This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books.

I thought that this book was really good. This is the fifth book in the Rosato & DiNunzio series but it can be easily read as a stand-alone. I have enjoyed all of the books that I have read in this series so far and this book was no exception. I was hooked by this story pretty early on and was really eager to see how things would work out. I am so glad that I finally decided to pick up this book.

Mary DiNunzio agrees to represent a close family friend in a wrongful termination lawsuit. Her friend, Simon, was let go from his job and it seems that it might have a lot to do with the fact that his daughter's illness is costing the company a lot of money due to the way they are insured. She soon learns that her firm often represents the parent company and that there is a conflict of interest in representing Simon but she is determined to do whatever is necessary to make it happen.

I have read several books in this series and expected this book to be told from either Mary or Benny's point of view so I was thrilled to get to see them both take a leading role in the story. It was really interesting to get the chance to get in both of their heads in a case where they don't always agree with each other. I liked that the book had a nice mix of legal maneuvering and action to keep things exciting. There were a lot of twists and turns in this story and it was exciting to see everything develop. The mystery was able to keep me guessing until the very end.

Kate Burton did an excellent job with the narration. I thought that she did a great job with all of the character voices and that she was able to add a lot of excitement to the story. I thought that she had a very pleasant voice and that she read the story at a good pace. I believe that he narration added to my overall enjoyment of the story.

I would recommend this book to fans of legal thrillers. I thought that this was a well-crafted story that kept things exciting and had some feel-good moments. I will definitely be reading more of Lisa Scottoline's work in the future.

I received a digital review copy of this book from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley and borrowed a copy of the audiobook from my local library.

Initial Thoughts
I thought that this was a really good legal thriller. I have enjoyed all of the books that I have read in this series so far and this was no exception. Usually, the books in this series feature either Bennie or Mary as they work to solve a case so I was thrilled to see both of them take the lead in this book, although they were not always working towards the same goal. The case that they are working on was incredibly interesting and just when I thought I had everything figured out things changed and I had no idea where things were going. I listened to the audiobook and thought that Kate Burton did an amazing job with the narration.

I enjoyed this book even though I thought I knew what was going on.  Thinking about this book, what I believe enticed me were the characters and the book’s timeline. I really needed to know the “why” behind the threads of this story, what was the motive?  

When Allie hurt her leg during cross-county tryouts, Sasha came back to help her.  Sasha had never said much to Allie before then, which to me was a red flag.  Sasha points out the two boys, Julian and David, who were in the distance, and wouldn’t you know it, they ended up talking to them.

There seemed to be quite a bit of trauma and drama in the lives of these four teens before they even got together.  Between the four of them, they had a recent divorce, a close family death, one teen already living alone as the parents were never home and one teen who, I thought, was too controlling. These teens become an instant four-some as they hung out together.  I started to dislike a few of them, their attitude and concern for others turned me off.  Looking into the lives of these individuals and their families, I got a good understanding of them and their situations.  I appreciated how the author included this information in the text. 

When Kyle moves into the area, Sasha invites him to hang-out with them.  Imagine that! Oh, did I mention that Kyle is nice to look at. I feel that adding him to the mix isn’t going to be good but I didn’t anticipate what actually occurred.  I have to give credit to Kyle though, he acted smart when he was first approached by the group.  They offered to let him become a member of their gang and Kyle was hesitant. I thought they were all getting along okay but I could feel some tension was building.  Three boys and two girls, that just doesn’t sound like a good combination especially when you add in their personalities. 

They don’t know what went wrong.  At least, that is what they are saying.  The four who fled the area that night, all take that same position.  The one who was left, they don’t even know what happened.  Was this a game or murder? 

We time travel in this book, as the author takes us forward in time.  One of the individuals from that night has now passed away and individuals are gathering for the funeral.  Friends are gathering and reacquainting themselves with one another. Will the three others who were in attendance that night gather and discuss what happened 20 years ago?  Will I learn anything different than what I already know?  The book is not over my friends, it’s only just beginning. 4.5 stars

Thank you, G.P. Putnam’s Sons for sending me an ARC of this book for an honest review. 

This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books.

