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After Anna
Dr Noah Alderman, a widower and single father, is finally content after marrying Maggie. And they're both thrilled when Maggie gets an unexpected chance to be a mother to Anna, the daughter she once thought she'd lost forever.
But when seventeen-year-old Anna arrives, everything changes - and the darkest turn of events will shatter their lives in ways no one could have imagined.
But when seventeen-year-old Anna arrives, everything changes - and the darkest turn of events will shatter their lives in ways no one could have imagined.
388 pages, Hardcover
First published April 10, 2018
About the author
Lisa Scottoline
122 books14.5k followersLisa Scottoline is a #1 bestselling and Edgar award-winning author of 33 novels. Her books are book-club favorites, and Lisa and her daughter Francesca Serritella have hosted an annual Big Book Club Party for over a thousand readers at her Pennsylvania farm, for the past twelve years. Lisa has served as President of Mystery Writers of America, and her reviews of fiction and non-fiction have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Philadelphia Inquirer. She also writes a weekly column with her daughter for the Philadelphia Inquirer entitled Chick Wit, a witty take on life from a woman’s perspective, which have been collected in a bestselling series of humorous memoirs. Lisa graduated magna cum laude in three years from the University of Pennsylvania, with a B.A. in English, and cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she taught Justice and Fiction. Lisa has over 30 million copies of her books in print and is published in over 35 countries. She lives in the Philadelphia area with an array of disobedient pets and wouldn’t have it any other way.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 4,675 reviews
March 27, 2018
My reviews can also be seen at: https://deesradreadsandreviews.wordpr...
I’ve read quite a few of Lisa Scottoline’s novels over the years and have always enjoyed them. However, I have to say that I enjoy her stand-alone novels the most. I especially enjoyed her last novel “One Perfect Lie”. And after reading the description for this new domestic thriller, I was really excited to get reading.
Nobody cuts deeper than family...
Maggie and Noah are getting a second chance at a happily ever after. And on top of that, Anna, Maggie’s daughter has come to live with them. Maggie hasn’t seen or spoken to her daughter since she was an infant. Anna is now seventeen years old. Her ex-husband had won custody of Anna at just six months old. But now she’s back and Maggie couldn’t be happier. Finally, her family is complete.
Her stepson and husband are just as happy as Maggie to have Anna come live with them, and at first everything is great. However, it’s not long before there’s a strain in the family, especially between Anna and Noah. Noah thinks that Anna doesn’t like the rules and that she’s manipulating everyone, but Maggie doesn’t see it.
But then disaster strikes….and suddenly Noah is fighting for his freedom. Will he lose the family he cherishes?
But if he didn’t do what he’s accused of…who did?
In my opinion, this was a well-paced and engrossing read that I sped through in just a couple of sittings. The story is told from both Maggie and Noah’s point of view and alternates chapters with Maggie “before” and Noah “after”.
Honestly, I was pretty sure I knew one of the twists early on. However, it didn’t really bother me. In fact, I read even faster because I wanted to see if I was right. And I was right…partially. The rest of it, I would never have guessed. There were a couple of little things that threw me but overall, I really enjoyed this novel. The last few chapters were especially gripping and I was on edge wondering how it was going to work out. I do wish the ending had a little more to it. I think just a few more pages would have been very satisfying.
I'm really looking forward to seeing what Lisa Scottoline comes up with next!
I'd like to thank St. Martin’s Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.
I’ve read quite a few of Lisa Scottoline’s novels over the years and have always enjoyed them. However, I have to say that I enjoy her stand-alone novels the most. I especially enjoyed her last novel “One Perfect Lie”. And after reading the description for this new domestic thriller, I was really excited to get reading.
Nobody cuts deeper than family...
Maggie and Noah are getting a second chance at a happily ever after. And on top of that, Anna, Maggie’s daughter has come to live with them. Maggie hasn’t seen or spoken to her daughter since she was an infant. Anna is now seventeen years old. Her ex-husband had won custody of Anna at just six months old. But now she’s back and Maggie couldn’t be happier. Finally, her family is complete.
Her stepson and husband are just as happy as Maggie to have Anna come live with them, and at first everything is great. However, it’s not long before there’s a strain in the family, especially between Anna and Noah. Noah thinks that Anna doesn’t like the rules and that she’s manipulating everyone, but Maggie doesn’t see it.
But then disaster strikes….and suddenly Noah is fighting for his freedom. Will he lose the family he cherishes?
But if he didn’t do what he’s accused of…who did?
In my opinion, this was a well-paced and engrossing read that I sped through in just a couple of sittings. The story is told from both Maggie and Noah’s point of view and alternates chapters with Maggie “before” and Noah “after”.
Honestly, I was pretty sure I knew one of the twists early on. However, it didn’t really bother me. In fact, I read even faster because I wanted to see if I was right. And I was right…partially. The rest of it, I would never have guessed. There were a couple of little things that threw me but overall, I really enjoyed this novel. The last few chapters were especially gripping and I was on edge wondering how it was going to work out. I do wish the ending had a little more to it. I think just a few more pages would have been very satisfying.
I'm really looking forward to seeing what Lisa Scottoline comes up with next!
I'd like to thank St. Martin’s Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.
April 20, 2018
2.5 stars
I had heard many good things about Lisa Scottoline’s books and so when I was offered an ARC of her latest thriller After Anna , I went into it expecting an intense read. The plot (from the summary) sounded promising and the first 2-3 chapters actually did draw me in, made me interested in the story and wanting to find out what was really going on with Anna’s murder and what Noah’s role was in it. Unfortunately, the story quickly started falling apart for me (I was barely at the 8% mark on my Kindle) and kept going downhill the more I read – by the time I got to the end of the book, the story had become such a tangled mess that I felt like kicking myself for not having DNF’ed this earlier on (especially when I already have a long list of books I still need to get to).
There were so many issues I had with this book, I honestly don’t know where to begin with relaying my thoughts on this one. I guess perhaps I should start with the writing, which was where I first found issue with this book. Most of the book (way too much of it to be honest) consisted of back and forth dialogue between various characters – the “After” sections were mostly about Noah’s trial, with the dialogue centering heavily on the back and forth questioning between lawyers and witnesses, while the “Before” sections had line after line of dialogue between Maggie, Noah, Anna, and other characters, building up the “meat” of the story in terms of how Noah got to the point of standing trial for murder. Dialogue is of course a necessary component of all novels and when it is done well, it can definitely enhance a story and give keen insight into the story’s characters, but when the dialogue is overdone to the extent that it was here, it actually bogs down the story more than anything else. With that said though, the issue I had wasn’t just with the excessive amount of dialogue, but rather, how trite and superficial majority of the dialogue was, to the point that I felt most of it was unnecessary and the story would’ve been more coherent without it. There were some chapters where characters took up pages and pages having long, drawn out, yet repetitive arguments with each other (some of the arguments actually reminded me of the way children argued with each other)…or a character takes several paragraphs, sometimes even several pages, to “get to the point” of what they were trying to say (i.e.: almost all of the conversations between Maggie and Anna). Outside of the dialogue, there was also too much description of “unnecessary minutiae” – details that were not really relevant to the plot and made me wonder why they were included in the first place (i.e. that entire chapter where Maggie and Anna are at the Congreve Inn and we are told what their room looked like, the different things they ate, Anna’s “play-by-play” reaction to the movie they were watching, etc). All of this, combined with the issues with the plot as well as a general frustration with most of the characters (more on both these points this later), made the story feel so tremendously draggy that I found myself skimming a lot, especially at the halfway mark when I started getting increasingly annoyed with the way things were going (or, more appropriately, NOT going) and so resorted to glossing over entire paragraphs – sometimes even entire pages – so that I could get to the end quicker.
