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"Brandt argued in his opening that there was no evidence of motive, and reasonable doubt that Stall was the doer, and Stall testified himself."
"That's practically malpractice. What's his side of the story?"
"He said he ran up to the conference room because he heard a shout. He saw Fiona on the floor, god blood on his hands when he covered the wound to try and stop her bleeding, and got his saliva in her mouth when he tried to resuscitate her."
"That's not CPR procedure anymore, is it?"
"No, and he says the cut on his hand happened in the kitchen that night when he cut limes."
"Did the chef testify?"
"Yes but for the Commonwealth. He said that he didn't ask Stall to cut any limes."
"Mary mulled it over as she drove. "So when Stall hears a shout, he goes to see what it is himself? He doesn't tell anyone? He doesn't call security? It does sound fishy. Why doesn't Allegra think that's fishy?" She hit the gas, heading west toward Valley Forge, "How did they prove motive?"
"Mel's opening argued Stall must have tried to push himself on her, and when she resisted, he killed her. If you have blood, skin, hair, saliva, and positive IDs, that's enough evidence of motive."
~~~
By Lisa Scottoline
There's a reason Scottoline is a NYTimes Bestselling Author and if you haven't discovered why, you're missing both fun and tense legal thrillers... Her latest, Accused, has a lot of personal excitement for Mary DiNunzio--she's made a partner in the Rosato and Associates firm...and then her live-in, Anthony Rotunno, proposes, referring to an earlier discussion about "when" she became partner...
Let's just say that Mary had NOT planned on both happening within days...
And then a 13-year-old client walks in to the office--and right into Mary's heart. Not a good thing for a lawyer in general, right? But then again, Mary is an open, friendly, loving individual and usually becomes friends with all her clients...
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| https://soundcloud.com/macaudio-2/accused-audiobook-excerpt Pic found on Scottoline's Facebook site! |
Stall had already been convicted and was serving time for the murder of Fiona, the older daughter of a well-known prominent family...
Allegra was Fiona's sister and believed that they had convicted the wrong man. In fact, she had been writing to him since he was in prison, telling him that she believed he was innocent and, as soon as she had the money, she would work to get him out...
But there was nobody, including her parents, who were interested in reopening the case. It had been hard enough for all of them... Allegra wanted more than just to reopen the case however--she wanted them to find the person who really killed Fiona! And soon there were repercussions endangering Mary and to Allegra who was committed to a mental hospital!
I have to tell you that this is an incredible story, with a unique client that requires extra research on how to handle working for a minor... It was even more intriguing when the client was not only a genius, a bee keeper, and seemingly a wonderful girl, but who was found to also be obsessive-compulsive and had somewhat of a mental health past... Even Judy, Mary's normal partner on cases, began to question whether they should continue the case.
At the same time, I think every single ongoing character, except Mary's twin, had a part in this novel! And Mary's prospective mother-in-law begins creating problems for everybody, including Mary's mother. Then, with Allegra in the hospital, Mary gets her father and the three Tony's involved--supposedly to help with the bees, but actually helping the investigation!
"Mary didn't bother playing the radio, which boasted not only AM but FM and even at speed, the constant chatter of the three Tonys surrounded her on all sides. Her father sat in the passenger seat, and Tony-From-Down-the-Block, Pigeon Tony, and Feet rode in the backseat, jazzed to be on an adventure.
"Feet was saying, "Jesus, Mare, how far out is this place? We been in the car forever."
"We're almost there." Mary glanced at the rearview mirror and caught his eye behind his Mr. Potatohead bifocals.
"What?" Feet shouted, his few wisps of frizzy gray hair blowing in the wind...
"It won't be long now, Feet," Mary shouted back, loud enough to be heard. The traffic was moving quickly out of the city, since the rush-hour commuters were going the other way. The top speed of the Buick was fifty miles an hour, and at this rate they'd be at the post office by the time the bees were writing their wills. "I'd say an hour more, at most."
"An hour?" Feed groaned. "Can we stop again?"
"Do you really need to? We just stopped."
"I do." Feed shrugged with regret. "What can I tell you?"
"I GOTTA STOP, TOO, MARE." Her father looked over, his lower lip puckering. "SORRY. BETWEEN US, WE ONLY GOT A PROSTATE AND A HALF..."
~~~
Ok, I figured that Stall was really not guilty... That's as far as I got! The complexity and possibility of villains in this novel kept me moving from one possible scenario to another but I never really had a solid solution in my mind! Hooray for Lisa Scottoline... She's created a thriller that not only will stump the majority of readers, but slid in some fun and personal love interests that breaks the tension and allows us to get to know these wonderful characters even better!
The ending was simply perfect in all ways! If you haven't enjoyed Scottoline, I highly recommend you try this one! It is one of, or maybe, her best! Enjoy!
GABixlerReviews
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