Final Appeal and Lisa Scottoline in Boston

Last month, the Friends of the West Roxbury Library hosted mystery writer, Lisa Scottoline (right), in conversation with Maureen Corrigan, the NPR book critic (left). They chatted about legal thrillers and single motherhood and Lisa’s love of libraries (much appreciation from this audience).  Both were amusing and enjoyable.  Lisa said she has always been an avid reader, starting with Nancy Drew, and reads a lot of suspense fiction as well as many other genres. She joked that being divorced twice and not having a social life means more time to read! She also advised aspiring writers to keep on trying – she got rejected for years before Everywhere That Mary Went was published in 1994. That is about an unappreciated associate (is there any other kind?) in a Philadelphia law firm and was nominated for an Edgar.  That is the major award for crime books.  

I am a big fan of Lisa’s Rosato & DiNunzio series about an all-women law firm in Philadelphia. I own some of these but the only book I could find in a hurry to bring to be autographed was Every Fifteen Minutes, a page turner but somewhat creepy standalone about a sociopath (I wanted to say, “This is not my favorite,” because I am sure it isn’t hers but that would have rude). She has written other non-series books as well – my mother had just read, Loyalty, a historical novel about the rise of the Mafia in Sicily. Lisa was pleased when my mother told her she had enjoyed this lesser known book.

Lisa mentioned a book set in the Third Circuit Appeals Court, which I did not remember reading, so I asked her afterward which book that was and then requested Final Appeal from the library. It was her second book and had some autobiographical elements: Grace Rossi is a single mother of one daughter, working as a law clerk to Chief Judge Armen Gregorian, a charismatic man who makes only a brief appearance in the book, long enough for an illicit night of passion and declaration of love, before he dies very unexpectedly. Grace, vulnerable after a painful divorce and having been the daughter of divorce as well, is devastated but cannot reconcile the man she admired with the official ruling that it is a suicide. She decides to investigate, which (of course) puts herself in danger from the real killer. Almost as bad is her realization that she did not know Judge Gregorian as well as she thought. The appellate court and the characters Grace relies on to solve the mystery – law clerks, legal secretaries, federal marshals, and an undercover FBI agent masquerading as a homeless person – add an unusual and interesting background to the story. Grace is older than the other law clerks, which I identified with, having finished law school at 45 just before beginning my federal clerkship. Also, one of my favorite law professors was on the Third Circuit, Judge Joseph Greenaway, although I now see he has left the bench for private practice.

One of my former publishing coworkers had been Lisa’s publicist at Harper Collins, then left to work for her full time. After the discussion, I asked if Laura still worked with Lisa and she said, not only did Laura still work with her but Laura’s son, now grown up and living in South Boston, was in the audience. It was fun to meet him and it was a reminder of how long I’ve been reading Lisa’s books!

This was my thirtieth book for the Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge. It won the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original in 1995.  You should try one of her books if you do not know her work.

Title: Final Appeal
Author: Lisa Scottoline
Narrator: Kate Burton
Publication: Harper, Audiobook, 1994
Genre: Mystery
Source: Library