In terms of the characters, I didn’t like the way any of them were portrayed, as they all came across as one-dimensional and superficial to me. I was especially irritated with the character of Maggie, who was supposed to be a mature 40-something mother and career woman, yet for nearly 90% of the story that she was in, she acted like a petulant teenager throwing a tantrum each time things didn’t go her way. In fact, in some of the scenes between Maggie and Anna, I actually got confused who was the teenager and who was the mother because they both sounded equally immature. The character of Noah came across as too much of a caricature – perfect husband, perfect father, tall and good-looking, exceedingly intelligent doctor, patient, attentive, loving, basically he was the penultimate “perfect” man whom Maggie obviously adored – but yet, upon one “complaint” from Anna, Maggie goes from loving her husband to automatically hating him and then refuses all attempts at rational thought after that. And of course, Anna was a very stereotypical character, but what irked me most was how blatantly obvious it was from the getgo that something wasn’t right with her, yet Maggie saw absolutely no issues, had absolutely no doubts, even when evidence was staring her in the face. I personally can’t stand characters that are written deliberately stereotypical, especially female characters, so the way both Anna and Maggie were portrayed in this story really got to me.
Where I saw the biggest problem with this story though was in the plot, which honestly had more holes in it than swiss cheese. I had to suspend disbelief for practically the entire book in order to get through it -- the opening chapters were decent but the plot grew more and more outlandish as the story dragged on and by the end, the plot had gotten so out of hand that I really had to question whether I was still reading the same book. One particular section in the second half of the book really made my blood boil (the part where one of the characters accompanies the police on a high profile sting operation – I’m trying to avoid spoilers so being purposely vague here) – the actions of the characters made no sense to me (not just in that one section but throughout the entire story) and it seemed like a lot of the time, drama was being created for drama’s sake. Overall, the entire plot felt forced and with all the holes, the flow of the story was negatively affected to the point that it was a huge struggle to get through the book.
Though I can’t in good conscience recommend this read due to all the issues I had with it, I am obviously the outlier here as there are many others who liked this one, so I would recommend checking out the 4 and 5 star reviews as well before deciding. Also, despite my disappointment with this book, I am still open to reading this author’s other works in the future, as I’ve heard her other works are better, but it’s definitely less of a priority for me at this point.
Received ARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley
I had heard many good things about Lisa Scottoline’s books and so when I was offered an ARC of her latest thriller After Anna , I went into it expecting an intense read. The plot (from the summary) sounded promising and the first 2-3 chapters actually did draw me in, made me interested in the story and wanting to find out what was really going on with Anna’s murder and what Noah’s role was in it. Unfortunately, the story quickly started falling apart for me (I was barely at the 8% mark on my Kindle) and kept going downhill the more I read – by the time I got to the end of the book, the story had become such a tangled mess that I felt like kicking myself for not having DNF’ed this earlier on (especially when I already have a long list of books I still need to get to).
There were so many issues I had with this book, I honestly don’t know where to begin with relaying my thoughts on this one. I guess perhaps I should start with the writing, which was where I first found issue with this book. Most of the book (way too much of it to be honest) consisted of back and forth dialogue between various characters – the “After” sections were mostly about Noah’s trial, with the dialogue centering heavily on the back and forth questioning between lawyers and witnesses, while the “Before” sections had line after line of dialogue between Maggie, Noah, Anna, and other characters, building up the “meat” of the story in terms of how Noah got to the point of standing trial for murder. Dialogue is of course a necessary component of all novels and when it is done well, it can definitely enhance a story and give keen insight into the story’s characters, but when the dialogue is overdone to the extent that it was here, it actually bogs down the story more than anything else. With that said though, the issue I had wasn’t just with the excessive amount of dialogue, but rather, how trite and superficial majority of the dialogue was, to the point that I felt most of it was unnecessary and the story would’ve been more coherent without it. There were some chapters where characters took up pages and pages having long, drawn out, yet repetitive arguments with each other (some of the arguments actually reminded me of the way children argued with each other)…or a character takes several paragraphs, sometimes even several pages, to “get to the point” of what they were trying to say (i.e.: almost all of the conversations between Maggie and Anna). Outside of the dialogue, there was also too much description of “unnecessary minutiae” – details that were not really relevant to the plot and made me wonder why they were included in the first place (i.e. that entire chapter where Maggie and Anna are at the Congreve Inn and we are told what their room looked like, the different things they ate, Anna’s “play-by-play” reaction to the movie they were watching, etc). All of this, combined with the issues with the plot as well as a general frustration with most of the characters (more on both these points this later), made the story feel so tremendously draggy that I found myself skimming a lot, especially at the halfway mark when I started getting increasingly annoyed with the way things were going (or, more appropriately, NOT going) and so resorted to glossing over entire paragraphs – sometimes even entire pages – so that I could get to the end quicker.
In terms of the characters, I didn’t like the way any of them were portrayed, as they all came across as one-dimensional and superficial to me. I was especially irritated with the character of Maggie, who was supposed to be a mature 40-something mother and career woman, yet for nearly 90% of the story that she was in, she acted like a petulant teenager throwing a tantrum each time things didn’t go her way. In fact, in some of the scenes between Maggie and Anna, I actually got confused who was the teenager and who was the mother because they both sounded equally immature. The character of Noah came across as too much of a caricature – perfect husband, perfect father, tall and good-looking, exceedingly intelligent doctor, patient, attentive, loving, basically he was the penultimate “perfect” man whom Maggie obviously adored – but yet, upon one “complaint” from Anna, Maggie goes from loving her husband to automatically hating him and then refuses all attempts at rational thought after that. And of course, Anna was a very stereotypical character, but what irked me most was how blatantly obvious it was from the getgo that something wasn’t right with her, yet Maggie saw absolutely no issues, had absolutely no doubts, even when evidence was staring her in the face. I personally can’t stand characters that are written deliberately stereotypical, especially female characters, so the way both Anna and Maggie were portrayed in this story really got to me.
Where I saw the biggest problem with this story though was in the plot, which honestly had more holes in it than swiss cheese. I had to suspend disbelief for practically the entire book in order to get through it -- the opening chapters were decent but the plot grew more and more outlandish as the story dragged on and by the end, the plot had gotten so out of hand that I really had to question whether I was still reading the same book. One particular section in the second half of the book really made my blood boil (the part where one of the characters accompanies the police on a high profile sting operation – I’m trying to avoid spoilers so being purposely vague here) – the actions of the characters made no sense to me (not just in that one section but throughout the entire story) and it seemed like a lot of the time, drama was being created for drama’s sake. Overall, the entire plot felt forced and with all the holes, the flow of the story was negatively affected to the point that it was a huge struggle to get through the book.
Though I can’t in good conscience recommend this read due to all the issues I had with it, I am obviously the outlier here as there are many others who liked this one, so I would recommend checking out the 4 and 5 star reviews as well before deciding. Also, despite my disappointment with this book, I am still open to reading this author’s other works in the future, as I’ve heard her other works are better, but it’s definitely less of a priority for me at this point.
Received ARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley
December 21, 2020
Parts of this mystery/thriller are very well done. The story is told both Before Anna and After Anna. Anna is Maggie’s daughter who she lost custody of after battling postpartum psychosis, a more serious illness than postpartum depression. That was seventeen years ago, when Anna was just six months old. After Anna’s father dies in a plane crash, she seeks out Maggie, who is thrilled to take Anna from the boarding school she hates and have her move in with her husband of two years, Noah, and her ten-year-old stepson.
The parts where Noah is on trial and we don’t yet know what his sentence will be or what his involvement with Anna's death might be were stressfully taut. There were a few places that were less successful, however. The ending had lots of twists and turns, but from what I know of the law and the prison system, things suddenly work incredibly fast in a system that to my knowledge does not move swiftly like that. Also, the dialogue between Maggie and her girlfriend did not ring true to me at all.
This is a decent thriller, but not Scottoline’s best (and I'm a fan). Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to review this novel. RELEASE APRIL 10, 2018.
For more of my reviews, please visit: http://www.theresaalan.net/blog
The parts where Noah is on trial and we don’t yet know what his sentence will be or what his involvement with Anna's death might be were stressfully taut. There were a few places that were less successful, however. The ending had lots of twists and turns, but from what I know of the law and the prison system, things suddenly work incredibly fast in a system that to my knowledge does not move swiftly like that. Also, the dialogue between Maggie and her girlfriend did not ring true to me at all.
