Lisa Scottoline Scores Again!

For readers, is there anything more exciting than a favorite author releasing a new book?  As soon as I learned of Lisa Scottoline’s new release, Think Twice, I was on it. Of course I didn’t have to think twice before ordering from Amazon; I needed to get my hands on this book as soon as possible.

 Do you have a favorite author? More than one? There are only two authors that I “just can’t wait for” when it comes to their next books. One is John Grisham; the other is Lisa Scottoline. I haven’t read every Grisham novel, but I’ve read all 16 of Scottoline’s (I haven’t read it yet, but I have Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog, a collection of her essays). If I had to pick a favorite between the two, I couldn’t. Although they both write about lawyers, and there are some similarities in how they tackle their subjects, they are different enough to make a choice impossible. On a personal level, Scottoline has the edge because her books speak to me in a way that those written by a southern gentleman from Mississippi never can, despite my connection to Mississippi.

 My copy of Think Twice arrived quickly, but unfortunately I had some review commitments I needed to fulfill before I could read it. A few days later, I sat in a waiting room for a few hours while husband Chip suffered through a routine medical procedure. I prepared myself with a diet Snapple and Think Twice. One of those cursed with a short attention span, I brought along my Nintendo DS and some games; when I needed to stop reading, I’d have something else to do. I needn’t have bothered; Think Twice is so engaging, the time waiting flew by.

 I drove Chip home, and he was still groggy from anesthesia. Oh, happy day! He went to sleep and I got to continue Think Twice, which is so captivating even I couldn’t put it down until the end. Ironically, I had been apprehensive about it because it brought back attorney Bennie Rosato’s evil twin sister, Alice Connelly. I was thinking, “How much mileage can you get from the old evil twin device?” Well, the answer is plenty!

Among Bennie’s employees is Mary DiNunzio, another Italian-American from South Philadelphia. Mary’s family has provided quite a bit of material in previous novels, and they are dependable sources of humor and pathos. Her parents are very old country, and I can identify with many of the situations she experiences, having grown up in an Italian-American family (ditto Lisa Scottoline, which is why she so faithfully depicts the family and neighborhood dynamics in her books) not far from South Philly.

 Early in Think Twice, Bennie finds herself drugged and buried alive at the hands of her sister who intends on impersonating Bennie and taking over her life (or, more specifically, her bank accounts). Alice needs an escape from her own life because she has totally screwed up.

 Another early development is the arrival of a visitor to the DiNunzio home; Fiorella is a strega whose “powers” are allegedly stronger than Mary’s mother’s (if you’ve ever been the recipient of the evil eye, you understand). Fiorella is also a very well preserved septuagenarian who is looking for her next husband (she’s had a few). Every Italian family has a Fiorella—a sometimes-distant cousin who is nothing if not unique. No matter how eccentric or odd, these women are revered because who else can remove overlooks, “horns,” or malocchio once they’ve been placed? God forbid they should die, because a powerful strega is a hard commodity to replace.

 Additionally complicating Bennie’s situation are Mary and boyfriend Anthony’s search for a home they can share, the return of Bennie’s ex, Grady, and the question of a partnership for Mary. Scottoline flawlessly interweaves all these stories into a relentlessly gripping novel that grapples with notions of good and evil relevant to the reader as well as to the characters. Incorporating a solid sense of place, she brings Philadelphia and environs to life, right down to local colloquialisms (“I know, right?”).

I admit there are elements in Think Twice that are maybe a little too far-fetched (if you’re not of Italian extraction), and the ending may be a little too pat (though emotionally satisfying), yet I still feel that it’s a great read and highly recommend it. Having thoroughly immersed myself in Think Twice, I again find myself anticipating Lisa Scottoline’s next work.

Bottom Line: Would I buy Think Twice? I did, and I’m glad!