisters struggled toward an understanding of one another--an understanding that each knew could be destructive.
Rating: 
Summary: Bennie "rows her boat" through another great story
Review: Lisa has done it again. This is a great summer read! I was happy to see Bennie Rosato on the front burner again. There are, as usual, numerous tense moments as well as "laugh out loud" ones.
I highly recommend this one to anyone who is a Scottoline fan. Anyone who is not yet a fan will become one after this entertaining read.
Rating:
Summary: Scottoline with Bells On.
Review: Lisa Scottoline's 10th mystery novel featuring a firm of Philadelphia female lawyers is so good that I'm having trouble envisioning how she turns the books out at a rate of roughly one a year.
In any event, the plots just keep on coming and they're all so good that the books are actually worth buying, to re-read and to savor.
This time it's Bennie Rosato (managing and only partner of the firm Rosato and Associates) who has a stalker. Last book featured newest associate Anne Murphy and her stalker. But Bennie soon figures out that her evil twin Alice is back in town, getting ready for round two. And this time she even gets Bennie's beloved golden retriever Bear and manages to do serious damage to Bennie's house. How Bear survives and whether or not the house does is just something to look forward to.
So, Bennie's broke, her house is broken into and she may have to break one of business's credos -- don't dip into your own savings or mortgage to pay employees.
This time the "kids" Mary, Judy and Anne, nurture and tutor their blond mentor -- quite a change of pace, but just what one's come to expect from veteran Scottoline. The character roster is always evolving and the writing is always delicious.
Take the time to see how the twin is caught and rehabilitated, the dog's rescue invites a Navy Seal with a suspicious past in as body guard and the firm staggers under the weight of no revenue -- that is, until Bennie is injured and unable to work at all and the kids are left to run the store.
And, of course, Mary DeNunzio's old-world Italian parents and their neighbors stir the pasta pot, but it's a device used so cleverly that it never gets old.
Novel #10 arrives with bells on. Keep 'em coming Lisa. And congratulations to the new partners.
Rating:
Summary: Bennie Rosato is in hot water.
Review: Lisa Scottoline's latest legal thriller is "Dead Ringer." It features the sassy, wisecracking Bennie Rosato, owner of an all-female law firm that is headed for bankruptcy. To make matters worse, Bennie's bitter twin sister is stirring up trouble again. Alice Connelly, who was separated from her twin at birth, is posing as Bennie all over town and her antics are giving her sister a reputation for thievery and drunkenness. Bennie may lose everything that she has worked so hard to achieve. How can Bennie salvage her law firm and her reputation? Will Alice's attacks against her sister escalate into violence? Scottoline, as she has in the past, uses her trademark wit to keep the proceedings from becoming too serious. Bennie's escapades are always entertaining and she is even allowed a little romance in this installment. "Dead Ringer" is fast-paced and engrossing, with its only flaw being an ending that is a bit too pat. Bennie Rosato fans will root for their spunky and warm-hearted heroine as she fights to save both her livelihood and her life.
Rating:
Summary: The verdict is -- excellent!
Review: One of Scottoline's best -- my third favorite after Everywhere That Mary Went and Mistaken Identity. With each book in this remarkable series, each of four women lawyers seems to take turns being lead character. While Mary's character was well-developed in Everywhere that Mary Went -- first in the series -- Bennie emerges as the strongest, most complex and most puzzling. Bennie Rosato's all-woman law firm is close to bankruptcy when, out of the blue, a plaintiff introduces the firm to the world of class action suits. When the plaintiff is murdered, Bennie questions the police explanation (second in a series of attacks on visiting foreigners), focusing on her fellow lawyers who are competing for a piece of the large class action pie. Rosato meets the deceased man's family -- all elegantly French and wealthy, including Julien, the stepson graduating Harvard with MBA-JD degrees. While looking for the murderer, she fends off attacks by her twin sister, with the help of a great-looking SEAL on leave, and she deals with the firm's troubled finances with the help of a gay lawyer friend Sam. And the firm's lone secretary -- all Bennie can afford now -- is very, very pregnant. There's a lot going on, but it works. Bennie bounces around from one crisis to the other and Mary even brings in a lawsuit on behalf of neighbors descended from Italians interned in World War II. Judy and Anne appear in cameo roles: Judy's hair is dyed pink and Anne, a Stanford graduate, isn't afraid to use her stunning good looks to advantage. In every book, Scottoline takes us to the edge of what's plausible. Could an amateur like Rosato take on a class action lawsuit? How could a famous lawyer allow her firm to fall into deep financial distress, a breath away from bankruptcy? Two of the "young associates" have quite a bit of experience: in Scottoline's first book, Mary and Judy had just made partner at the esteemed white-shoe firm of Stallings and Webb. Don't they want to be partners? However, I've heard Scottoline speak and I believe everything she narrates could happen. Not likely, but just possible. Scottoline is fascinated by twins: she's a twin and her characters Mary and Bennie are twins. The subplot may stretch our credibility -- but Ann Rule's true crime books have shared even weirder family histories. Scottoline's best at plot and scene. She lovingly evokes Philadelphia and I feel like I'm right in court with Bennie. There are many characters competing for attention and some fade into the background, more outshadowed than ignored. Scottoline's humor is sharp and subtle: I loved the scenes where Bennie's clients complimented the associates on the very qualities that drove Bennie crazy.