This is a decent thriller, but not Scottoline’s best (and I'm a fan). Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to review this novel. RELEASE APRIL 10, 2018.
For more of my reviews, please visit: http://www.theresaalan.net/blog
April 20, 2018
Four spectacular ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (and a half)
Oh my gosh I loved this book!!
Noah and Maggie have a quaint marriage, raising Noah’s son Caleb. Sadly, Maggie has a gaping hole in her heart where her own daughter Anna once was. Sometime ago, Maggie’s ex-husband took Anna as an infant and she hasn’t seen or heard from her dear daughter since...until now.
From out of the blue, Maggie receives a phone call from Anna and she’s on cloud nine! Before long the two are meeting for a reunion lunch. And within no time at all, Anna is moving in. But it quickly appears that dear Anna may have her own reasons for wanting to reach out to her mother. And maybe this new family isn’t all she wanted after all.
The answer to everything that went wrong in their lives was...After Anna.
Told in two timelines. Before-Maggie’s POV, and After-Noah’s POV. The story-lines glides back and forth effortlessly. I never had a bit of difficulty following along.
I’ve always been a huge fan of Lisa Scottoline, having read nearly every book she’s released. And this is definitely one of my favorites! If you’re a fan of hers this is a must read! And if you’ve never read one of her books, don’t put it off! This would be a great one to start with!
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Lisa Scottoline for an ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
For this review and our full Traveling Sister review please visit Brenda’s and Norma’s fabulous blog:
https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com/
Oh my gosh I loved this book!!
Noah and Maggie have a quaint marriage, raising Noah’s son Caleb. Sadly, Maggie has a gaping hole in her heart where her own daughter Anna once was. Sometime ago, Maggie’s ex-husband took Anna as an infant and she hasn’t seen or heard from her dear daughter since...until now.
From out of the blue, Maggie receives a phone call from Anna and she’s on cloud nine! Before long the two are meeting for a reunion lunch. And within no time at all, Anna is moving in. But it quickly appears that dear Anna may have her own reasons for wanting to reach out to her mother. And maybe this new family isn’t all she wanted after all.
The answer to everything that went wrong in their lives was...After Anna.
Told in two timelines. Before-Maggie’s POV, and After-Noah’s POV. The story-lines glides back and forth effortlessly. I never had a bit of difficulty following along.
I’ve always been a huge fan of Lisa Scottoline, having read nearly every book she’s released. And this is definitely one of my favorites! If you’re a fan of hers this is a must read! And if you’ve never read one of her books, don’t put it off! This would be a great one to start with!
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Lisa Scottoline for an ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
For this review and our full Traveling Sister review please visit Brenda’s and Norma’s fabulous blog:
https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com/
February 10, 2018
Can broken shards of glass ever fit together again?
Maggie Ippoliti shuffles the pieces of her past life and compares them to what she perceives as solid ground in her present life. She has remarried after a painful relationship with her first husband, Florian. Because she suffered from postpartum psychosis, her baby Anna was placed in the custody of Florian who lives in Lyon, France. Although she has not seen Anna for seventeen years, Maggie goes on to structure happiness with her new husband, Noah, and his young son, Caleb. Noah is a pediatric allergist with a thriving practice. All is well until it no longer is.
News arrives that Florian has been killed in a plane crash. Anna, who attends a private girls' academy in Maine, has made overtures that she wishes to live with Maggie now and become part of her family. The story opens with Maggie in a whirlwind trying to make up for lost time with her daughter. Noah accommodates the new addition to the family to keep peace. Maggie continues to overlook the glaring signposts that there's plenty of passive-aggressive behavior going on here. Love sometimes tends to blur the edges into something almost unrecognizable.
Lisa Scottoline creates a hornets' nest of activity in After Anna. I joyfully turned pages as each character was paraded in front of us. The chapters shifted back and forth from "before" into trial logs involving Dr. Noah Alderman. A dastardly crime has been committed and Noah faces murder in the first degree. I'm in......
But then the storyline begins to take a nosedive with plot holes large enough to drive an SUV through. The trial banter was intense (which I enjoyed), but it didn't hold up as we entered into the aftermath. For whatever my opinion is worth, I felt like the hostess was shoving our coats and hats at us before dessert was served. There seemed to be a mass exodus at the end with a wrap-up on cyclone spin. Heavy explanations for what just zipped by. The first half of the book was buzzing along just fine. It almost felt like a hand-off to another writer like a relay race. Very strange.
Please note that After Anna is still quite the read. I encourage you to read it. Others have rated it 4 and 5 stars. I still would be open to her next offering. My nose pressed against the window saw it otherwise. Too many of those broken shards to fit together again.
I received a copy of After Anna through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to St. Martin's Press and to Lisa Scottoline for the opportunity.
Maggie Ippoliti shuffles the pieces of her past life and compares them to what she perceives as solid ground in her present life. She has remarried after a painful relationship with her first husband, Florian. Because she suffered from postpartum psychosis, her baby Anna was placed in the custody of Florian who lives in Lyon, France. Although she has not seen Anna for seventeen years, Maggie goes on to structure happiness with her new husband, Noah, and his young son, Caleb. Noah is a pediatric allergist with a thriving practice. All is well until it no longer is.
News arrives that Florian has been killed in a plane crash. Anna, who attends a private girls' academy in Maine, has made overtures that she wishes to live with Maggie now and become part of her family. The story opens with Maggie in a whirlwind trying to make up for lost time with her daughter. Noah accommodates the new addition to the family to keep peace. Maggie continues to overlook the glaring signposts that there's plenty of passive-aggressive behavior going on here. Love sometimes tends to blur the edges into something almost unrecognizable.
Lisa Scottoline creates a hornets' nest of activity in After Anna. I joyfully turned pages as each character was paraded in front of us. The chapters shifted back and forth from "before" into trial logs involving Dr. Noah Alderman. A dastardly crime has been committed and Noah faces murder in the first degree. I'm in......
But then the storyline begins to take a nosedive with plot holes large enough to drive an SUV through. The trial banter was intense (which I enjoyed), but it didn't hold up as we entered into the aftermath. For whatever my opinion is worth, I felt like the hostess was shoving our coats and hats at us before dessert was served. There seemed to be a mass exodus at the end with a wrap-up on cyclone spin. Heavy explanations for what just zipped by. The first half of the book was buzzing along just fine. It almost felt like a hand-off to another writer like a relay race. Very strange.
Please note that After Anna is still quite the read. I encourage you to read it. Others have rated it 4 and 5 stars. I still would be open to her next offering. My nose pressed against the window saw it otherwise. Too many of those broken shards to fit together again.
I received a copy of After Anna through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to St. Martin's Press and to Lisa Scottoline for the opportunity.
March 24, 2021
I enjoyed the plot of this story very much and wanted to know just what was happening because the book did a good job of hiding exactly where it was going. At first it was difficult to adjust to the difference in Maggie's chapters and Noah's chapters but once I became used to them, it was an interesting way to learn what had already happened and what was happening. The last part of the book did seem a little strange because I don't see law enforcement allowing Maggie to insert herself into an ongoing police event and the manner in which the guards at the prison addressed Noah, didn't ring true. I do not think guards would be calling a convicted murderer, Doctor, once he's in prison. Over all, I wanted to keep reading the book to find out the fate of this person named Anna.
This was a Kindle Unlimited selection.
Published April 10th 2018
This was a Kindle Unlimited selection.
Published April 10th 2018
May 19, 2018
After Anna by Lisa Scottoline is a 2018 St. Martin’s Press publication.
Riveting courtroom drama, taut suspense, and emotional family drama-
When Maggie’s estranged seventeen- year old daughter, Anna, calls out of the blue, hoping to reconnect, Maggie is over the moon. As it turns out, Anna’s father has died, making Anna a very wealthy young woman, but she is utterly alone in the world. Maggie, of course, immediately invites Anna to move in with her and her new husband, Noah, and his son. Maggie would finally have the complete family she had always longed for.
