Final Appeal: Amazon.ca: Lisa Scottoline: Books

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

by Lisa Scottoline

4.0 out of 5 stars (1) CDN$ 9.89

› Explore similar items

Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

Philadelphia lawyer Grace Rossi is a single mother trying to make ends meet by working part-time for the handsome Judge Armen Gregorian in the federal appeals court. Although he is by all accounts happily married, many women carry a torch for him. Grace is no exception, so when Gregorian picks her out of a group of clerks to assist him in researching the infamous Hightower case, she considers herself lucky-maybe even blessed, when their first night on the job turns romantic. But her newfound happiness is shattered when the morning news announces that Gregorian has been found shot, apparently a suicide. Grace, knowing that it has to be murder, immediately takes up the search to find out who is responsible for his death. She encounters help along the away, in the form of a resourceful homeless man who turns out to be an FBI agent in disguise, investigating possible fraud within the court. Scottoline, an Edgar nominee for her first book, Everywhere That Mary Went, has again pulled together an intriguing cast of characters and a smart mystery to make an exciting, action-packed read.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Publishers Weekly

"Scottoline. . .has again pulled together an intriguing cast of characters and a smart mystery to make an exciting, action-packed read." --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

See all Product Description

Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.

First Sentence
At times like this I realize I'm too old to be starting over, working with law clerks. Read the first page

Explore More
Concordance

Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

Tag this product

(What's this?)

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

Customer Reviews

14 Reviews

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

Average Customer Review

2.6 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Why didn't I read the Amazon reader reviews first?, Mar 26 2004

By	Charles A. Allen (Santa Cruz, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Final Appeal Mm (Mass Market Paperback)

I learned long ago to skim through the Amazon reader reviews before I invest a weekend ( or a long rainy afternoon ) in an unknown ( to me ) author. But since my wife brought a paperback copy of "Final Appeal" home, and it WAS cold and raining outside, I took a chance. I now know that I should have walked over to the local library instead and started with one of Scottoline's later ( and presumed much, much better ) offerings. I suggest you do the same; pass this one by and get one of her later mysteries.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

4.0 out of 5 stars My First Scottoline Book, Dec 30 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Final Appeal Mm (Mass Market Paperback)

Despite some of the criticism of this novel, I found "Final Appeal" an altogether enjoyable read. It's told in the first person by Grace Rossi, a single mother working in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as a newly-appointed assistant to the hot chief judge, Armen Gregorian. Just hours after their one-night stand, Armen allegedly commits suicide, but Grace is reluctant to accept this, despite their relationship being just a superficial roll in the hay--or office, in this case. Instead, she spends the duration of the book tracking down his killer, with some help from Shake and Bake (one of my favorite characters), an FBI agent leading a double life as an eccentric raincoat/bonnet-wearing derelict (thus his nickname). As a mystery, "Final Appeal" wasn't very suspenseful (no major life-and-death scares until around the climax), but it was a fast, easy read, which reminded me of some of James Patterson's work. The dialogue was realistic, though the profanity made the characters sound like they were in a high school locker room rather than a courtroom. Still, this was a nice, fluffy legal thriller full of dry wit and humor. I look forward to reading more by Scottoline.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

2.0 out of 5 stars Final Appeal - No Great Appeal to this reader, Oct 2 2003

By	binnsie "binnsie" (Bangkok, Thailand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Final Appeal Mm (Mass Market Paperback)

This book has an explosive beginning with lawyer Grace Rossi being seduced by Chief Judge Armen Gregorian in his office at around 4am. They were working overtime in more ways than one. Yes, they are both adults and past the age of consent but this is a professional relationship between a senior elderly judge and a young lawyer. Is he exploiting her, does he love her, does she love him? So many questions, not just for love struck Grace, but for the reader.

Where will the story go from here? Well, by the time Grace has gone home to bed and woken up a few hours later Gregorian has been found dead with a single bullet in his brain. To everyone but Grace this is suicide. To Grace it is clearly murder. She knows that no one can declare one's love, make love and commit suicide within an hour. However Grace is unable to argue her case to anyone as the evidence for murder seems convincing and after all, Armen is "happily" married to his high profile wife currently fighting for election to political office in the state.

Lisa Scottoline's challenge now is to hold the reader's attention for the final ninety percent of the book. Unfortunately she fails sadly and the major plot is pushed into the background by issues such as Grace's mother, Grace's long vanished father, the personal relationship difficulties of her daughter and the introduction of Gregorian's dog Beatrice who Grace adopts as a link to her late lover. There is little of Scottoline's usual story line where the lady lawyer turns cop under the pressure of perceived personal threat from the unknown. No great threat is presented in this story and consequently the reader has little fear for the heroine's well being. Grace's own belief that Armen was murdered does provide the loose thread for the rest of the story which slowly evolves in between miscellaneous family relationship issues. The major interest line was not maintained and the tale drifted along to a not unexpected conclusion with a confusing cast of several highly unbelievable characters introduced along the way.

This story was a few notches below Scottoline's best and was a frustrating read after the imaginative and wonderful start to the story. In summary then: a brilliant beginning with mouth-watering prospects but a poor ending that couldn't match the expectation.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 14 customer reviews...

Most recent customer reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Fortunately, I didn't give up on Lisa Scottoline...
Final Appeal was the first Lisa Scottoline book that I read. I have to agree with some of the other reviewers here. Read more

Published on Nov 17 2002 by Debra Ackley

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Scottoline's best work
I've read three other Scottoline books and liked all better than this. Of course, this was written when she was a fledgling novelist, so she's learned much from good editors over... Read more

Published on Jun 16 2002 by Claudia Summer