And Bennie's dog is very, very real. I for one couldn't put this one down. Professional and classy, like the author and her heroines.
Rating:
Summary: 'Girl' Attorneys Need To Grow Up
Review: This is a good book in the Rosato series, but please, Ms. Scottoline: write the women attorneys as a BIT more mature than seeming as giggly members of a girls club; and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE stop using the silly term 'Eek': such an exclamatory should be history once one passes her 11th birthday, and is overused and inappropriate for supposedly savvy, mature, intelligent professional women. They can have their immature and 'girlish'moments, but they are getting to be a childish annoyance at this point... Eek!
Rating:
Summary: A Great Read
Review: This is an enjoyable, fun book to read. This is a sequence book, and you'll understand and enjoy the storyline much more if you go back and read about Bennie from the beginning. The only downpoint of the book is the ending is shallow. However, the book is amazing enough to carry a flat conclusion. Still making it a must read this summer. Enjoy
Rating:
Summary: Bennie's Back!
Review: We first met Benedetta "Bennie" Rosato in "Legal Tender" and met her twisted sister, Alice Connoly in "Mistaken Identity". Now they're back and relations between them are worse than ever. In fact, Alice is stalking Bennie and wrecking havoc in her already difficult life. Bennie's just won her latest case but her client has filed for bankruptcy and can't pay the bill. her office rent is three months behind and her firm's about to be evicted. Her secretary is about to give birth and Bennie can't provide marternity benefits. Her zany and lovable staff (Mary DiNunzio, Judy Carrier and Anne Murphy) is loyal and suppotive but she is not sure she can meet her payroll much longer. Into her office comes the biggest case of her career. A class action suit worth millions if she can get to be lead council, find the money to pursue it and protect herself from her evil twin's increasingly lethal shenanigans. Bennie attacks her problems with her usual intelligence and humor and with the help of her friends. Sam, the gay attorney who is her best friend, is there to offer financial and legal support. Her staff offers their time and support. She wants to do it on her own. Then she meets ex SEAL David Holland. He wants to protect her. Sam doesn't trust him. Bennie's not sure wether to be afraid or to fall in love with David. It all seems complicated at the start but Lisa Scottoline weaves the threads into a terrific legal drama that keeps you reading well into the night. "Dead Ringer" is a great read.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining Outing featuring Bennie & her evil twin
Review: We might have rated this newest in the fine Bennie Rosata Law Firm series from Lisa Scottoline all the way to five stars but for two factors. First, her evil twin is back from "Mistaken Identity", and all the havoc she wreaks seems to have little or nothing to do with the main plot, thus serving as a frequently irritating distraction. Second, the primary story line is about Bennie fighting to take lead on a class action lawsuit, a very specialized area of legal practice (as demonstrated vividly in Grisham's latest "King of Torts") for which she is really totally unqualified. So much of the proceedings are based on Bennie's bravado in dealing with other lawyers and trying to save the case when her client suddenly turns up quite dead. The law firm is also in financial straits, a threat to closing the door on the fun associates Judy, Mary, and Ann, the leading ladies of previous stories in the series. Even Mary's mother puts in one of her infamous appearances in which she casts her "spell" over Bennie's latest difficulties. Lastly, throw in a mysterious Navy SEAL for a little romantic interest for Bennie, together with a twisty plot, and out pops another enjoyable, often humorous, novel from the Scottoline machine. We admit to being a fan of the series, and look forward to each new addition. While we feel the quality of a few of the novels has varied a bit, this seems to be one of the better ones based on the satisfaction we felt at the end and our anxiety to reach the conclusion in a reasonable hurry. We commend this author to your attention.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed in California
Review: Well...I'm on page 60 and I can't get myself to read on. I went to the bookstore today to find something else to read. So far, the book comes off like an event driven chick flick. The plot....bad twin, good twin, been there, done that. So far, all that is happening is one crisis after another. The protagonist, Bennie, is running around putting out fires, and its boring. I can't seem to get a handle on Bennie's true character. I spent a page and a half reading about pantyhose and pink hair. Even the writing is not as crisp as other books by the author. I've always enjoyed past books by her. Sorry, Lisa, but I'm really disappointed.
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