But, things go awry almost immediately when Anna and Noah clash, exposing large cracks in the veneer of Maggies's perfect family. But, as tense as things have become between Maggie and Noah, as strained as their marriage has become, Maggie never could have imagined a day when her husband would stand trial for the murder of her only child. Did Noah cross a line with Anna? Did he murder her?
Lisa Scottoline is usually pretty solid, and I enjoy most of her books. But, I really found myself caught up on this one, more so than usual, probably because of the courtroom drama. I haven’t read any clever courtoom scenes, like this one, in so long I felt like I’d found an oasis in a desert. The trial was absolutely fantastic!!
The family drama is interwoven within all the legalese, as Noah recalls the events that led up to his arrest for Anna’s murder.
Although, it didn’t take long for me to figure out what was going on, at least to some extent, I still suspected anyone and everyone along the way of being complicit or involved in some way, which of course, is exactly the way I like it. However, the story almost careened too far off course, in the second half, putting all that carefully crafted momentum at risk. I had to suspend belief a little more than I would like to, but, at the end of the day, I think things evened out enough to give the book a strong finish.
The suspense is taut, not just from a criminal aspect, but from an emotional one, as well.
Relationships are always complex, and this book explores the ways a seemingly perfect marriage and family has vulnerabilities, and be hacked into just like with technology. One has to be on guard at all times for potential malware. Personality traits and certain tendencies can work for us or against us when we are thrown into bizarre, unimaginable circumstances.
Once everything was said and done, I think a few of these characters were much stronger after having faced this type of adversity. Prioritizing what is really important in life is something we can all strive for, but hopefully we won’t have to face such catastrophic challenges before we see the need to keep things in perspective.
Although the story has a few weak spots, one will have to overlook, because the legal aspects were so strong, because I cared about the characters, and because I loved the ending, and the message I gained from this story, I feel this is a strong and entertaining effort from LS.
Riveting courtroom drama, taut suspense, and emotional family drama-
When Maggie’s estranged seventeen- year old daughter, Anna, calls out of the blue, hoping to reconnect, Maggie is over the moon. As it turns out, Anna’s father has died, making Anna a very wealthy young woman, but she is utterly alone in the world. Maggie, of course, immediately invites Anna to move in with her and her new husband, Noah, and his son. Maggie would finally have the complete family she had always longed for.
But, things go awry almost immediately when Anna and Noah clash, exposing large cracks in the veneer of Maggies's perfect family. But, as tense as things have become between Maggie and Noah, as strained as their marriage has become, Maggie never could have imagined a day when her husband would stand trial for the murder of her only child. Did Noah cross a line with Anna? Did he murder her?
Lisa Scottoline is usually pretty solid, and I enjoy most of her books. But, I really found myself caught up on this one, more so than usual, probably because of the courtroom drama. I haven’t read any clever courtoom scenes, like this one, in so long I felt like I’d found an oasis in a desert. The trial was absolutely fantastic!!
The family drama is interwoven within all the legalese, as Noah recalls the events that led up to his arrest for Anna’s murder.
Although, it didn’t take long for me to figure out what was going on, at least to some extent, I still suspected anyone and everyone along the way of being complicit or involved in some way, which of course, is exactly the way I like it. However, the story almost careened too far off course, in the second half, putting all that carefully crafted momentum at risk. I had to suspend belief a little more than I would like to, but, at the end of the day, I think things evened out enough to give the book a strong finish.
The suspense is taut, not just from a criminal aspect, but from an emotional one, as well.
Relationships are always complex, and this book explores the ways a seemingly perfect marriage and family has vulnerabilities, and be hacked into just like with technology. One has to be on guard at all times for potential malware. Personality traits and certain tendencies can work for us or against us when we are thrown into bizarre, unimaginable circumstances.
Once everything was said and done, I think a few of these characters were much stronger after having faced this type of adversity. Prioritizing what is really important in life is something we can all strive for, but hopefully we won’t have to face such catastrophic challenges before we see the need to keep things in perspective.
Although the story has a few weak spots, one will have to overlook, because the legal aspects were so strong, because I cared about the characters, and because I loved the ending, and the message I gained from this story, I feel this is a strong and entertaining effort from LS.
April 10, 2018
4.5 Page Turning Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟.5
I haven’t read a Lisa Scottoline book in quite some time, and I’m not sure why but after reading this book I’m going to go back and pick up some of those I have missed.... this book grab me from the very beginning and did not let go until the bitter end..... A combination of both legal thriller and domestic thriller it was fantastic.... The only reason this book did not get a full five stars is I felt as though the ending was a bit rushed and tied up a little too neatly....
Maggie and Noah have the perfect life.... A beautiful home, fulfilling jobs, and a 10-year-old adorable son Caleb..... The only thing missing from Maggie’s life is her estranged 17-year-old daughter Anna... so when Anna reaches out to her she is beyond thrilled... Anna comes to live with the family and now the happy family of three is a happy family of four, but not for long..... not long after Anna arrives and has caused much tension..... she is found murdered and Noah is charged with her murder.....
Told from alternating points of view between Maggie and Noah... I think I enjoyed Noah’s point of view a bit more.... I loved all the court scenes.... there was so much tension and it kept me on the edge of my seat..... and there were times I wanted to yell at him think about yourself not about Maggie... he was almost too good of a guy..... my heart did break for Maggie.... here is what should be the happiest time in her life the reunion with her daughter.... and things have gone unbelievably wrong.... i’d always say a woman should believe her child and stand by her child no matter what... but this was such a different situation.... she didn’t really know her daughter and she knew her husband, I just couldn’t see a good answer for her in the situation....
Throughout this book I kept trying to figure out what the twist was.... Who murdered Anna and the even bigger question why? And what Game was Anna playing? There of course were plenty of twists and turns none of which I saw coming.... and some of these twists if anybody saw coming then they are clairvoyant.... because they were a little out of left field..... even if some of the parts of the ending of this book were a little unrealistic, I don’t care the book as a whole was fantastic... and it is fiction after all.....
Strongly recommend to all fans of legal thrillers, domestic thrillers,and books that keep you turning the pages as fast as you can!
*** thank you so much to the publisher and Net Galley for a copy of this book ***
Two can keep a secret if one of them is dead
I haven’t read a Lisa Scottoline book in quite some time, and I’m not sure why but after reading this book I’m going to go back and pick up some of those I have missed.... this book grab me from the very beginning and did not let go until the bitter end..... A combination of both legal thriller and domestic thriller it was fantastic.... The only reason this book did not get a full five stars is I felt as though the ending was a bit rushed and tied up a little too neatly....
Maggie and Noah have the perfect life.... A beautiful home, fulfilling jobs, and a 10-year-old adorable son Caleb..... The only thing missing from Maggie’s life is her estranged 17-year-old daughter Anna... so when Anna reaches out to her she is beyond thrilled... Anna comes to live with the family and now the happy family of three is a happy family of four, but not for long..... not long after Anna arrives and has caused much tension..... she is found murdered and Noah is charged with her murder.....
Told from alternating points of view between Maggie and Noah... I think I enjoyed Noah’s point of view a bit more.... I loved all the court scenes.... there was so much tension and it kept me on the edge of my seat..... and there were times I wanted to yell at him think about yourself not about Maggie... he was almost too good of a guy..... my heart did break for Maggie.... here is what should be the happiest time in her life the reunion with her daughter.... and things have gone unbelievably wrong.... i’d always say a woman should believe her child and stand by her child no matter what... but this was such a different situation.... she didn’t really know her daughter and she knew her husband, I just couldn’t see a good answer for her in the situation....
Throughout this book I kept trying to figure out what the twist was.... Who murdered Anna and the even bigger question why? And what Game was Anna playing? There of course were plenty of twists and turns none of which I saw coming.... and some of these twists if anybody saw coming then they are clairvoyant.... because they were a little out of left field..... even if some of the parts of the ending of this book were a little unrealistic, I don’t care the book as a whole was fantastic... and it is fiction after all.....