This was very good! This is the fourth book in the Rosato & DiNunzio but it reads as a stand-alone novel. This is one of those series where you can just jump in at any point. I have read a couple of the previous books in this series and consider myself a fan of Scottoline so I had a pretty good feeling that I would enjoy this one. I was pulled into this story from the start and was eager to see how things would work out. I am so glad that I decided to listen to this book.

The story opens with Mary taking on a new case. At the center of this case is a young boy named Patrick. Patrick is ten years old and lives with his grandfather, who means the world to him. Patrick has dyslexia and is not getting the services that he needs in order to be able to learn to read. He has also been accused of violence against a teacher's aide. Unfortunately, this is the beginning of the problems that Patrick will have to face.

Like Mary, I fell for Patrick pretty quickly. This little guy has not had things easy but he was still such a good attitude. He was frustrated with school but who could blame him. It was really hard not to like Patrick and his grandfather. Mary fought for them very hard and I loved her dedication to the case. I am not sure that most lawyers would go quite as far as Mary did but it did make the story interesting. This was a pretty complex case that seemed to get more involved as the story progressed. There were some pretty exciting moments and a few twists that I did not see coming.

Rebecca Lowman did a fantastic job with the narration of this book. I think that this is the first time that I have had a chance to listen to this narrator's work and I really liked her work. She has a very pleasant voice that I found easy to listen to for hours at a time. I liked the voices that she used for the various characters and thought that she did a good job adding emotion to the story. I would not hesitate to listen to more of her work in the future.

I would recommend this book to others. I really enjoyed this story and thought that it was emotional at times. I felt bad for Patrick and Mary and wanted to see good things happen for them both. I look forward to reading more of Lisa Scottoline's work!

I received a digital review copy of this book from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley and borrowed a copy of the audiobook from my local library.

Initial Thoughts
This was very good. The book captured my interest right away and held on throughout the book. I was surprised by some of the twists that popped up along the way. I found it pretty easy to root for Mary, Patrick, and the other key players because they really were just good people. I listened to the audiobook and thought that the narrator did a fantastic job with the story.

Maggie is happily married to Noah, a widower, and they are happily raising Noah's son/Maggie's stepson Caleb in the suburbs of Philadelphia.  But for roughly 17 years, Maggie's carried a hole in her heart.  Her first husband Florian divorced her when she stopped being useful to him (working and supporting them both during his time in grad school), and he used her post-partum psychosis to have her declared an unfit mother, taking their daughter, at age six months, away from her.  Florian managed to become insanely wealthy by selling an app he'd developed, and he established a jet-set lifestyle based in France.

Out of the blue, Maggie gets a phone call.  The voice on the phone belongs to a young woman, saying she is Anna, wanting to reconnect with Maggie.  Maggie immediately travels to Maine, where Anna has been attending an exclusive boarding school.  It turns out that Florian, along with his second wife and their two young children, died in an airplane accident.  Maggie makes a quick decision:  Anna should come home with her and move in.

A short time afterward, Anna is dead.  Noah stands accused of murdering her.  The book is split into chapters designated "before" and "after" (i.e. before and after the death).  Many of the "after" chapters are devoted to Noah's trial.  Will he be found guilty?  The "before" sections focus on the events leading up to the fateful night when the body is found.

As I read through the alternating chapters, I often held the thought, "Things are not as they seem.  There will be twists."  My main questions were--when will the twists arrive, and what will they be?  Without giving away any secrets, I will say that the primary twist shows up at 75% into the book.  Then the plot speeds up as the twists multiply and the truths come out.  As I was mulling over possible twists early on, I did consider one that was roughly the actual twist--though I didn't anticipate 100% of the details.

The book kept me going, especially once I hit that 75% mark--then I had to keep going until I had all the details.  The ending, to me, was satisfying, albeit a bit rushed.  Going back and forth between Noah's and Maggie's narratives, there were times when the trial portions felt a bit grinding and I wished they could wrap up more quickly.

As an aside, I will mention that having grown up in Philadelphia (and now an expat), I was aware of Lisa Scottoline's books long before I decided to read one.  There were often local news stories about this mystery writer who was local.  I DNFed another Scottoline book that I just couldn't get into, but I don't recall which one.  I enjoyed the references to places in the Philly area.

Yes, irritated again about needing to add a book.  It isn't just that the edition I'm listening to wasn't on Booklikes.  No edition of this book was on Booklikes.  And it was released in 2018.  In April