Product Description

Mary DiNunzio is a trademark Lisa Scottoline heroine—she's strong, she's smart, and she's got plenty of attitude. In recent years, she's become a big-time business-getter at Rosato & Associates, but the last person she expects to walk into her office one morning—in mile-high stilettos—is super sexy Trish Gambone, her high school rival. Back then, while Mary was becoming the straight-A president of the Latin Club and Most Likely to Achieve Sainthood, Trish was the head Mean Girl, who flunked religion and excelled at smoking in the bathroom.

As it turns out, however, Trish's life has taken a horrifying turn. She's terrified of her live-in boyfriend, who's an abusive, gun-toting drug dealer for the South Philly mob. There's only one problem—Mary remembers the guy from high school too. Unbeknownst to Trish, Mary had a major crush on him.

Then Trish vanishes, a dead body turns up in an alley, and Mary is plunged into a nightmare, one that threatens her job, her family, and even her life. She goes on a one-woman crusade to unmask the killer, and on the way, finds new love in a very unexpected place.

But before the novel's shocking surprise ending, Mary is forced to confront some very uncomfortable truths about her own past, and the profound effects of lifelong love—and hate.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12717 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-01
• Released on: 2008-02-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 368 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Philadelphia attorney Mary DiNunzio, last seen in Killer Smile (2004), agrees to help her high school nemesis, Trish Gambone, at the start of this less than convincing thriller from bestseller Scottoline. Trish, whom Mary used to regard as the quintessential Mean Girl, has turned in desperation to the lawyer, the all-around Most Likely to Achieve Sainthood at St. Maria Goretti High School, because she wants to escape from her abusive, and possibly Mafia-connected boyfriend, Bobby Mancuso. Trish rejects Mary's practical suggestions for dealing with Bobby, but once Trish disappears, Mary finds herself under pressure from other high school classmates as well as people from her old neighborhood who blame her for not doing enough. Mary unwisely hides a connection with Bobby from the Feds, who then shut her out of the search for Trish when they learn of it. Scottoline fans will cheer Mary as she stumbles toward the solution, but others may have trouble suspending disbelief. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From The Washington Post

Most mysteries have at least two plots: the murder or heist or conspiracy that gets things going, and the quest for a solution. Merging these two lines of action isn't always easy, and bad mystery-writing is often marred by coincidences that strain credulity. In Lady Killer, Lisa Scottoline finesses this problem by setting her tale in Italian-American South Philadelphia, where her protagonist, Mary DiNunzio, grew up and where the victims and suspects still live. If someone pops up at a convenient moment, the reader doesn't wince: Everybody knows everybody else in this tightly knit neighborhood.

Mary herself is one of the nabe's success stories: a lawyer who represents injured and wronged parties from families just like her own. She may be a bit chary of standing up for herself (as her best friend at the firm points out, Mary is enough of a rainmaker to deserve a partnership, but she can't seem to persuade the boss of her worth). In the courtroom, however, she's a tiger.

Having come a long way (figuratively) from South Philly, Mary is not pleased when the Mean Girls stop by her office: first Trish Gambone and later her acolytes, Giulia, Missy and Yolanda, all of whom made life hard for nerds like Mary in their years together at St. Maria Goretti High. They're the ones who dated the Big Men on Campus and mocked the kids who studied and took part in square activities like debate and student journalism, but they're now stuck in low-paying jobs and still wearing the miniskirts and excess makeup of their youth, while Mary flourishes. Even so, seeing them makes Mary wonder if she is "the only person who had post-traumatic stress syndrome -- from high school."

Trish drops in on Mary to plead for help in dealing with Bobby, one of those former Big Men, now Trish's boyfriend. Except he has grown up to be a mobster who's in the habit of belting Trish when he gets angry and jealous; he does it craftily, though, giving her blows to the body rather than the face so that she's not a walking billboard for his brutality. Trish is scared that Bobby will carry out his recent threats to kill her, and Mary recommends going to court for a restraining order. Trish vetoes that idea because Bobby has been skimming money from his drug deals, and the notoriety of a court appearance could lead to his being whacked. When Mary can't think of any other solution, Trish walks out of her office in despair.