Strongly recommend to all fans of legal thrillers, domestic thrillers,and books that keep you turning the pages as fast as you can!
*** thank you so much to the publisher and Net Galley for a copy of this book ***
November 14, 2018
I feel like I must have read a different book than a majority of the previous reviewers for I spent a bulk of my time thinking how poorly this book was written. Both the beginning and the ending were ridiculously and unrealistically compressed. Maggie gets a phone call early in the week that her estranged daughter (who thinks Maggie physically abused her as an infant) wants to meet her. The conversation is stilted and fake. They sound like 2 teenage girls who find out they both have crushes on the same One Direction singer (pick a boy band). They meet for dinner that Friday night. After dinner (on a Friday night) Maggie meets with Anna's therapist who completely agrees that Anna should move in with Maggie and her family immediately. What? No therapy sessions for the two of them? No scheduled visits and then weekends, etc? No slow acclimation and getting to know each other? This is not reality. And what about Anna thinking she was abused? Isn't the therapist worried about those thoughts? I could go on but you get the point. Later that same night, Maggie meets Anna's trust attorney. Now he doesn't really have much authority so that wasn't as ridiculous as the therapist. But what time is it at this point? And then the next day they skip home. Oh, wait, I forgot: Maggie called and let her husband know that Anna was coming home with her. Yep! No conversation. He hasn't met her. Totally realistic, right? The story goes on from there. You can read the summary to know how it all goes downhill. Downhill to the ending which was just as unbelievable, contrived, and magically time compressed as the beginning. It really makes me sad to give this 1 star. The previous book I read from Ms. Scottoline I gave 5 stars. I don't get it.
A copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.
A copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.
April 20, 2018
3.5 Stars!
AFTER ANNA by LISA SCOTTOLINE was a fast-paced, interesting, and for the most part an enjoyable read for me but some of the subject matter in regards to how fast things progressed with the characters and their situations just happened a little too quickly for me.
LISA SCOTTOLINE delivers a well-paced and gripping read here which is told from alternating points of view, Before Anna from Maggie’s perspective and After Anna by Noah through trial excerpts. I really enjoyed reading the trial chapters and found them both intense and gripping.
This book really challenged me and honestly nothing really rang true to me and I was constantly trying to figure out what the heck was going on. Then at one point everything kind of clicked in my mind and I was pretty sure I had it all figured out. From that point on I couldn’t read it fast enough to see if my prediction was correct. Well, I was partially correct but would have never of guessed the why though!
There were a few things near the end of the book that did bother me a little bit so I wasn’t totally satisfied with how everything wrapped up but all in all it was an enjoyable read though and I’m glad that I read it. I have read quite a few LISA SCOTTOLINE novels in the past and have really enjoyed them and I will continue to read more in the future. Would recommend!
Thank you so much to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Lisa Scottoline for the opportunity of reading an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review!
Review written and posted on our themed book blog Two Sisters Lost In A Coulee Reading.
https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com
AFTER ANNA by LISA SCOTTOLINE was a fast-paced, interesting, and for the most part an enjoyable read for me but some of the subject matter in regards to how fast things progressed with the characters and their situations just happened a little too quickly for me.
LISA SCOTTOLINE delivers a well-paced and gripping read here which is told from alternating points of view, Before Anna from Maggie’s perspective and After Anna by Noah through trial excerpts. I really enjoyed reading the trial chapters and found them both intense and gripping.
This book really challenged me and honestly nothing really rang true to me and I was constantly trying to figure out what the heck was going on. Then at one point everything kind of clicked in my mind and I was pretty sure I had it all figured out. From that point on I couldn’t read it fast enough to see if my prediction was correct. Well, I was partially correct but would have never of guessed the why though!
There were a few things near the end of the book that did bother me a little bit so I wasn’t totally satisfied with how everything wrapped up but all in all it was an enjoyable read though and I’m glad that I read it. I have read quite a few LISA SCOTTOLINE novels in the past and have really enjoyed them and I will continue to read more in the future. Would recommend!
Thank you so much to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Lisa Scottoline for the opportunity of reading an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review!
Review written and posted on our themed book blog Two Sisters Lost In A Coulee Reading.
https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com
April 8, 2018
After Anna by Lisa Scottoline is a bit of a mix of a legal and domestic thriller. The story actually begins at what one would think would be the end of a book with Noah about to hear the verdict of his trial. The style then takes a before and after take on the murder of Anna with the point of view going between Noah and Maggie.
Noah had been a single father to his young son after the death of his first wife before he met Maggie. The two hit it off and were married with Maggie stepping right in as mother to Noah’s little boy and everything was almost perfect with the exception of Maggie having lost custody to her own daughter.
Years before Maggie had given birth to Anna with her previous husband but after suffering from postpartum psychosis her husband had filed for divorce and taken Maggie to court for custody. With Maggie’s diagnosis she had been declared an unfit mother and hadn’t been able to see her daughter for years.
When Maggie gets a call out of the blue from Anna she’s more than excited that the now seventeen year old Anna wants to be a part of her life. However the good news that Anna is reaching out is overshadowed by hearing Anna’s father and his current wife along with their children had died leaving Maggie to suggest Anna come to live with them.
The events after Anna had arrived in Noah and Maggie’s life had obviously spiraled out of control knowing from the very start that Noah was on trial. As readers are learning all about that time they are also following the murder trial. The tension builds the entire read and stays until the very last page.
For myself I had known Lisa Scottoline was a much loved author having seen great reviews for her work for quite a while now so I was excited to jump into this one and see for myself. Absolutely loving legal thrillers this one was right up my alley combining the legal side with the domestic drama and I found myself flying through the pages.
The writing was good and the story was intriguing however when finished my rating dropped a tad because there were still unanswered questions and I wasn’t quite convinced with the conclusion. In the end I’m rating my first attempt at Lisa Scottoline’s book at 3.5 stars with seeing a ton of potential for a truly amazing read but this one falling a tad short of that in my mind.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/
Noah had been a single father to his young son after the death of his first wife before he met Maggie. The two hit it off and were married with Maggie stepping right in as mother to Noah’s little boy and everything was almost perfect with the exception of Maggie having lost custody to her own daughter.
Years before Maggie had given birth to Anna with her previous husband but after suffering from postpartum psychosis her husband had filed for divorce and taken Maggie to court for custody. With Maggie’s diagnosis she had been declared an unfit mother and hadn’t been able to see her daughter for years.
When Maggie gets a call out of the blue from Anna she’s more than excited that the now seventeen year old Anna wants to be a part of her life. However the good news that Anna is reaching out is overshadowed by hearing Anna’s father and his current wife along with their children had died leaving Maggie to suggest Anna come to live with them.
The events after Anna had arrived in Noah and Maggie’s life had obviously spiraled out of control knowing from the very start that Noah was on trial. As readers are learning all about that time they are also following the murder trial. The tension builds the entire read and stays until the very last page.
For myself I had known Lisa Scottoline was a much loved author having seen great reviews for her work for quite a while now so I was excited to jump into this one and see for myself. Absolutely loving legal thrillers this one was right up my alley combining the legal side with the domestic drama and I found myself flying through the pages.
The writing was good and the story was intriguing however when finished my rating dropped a tad because there were still unanswered questions and I wasn’t quite convinced with the conclusion. In the end I’m rating my first attempt at Lisa Scottoline’s book at 3.5 stars with seeing a ton of potential for a truly amazing read but this one falling a tad short of that in my mind.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/
April 12, 2018
4 kept me reading stars
This was my first book by this author and I have to say that I did like what I read. The story, although it did have a few hiccups at the end, flowed well and kept this reader fully engaged until the last page was read.
