Final Appeal by Lisa Scottoline

Val Penny ♦ February 27, 2014 ♦ 1 Comment

I understand this was the second book that Lisa Scottoline wrote.  She is an American mystery writer.  She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA on 1 July 1955.  She read law at the University of Pennsylvania and practised law in her native city of Philadelphia before starting to write.

I quite enjoyed this one. It is a fast-paced read and I did read it quickly.

In Final Appeal, the love story sub-plot you expect in this kind of novel is there, but it takes a turn out of left field it is does not  follow the path you would expect it to take.  Scottoline’s books are as much about the characters as they are about the mystery.

The main character is a single mother, but does not have typical single mother Issues. She’s divorced. She has a career. She also has a child that she loves, but who spends a lot of time with Grandma because Mummy works.

It was nice not to have to have a sub-plot that spins out of a troubled relationship with the ex-husband. Nor was the reader over burdened by the mother’s angst over being away from her child. Scottoline gives her readers a well-balanced single mother as a simple fact of life. It was quite refreshing.

I also liked the dynamic of the judge’s chambers and enjoyed all the different characters.  However, I felt some of the characters were a little overdrawn, and these felt a bit unrealistic.

The central mystery takes some unravelling.  It was  nice not to have a totally predictable mystery that is too easy to solve. To be honest, in this case, getting lost in the finer points of the mystery was not really a problem. I did not really worry about it because the main resolution was clear.  I enjoyed this book and if you enjoy this genre, I recommend this to you.