Shortly afterward, she goes missing, and the other Mean Girls blame Mary for stiffing their friend in her time of need. To make things right, Mary neglects her law practice while chasing leads all over South Philly and beyond.

In the meantime, Mary is getting to know Anthony, a handsome bachelor whose only drawback is that he's gay. This leads to some good quips: "Mary had been on so many blind dates that it was a pleasure to be with a man who had a medical excuse for not being attracted to her." But then new information develops. As Mary and Anthony find themselves having more and more fun together, only the dimmest reader will fail to guess that Anthony's gayness, like Mark Twain's reported death, is greatly exaggerated.

Scottoline brings her characters to vivid life, the two strands of her plot mesh seamlessly, and her sharp sense of humor makes an appearance on almost every page. About the only ingredient missing from her book, however, is a crucial one: suspense. It's a given, of course, that the protagonist/detective will survive in the end, but Mary never runs into any appreciable danger, and her creator fails to impart a sense of menace to the lives of any other characters. Lady Killer ends up being funny and stylish, but almost as cozy as an Agatha Christie novel. That's a hell of a complaint to have to make about a tale of the South Philly mob.

Copyright 2008, The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved.

From AudioFile
Scottoline and Rosenblat team up to bring us another suspenseful mystery featuring Philadephia lawyer Mary DiNunzio. Mary's high school nemesis, Trish, hires her to deal with her abusive husband and then disappears. The husband, once Mary's lover, then turns up dead. Barbara Rosenblat could not have read this any better--her portrayals of Philadelphia Italian-Americans of all ages, a Chinese witness, Trish's anxious friends and mother, and Mary herself, feisty and headstrong, are perfect. Special challenges include a cell phone breaking up and an Indian youngster with learning problems. Scottoline usually ends her scenes with an attention-grabbing sentence. Rosenblat emphasizes these by inserting long pauses to heighten suspense. An enlightening author interview concludes this superb listening experience. J.B.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

Welcome back Mary
After several years, Lisa Scottoline finally brings back Mary DiNunzio and her friends at the law firm of Benny Rosato. And even though Mary still isn't 100% convinced of her skills as a lawyer, she has become somewhat of a rainmaker for her little firm, especailly with the help of all the people from her old neighboorhood. When an old high school nemesis turns up looking to Mary for help, all her childhood angst comes back to haunt her. Unfortunately Trish refuses to take any of Mary's advice, and she ends up missing. Now Trish's friends are on Mary's case to do something, and in order to ease her feelings of letting Trish down, Mary dives head first into finding out what happened. And in the process jeopardizes her job at Rosota and Associates. The book moves along at a fast pace, keeping the reader turning the pages. While I didn't love this book as much as the others, it was great to see Mary and friends back - and Mary once again fighting for what she believes in.

There's Something About Mary!
Lisa's "hook" (to read her books) is delightful characters in her novels, especially her Mary D. series. I dropped one star cause the ending could have been written better (belief index too low).

People who rated this book low probably have difficulty buying in to the character of Mary, who is a current era Mary Poppins and "Virgin" Mary personality. I have no trouble being sold because I've encountered some women in my personal life of 60 some years who have similar personality traits to Lisa's main character, and her mom/dad.

I was born in Philadelphia, and my dad was Italian; so I can relate to Mary's fictional home life with her parents, especially the kitchen scene's - cooking, eating, arguing, lying, guilt tripping, etc.

Not quite a sorority!
Plain, nerdy and smart, Mary DiNunzio was always expected to do well in life but was bullied mercilessly by "The Mean Girls", a group of showy, good looking girls who made her life in High School a sheer hell. Mary is now a successful lawyer and when she is approached by Trish, the leader of the girl pack who tormented her in school, she is amazed to be asked for help and protection against one of the school jocks who is physically abusing Trish. Bobby was a High School hero and is now on the fringes of the Mob, selling dope. He is an abusive drunk who threatens to kill Trish every time he beats her up, but this time she is convinced that he means to murder her on her birthday. Mary tries to convince Trish to go to the police but she disappears before Mary is able to organise some help. It's a terrific read if you enjoy Mob stories which aren't too violent, and full of detail of life in the suburbs of East Philadelphia in the Italian quarter. Lisa Scottoline writes extremely well and is superb at giving the reader the feeling of being one of the locals.