Maggie and Noah have recently married. Noah is a doctor and a widowed father of a ten year old son. Maggie, his wife, formerly suffered from postpartum psychosis after the birth of her daughter, Anna, with her first husband. This rare illness causes Maggie to lose custody of her daughter, She also loses any kind of contact with Anna. Anna's father, who had divorced Maggie, is a very wealthy man living in France and as Anna grows she is sent to a boarding school in Maine. However, Anna is searching for her birth mother and when Maggie gets word of her search and connects with her, she travels to the boarding school. to meet her. Anna is so unhappy and lonely at the school that Maggie decides to bring Anna home with her and incorporate her into her fairly new family without consulting her husband.
Anna is seventeen, and due to a fatal accident that happened to her father, she is quite a wealthy girl. One would think that all would go ever so well and that is what Maggie hoped for. However, things start to go downhill very quickly as Anna targets Noah and there develops a "he said, she said" scenario of sexual abuse. As the story continues things get ever worse for Noah and it seems to be up to Maggie to discover the truth. This truth is ever so dark and one that she is not prepared for. Can this family be saved?
This was an exciting domestic thriller that although it had some holes in the story line, kept me quite interested in the outcome.
Thank you to Lisa Scottoline, St Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this riveting novel.
This was my first book by this author and I have to say that I did like what I read. The story, although it did have a few hiccups at the end, flowed well and kept this reader fully engaged until the last page was read.
Maggie and Noah have recently married. Noah is a doctor and a widowed father of a ten year old son. Maggie, his wife, formerly suffered from postpartum psychosis after the birth of her daughter, Anna, with her first husband. This rare illness causes Maggie to lose custody of her daughter, She also loses any kind of contact with Anna. Anna's father, who had divorced Maggie, is a very wealthy man living in France and as Anna grows she is sent to a boarding school in Maine. However, Anna is searching for her birth mother and when Maggie gets word of her search and connects with her, she travels to the boarding school. to meet her. Anna is so unhappy and lonely at the school that Maggie decides to bring Anna home with her and incorporate her into her fairly new family without consulting her husband.
Anna is seventeen, and due to a fatal accident that happened to her father, she is quite a wealthy girl. One would think that all would go ever so well and that is what Maggie hoped for. However, things start to go downhill very quickly as Anna targets Noah and there develops a "he said, she said" scenario of sexual abuse. As the story continues things get ever worse for Noah and it seems to be up to Maggie to discover the truth. This truth is ever so dark and one that she is not prepared for. Can this family be saved?
This was an exciting domestic thriller that although it had some holes in the story line, kept me quite interested in the outcome.
Thank you to Lisa Scottoline, St Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this riveting novel.
April 18, 2018
3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.
Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Lisa Scottoline for sending me this e ARC. I enjoyed this book. The book opens with Dr. Noah Alderman on trial for the murder of his stepdaughter, Anna Desroches. The book is divided into 2 narratives, After Anna and Before. In the before, Noah has remarried Maggie, after the death of his first wife. He has a son Caleb. Maggie has a daughter, Anna, who was taken from her by her husband through a divorce caused by her post postpartum depression. She has not seen Anna in 16 years. Then her ex husband Florian dies and Anna calls her. They reunite and Anna moves in with them. Noah and Maggie's marriage falls apart even before Anna is murdered.
The after is what happens after Anna's murder, including the trial and how Maggie finds the killer.
Pros: I liked the story and the characters. The ending resolved all the plot lines. The courtroom scenes were excellent.
Cons: I thought the ending was a little deus ex machina, in that the killer is brought in at the end.
My wife and I both enjoy Scottoline's books.
Some quotes: Maggie, getting Anna's call: "Maggie's throat thickened, and her nose started to bubble, which she hated. She was Queen of the Snotty Cry, which was even uglier than the Ugly Cry."
Noah on Anna: "She may have been seventeen, but she was the most manipulative woman he had ever met."
Noah, being cross examined by the District Attorney during the trial: "Noah realized that Linda was taking him methodically through the damning facts of his case. She was simply dismantling him, the way a butcher breaks apart a chicken carcass, piece by piece, wedging back the legs and wings until the joint breaks, then tearing the limbs off."
Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Lisa Scottoline for sending me this e ARC. I enjoyed this book. The book opens with Dr. Noah Alderman on trial for the murder of his stepdaughter, Anna Desroches. The book is divided into 2 narratives, After Anna and Before. In the before, Noah has remarried Maggie, after the death of his first wife. He has a son Caleb. Maggie has a daughter, Anna, who was taken from her by her husband through a divorce caused by her post postpartum depression. She has not seen Anna in 16 years. Then her ex husband Florian dies and Anna calls her. They reunite and Anna moves in with them. Noah and Maggie's marriage falls apart even before Anna is murdered.
The after is what happens after Anna's murder, including the trial and how Maggie finds the killer.
Pros: I liked the story and the characters. The ending resolved all the plot lines. The courtroom scenes were excellent.
Cons: I thought the ending was a little deus ex machina, in that the killer is brought in at the end.
My wife and I both enjoy Scottoline's books.
Some quotes: Maggie, getting Anna's call: "Maggie's throat thickened, and her nose started to bubble, which she hated. She was Queen of the Snotty Cry, which was even uglier than the Ugly Cry."
Noah on Anna: "She may have been seventeen, but she was the most manipulative woman he had ever met."
Noah, being cross examined by the District Attorney during the trial: "Noah realized that Linda was taking him methodically through the damning facts of his case. She was simply dismantling him, the way a butcher breaks apart a chicken carcass, piece by piece, wedging back the legs and wings until the joint breaks, then tearing the limbs off."
February 26, 2022
After Anna
Lisa Scottoline
MY RATING ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️▫️
PUBLISHER St. Martin’s Press
PUBLISHED April 10, 2018
A consuming and cleverly structured thriller, blending the story of before and after Anna.
SUMMARY
Maggie lost custody of her baby, Anna, when she was only six months old. The two have not seen each other since, and now Anna is 17. Maggie had no choice but to move on, She’s found love again and is now happily married to Noah Alderman, a widower. Maggie adores Caleb, Noah’s son, and they have quite the perfect life. But everything changes when Maggie gets a call from Anna, who is now a high school student, parked in an elite boarding school in Maine. Once they meet, Anna surprisingly says wants to live with Maggie, and Maggie is beyond thrilled to have a second chance with Anna. But when Anna moves in with Maggie, Noah and Caleb chaos ensues. Anna refuses to follow the rules, makes demands and tensions mount. Within weeks of moving in, Anna is dead, she had been strangled. Noah, who found her body is now on trial for her murder. Maggie must not only face losing her daughter, but her husband as well. And then she gets another phone call.
REVIEW
Have you every wanted something so much that you turn a blind eye to what you know and love. That’s what Maggie did. It’s so difficult to read about the implosion of a family. It’s a gut-wrenching story. One that has you scratching your head in wonder. What was Anna really after? There was nothing in Anna‘s character to like, she was a master at manipulation. And Maggie was at her most vulnerable.
Lisa Scottoline is a consummate storyteller, and this story pulses with angst and drama. The focus of each chapter alternates between Noah and Maggie. Noah’s initial chapters (after Anna) are told from the last day of the trial and move backwards in time. Maggie’s chapters (before Anna) start with that fateful phone call from Anna and move forward in time. When at last, the story lines converge in the later part of the book, the pacing abruptly changes. It’s fast and furious, and the twists and turns are insanely intense. Just remember to breathe. While some actions may seem implausible, it’s an adroit page-turning thriller. Lisa Scottoline fans can’t help but love After Anna. Thanks to Netgalley, St, Martin’s Press and Lisa Scottoline for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Lisa Scottoline
MY RATING ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️▫️
PUBLISHER St. Martin’s Press
PUBLISHED April 10, 2018
A consuming and cleverly structured thriller, blending the story of before and after Anna.
SUMMARY
Maggie lost custody of her baby, Anna, when she was only six months old. The two have not seen each other since, and now Anna is 17. Maggie had no choice but to move on, She’s found love again and is now happily married to Noah Alderman, a widower. Maggie adores Caleb, Noah’s son, and they have quite the perfect life. But everything changes when Maggie gets a call from Anna, who is now a high school student, parked in an elite boarding school in Maine. Once they meet, Anna surprisingly says wants to live with Maggie, and Maggie is beyond thrilled to have a second chance with Anna. But when Anna moves in with Maggie, Noah and Caleb chaos ensues. Anna refuses to follow the rules, makes demands and tensions mount. Within weeks of moving in, Anna is dead, she had been strangled. Noah, who found her body is now on trial for her murder. Maggie must not only face losing her daughter, but her husband as well. And then she gets another phone call.
REVIEW
Have you every wanted something so much that you turn a blind eye to what you know and love. That’s what Maggie did. It’s so difficult to read about the implosion of a family. It’s a gut-wrenching story. One that has you scratching your head in wonder. What was Anna really after? There was nothing in Anna‘s character to like, she was a master at manipulation. And Maggie was at her most vulnerable.
Lisa Scottoline is a consummate storyteller, and this story pulses with angst and drama. The focus of each chapter alternates between Noah and Maggie. Noah’s initial chapters (after Anna) are told from the last day of the trial and move backwards in time. Maggie’s chapters (before Anna) start with that fateful phone call from Anna and move forward in time. When at last, the story lines converge in the later part of the book, the pacing abruptly changes. It’s fast and furious, and the twists and turns are insanely intense. Just remember to breathe. While some actions may seem implausible, it’s an adroit page-turning thriller. Lisa Scottoline fans can’t help but love After Anna. Thanks to Netgalley, St, Martin’s Press and Lisa Scottoline for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
April 27, 2018
I've enjoyed some of Lisa Scottoline's books. And this one started off strong. But I found that it really unraveled about two thirds of the way in.
The book starts with two alternating points of view and two separate timelines. One timeline moves backwards, and starts with the conclusion of Noah's trial who is found guilty of murdering his stepdaughter Anna. The second timeline starts earlier, moving forward, and is told from Noah's wife Maggie's perspective. Two thirds in, the timeline switches and Noah is in jail and Maggie gets a clue that Noah may not be guilty after all. At that point, I felt that the story turned on a dime. There was one reveal that I had anticipated, but the rest felt grotesque and farcical. Noah's experience in jail seemed over the top. Maggie's new found power's of detection were beyond unrealistic, and the outcome didn't really fit with the rest of the story.
I don't say this lightly, but in the end I felt that Scottoline trivialized some pretty important issues. This is unfortunate because I have often found that Scottoline does a good job of dealing with tough issues.
I'm still giving it three stars because I liked the first part, and I especially liked the backward moving depiction of Noah's trial. It was really well done. I just wish Scottoline had found something different to do with the denouement.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.
The book starts with two alternating points of view and two separate timelines. One timeline moves backwards, and starts with the conclusion of Noah's trial who is found guilty of murdering his stepdaughter Anna. The second timeline starts earlier, moving forward, and is told from Noah's wife Maggie's perspective. Two thirds in, the timeline switches and Noah is in jail and Maggie gets a clue that Noah may not be guilty after all. At that point, I felt that the story turned on a dime. There was one reveal that I had anticipated, but the rest felt grotesque and farcical. Noah's experience in jail seemed over the top. Maggie's new found power's of detection were beyond unrealistic, and the outcome didn't really fit with the rest of the story.
I don't say this lightly, but in the end I felt that Scottoline trivialized some pretty important issues. This is unfortunate because I have often found that Scottoline does a good job of dealing with tough issues.
I'm still giving it three stars because I liked the first part, and I especially liked the backward moving depiction of Noah's trial. It was really well done. I just wish Scottoline had found something different to do with the denouement.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.
August 7, 2022
This is my first read by Lisa Scotoline After Anna is a mystery suspense that I am not sure I enjoyed, I found the synopsis good & writing was excellent but couldn’t get into the characters for me it was slow to start with & never-picked up .
I enjoyed the storyline as it was heart wrenching & very sad especially for Maggie, my heart went out to her as for Noah Maggie’s husband his back story was very involved & as for Anna she had her own agenda this was a beautifully written novel that tugged at my heartstrings
The book was told before Anna Maggie & After Anna Noah POV,s which I found difficult to follow let’s just say for me this was a very slow 🔥 burn I am not sure if this author is for me.
I enjoyed the storyline as it was heart wrenching & very sad especially for Maggie, my heart went out to her as for Noah Maggie’s husband his back story was very involved & as for Anna she had her own agenda this was a beautifully written novel that tugged at my heartstrings
The book was told before Anna Maggie & After Anna Noah POV,s which I found difficult to follow let’s just say for me this was a very slow 🔥 burn I am not sure if this author is for me.
April 20, 2018
Norma and I were lost in the dense lush coulee with Kaceey reading After Anna and even though we ended up in the same coulee we were on different sides of the coulee on how much we enjoyed this one.
After Anna is an entertaining, fast-paced and suspenseful domestic thriller that had us running in circles in the coulee trying to figure out who was manipulating who in this story. Norma at times struggling to escape the circle and Kaceey and I just going with the flow until that great twist tossed out of the circle.
We all loved that great twist that only Norma saw coming and we thought we figured out at least what direction this story was going only to be taken totally out of the coulee and into a different direction wondering if we were reading the same book. The ending high in drama stopped us in our tracks and then separated us in different sides of the coulee. Kaceey in the greener side, Norma feeling a little parched in the drier side and me in the middle wondering what just happened.
Published April 10, 2018
Thank you, NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Lisa Scottoline for a copy to read and review.
Review written and posted on our themed book blog Two Sisters Lost In A Coulee Reading.
https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com
Coulee: a term applied rather loosely to different landforms, all of which refer to a kind of valley.
After Anna is an entertaining, fast-paced and suspenseful domestic thriller that had us running in circles in the coulee trying to figure out who was manipulating who in this story. Norma at times struggling to escape the circle and Kaceey and I just going with the flow until that great twist tossed out of the circle.
We all loved that great twist that only Norma saw coming and we thought we figured out at least what direction this story was going only to be taken totally out of the coulee and into a different direction wondering if we were reading the same book. The ending high in drama stopped us in our tracks and then separated us in different sides of the coulee. Kaceey in the greener side, Norma feeling a little parched in the drier side and me in the middle wondering what just happened.
Published April 10, 2018
Thank you, NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Lisa Scottoline for a copy to read and review.
Review written and posted on our themed book blog Two Sisters Lost In A Coulee Reading.
https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com
Coulee: a term applied rather loosely to different landforms, all of which refer to a kind of valley.
February 10, 2019
In a word this book was disappointing, on many levels. I am a fan of Ms. Scottoline’s having enjoyed “One Perfect Lie” and “Every Fifteen Minutes” is still one of my all time favorite thrillers.
As you all know from the blurb “Noah Alderman, a doctor and a widower, has remarried a wonderful woman, Maggie, and for the first time in a long time he and his son are happy. But their lives are turned upside down when Maggie’s daughter Anna moves in with them. Anna is a gorgeous seventeen-year-old who balks at living under their rules though Maggie, ecstatic to have her daughter back, ignores the red flags that hint at the trouble that is brewing. Events take a deadly turn when Anna is murdered and Noah is accused of the crime”
First off, a huge chunk of this novel takes place in the courtroom and if you are not a fan of the lawyer/inquisition style, as I am not, you probably won’t enjoy this very much. I found myself reading very quickly just to get to the meat of the story. Perhaps she was combining the courtroom drama from her Rosato and Associates books into this novel?
Secondly, the characters, in my opinion, were not believable, with the exception of Noah’s little son, Caleb, who I think was portrayed realistically. Noah was made to look too perfect of a father and husband. After he remarries Maggie and finds a great home life I could believe that their marriage was probably on a happy track, but no one I know is that perfect of a person as Noah is shown to be. The perfect dad, husband, doctor, etc.
Maggie is a 40 something woman who had a very sad first marriage to a very imperfect, almost detestable man. After having lost so much she is thrilled with Noah as a husband. Much reference is made to the fact that she had a weight problem as a child and as a young woman but that facet of her life was never developed. Perhaps if her character had been better defined I would have found her more believable.
When she gets a call from a daughter whom she has not seen since infancy she rushes to meet her. Within 24 hours she has invited her to live with them, shopped and decorated her room and turned their family life upside down. No alarms went off for her that this young woman just showed up after her father was killed? She has no doubts that this is really her long estranged daughter? She refuses to listen to anything negative said about Anna from the husband who she admittedly adored.
My Kindle hit 77% location in book when things finally started getting interesting. There isn’t a whole lot that I can say without adding spoilers but again, the story that was told was just too far out of what I felt was believable. I would like to think that no one was ever convicted of murder on such circumstantial evidence. There was no absolute proof shown as to Noah’s guilt. The ending just comes out of nowhere and while it addresses a serious issue, it was too little too late for me.
I’m giving it a 2.5 rounded up to a 3 but that unfortunately won’t show up in the ratings. I will still look forward to the next book by this author in the hopes that the next one will be a winner for me.
I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley, thank you.
As you all know from the blurb “Noah Alderman, a doctor and a widower, has remarried a wonderful woman, Maggie, and for the first time in a long time he and his son are happy. But their lives are turned upside down when Maggie’s daughter Anna moves in with them. Anna is a gorgeous seventeen-year-old who balks at living under their rules though Maggie, ecstatic to have her daughter back, ignores the red flags that hint at the trouble that is brewing. Events take a deadly turn when Anna is murdered and Noah is accused of the crime”
First off, a huge chunk of this novel takes place in the courtroom and if you are not a fan of the lawyer/inquisition style, as I am not, you probably won’t enjoy this very much. I found myself reading very quickly just to get to the meat of the story. Perhaps she was combining the courtroom drama from her Rosato and Associates books into this novel?
Secondly, the characters, in my opinion, were not believable, with the exception of Noah’s little son, Caleb, who I think was portrayed realistically. Noah was made to look too perfect of a father and husband. After he remarries Maggie and finds a great home life I could believe that their marriage was probably on a happy track, but no one I know is that perfect of a person as Noah is shown to be. The perfect dad, husband, doctor, etc.
Maggie is a 40 something woman who had a very sad first marriage to a very imperfect, almost detestable man. After having lost so much she is thrilled with Noah as a husband. Much reference is made to the fact that she had a weight problem as a child and as a young woman but that facet of her life was never developed. Perhaps if her character had been better defined I would have found her more believable.
When she gets a call from a daughter whom she has not seen since infancy she rushes to meet her. Within 24 hours she has invited her to live with them, shopped and decorated her room and turned their family life upside down. No alarms went off for her that this young woman just showed up after her father was killed? She has no doubts that this is really her long estranged daughter? She refuses to listen to anything negative said about Anna from the husband who she admittedly adored.
My Kindle hit 77% location in book when things finally started getting interesting. There isn’t a whole lot that I can say without adding spoilers but again, the story that was told was just too far out of what I felt was believable. I would like to think that no one was ever convicted of murder on such circumstantial evidence. There was no absolute proof shown as to Noah’s guilt. The ending just comes out of nowhere and while it addresses a serious issue, it was too little too late for me.
I’m giving it a 2.5 rounded up to a 3 but that unfortunately won’t show up in the ratings. I will still look forward to the next book by this author in the hopes that the next one will be a winner for me.
I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley, thank you.
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November 23, 2018
After Anna
is another great mystery/thriller novel that I've read this year. I was not exactly a fan of this genre but when I have read this book, it is one of the reasons why I included mystery and thriller to my list. What I like about it is that it will make readers make wild guesses about what's really happening. From beginning till the end, readers will never be disappointed because of a lot of unexpected twists were put in the story, especially in the ending. Thanks to the publisher because I was given the chance to read this amazing book by
Lisa Scottoline.
May 7, 2023
Anna, Anna, Anna...she finally has come home to her mother, but what should have been a joyous occasion after seventeen years turns into a nightmare.
Anna and Maggie were apart for seventeen years. Maggie’s husband falsely accused her of abusing their infant daughter and took her away. Anna connected with her mother after her father was killed in a plane crash.
Maggie had remarried and lived with her loving husband, Dr. Noah Alderman. Everyone accepted Anna into the family even though Anna balked at their rules.
AFTER ANNA takes us back and forth in time as we follow the trial that has Dr. Alderman fighting for his freedom, and we are taken back to the days BEFORE Anna's return and DURING Anna’s return home to her mother after seventeen years.
Anna had her mother believing everything she told her whether it was true or not, and Maggie was not believing anything her husband said about Anna.
I didn’t like Anna the moment I met her. Something just told me she was manipulative, cunning, and evil.
Ms. Scottoline has written another fantastic thriller filled with tension that will keep you on the edge of your seat along with characters that you will not like and some that you will want to tell to wake up and see what really is going on.
Everything was PERFECT until Anna arrived.
Do NOT miss reading this book. 5/5
This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.
Anna and Maggie were apart for seventeen years. Maggie’s husband falsely accused her of abusing their infant daughter and took her away. Anna connected with her mother after her father was killed in a plane crash.
Maggie had remarried and lived with her loving husband, Dr. Noah Alderman. Everyone accepted Anna into the family even though Anna balked at their rules.
AFTER ANNA takes us back and forth in time as we follow the trial that has Dr. Alderman fighting for his freedom, and we are taken back to the days BEFORE Anna's return and DURING Anna’s return home to her mother after seventeen years.
Anna had her mother believing everything she told her whether it was true or not, and Maggie was not believing anything her husband said about Anna.
I didn’t like Anna the moment I met her. Something just told me she was manipulative, cunning, and evil.
Ms. Scottoline has written another fantastic thriller filled with tension that will keep you on the edge of your seat along with characters that you will not like and some that you will want to tell to wake up and see what really is going on.
Everything was PERFECT until Anna arrived.
Do NOT miss reading this book. 5/5
This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.
May 21, 2019
Masterful. Deceptive. Scottoline.
What can I say? Scottoline has managed to outwit, outwrite, out-do! She is the master at suspense, psychological thrillers, and most of all the domestic suspense novel. I didn't have an inkling as to the direction this story was headed and not the faintest idea how it would end. If every book could have such trickery, I'd be in heaven. Alas, not every one is that special, however, when you find one of this magnitude, it really makes you appreciate the diamond in the rough. Or the needle in the haystack, what have you.
Maggie and Dr. Noah Alderman are blissfully happy. They are one of those couples that make you cringe, and think "Ugh, why isn't that my relationship?" They are the gold standard of what a marriage should be, of what you expected yours to be. That joyfulness disappears, however, in the blink of an eye. After Anna is introduced into their lives, everything turns upside down and inside out. Now, there is a fine demarcation of events that they will now refer to in their life, for years to come. Before Anna... And... After Anna...
You ALL MUST READ THIS! I have no idea why it took so long for me to, but I am glad I finally did. I was gripped to the pages. This is one of those that you keep saying "just one more page, just one more page." And really, my friends.. is it EVER just one more page?
What can I say? Scottoline has managed to outwit, outwrite, out-do! She is the master at suspense, psychological thrillers, and most of all the domestic suspense novel. I didn't have an inkling as to the direction this story was headed and not the faintest idea how it would end. If every book could have such trickery, I'd be in heaven. Alas, not every one is that special, however, when you find one of this magnitude, it really makes you appreciate the diamond in the rough. Or the needle in the haystack, what have you.
Maggie and Dr. Noah Alderman are blissfully happy. They are one of those couples that make you cringe, and think "Ugh, why isn't that my relationship?" They are the gold standard of what a marriage should be, of what you expected yours to be. That joyfulness disappears, however, in the blink of an eye. After Anna is introduced into their lives, everything turns upside down and inside out. Now, there is a fine demarcation of events that they will now refer to in their life, for years to come. Before Anna... And... After Anna...
You ALL MUST READ THIS! I have no idea why it took so long for me to, but I am glad I finally did. I was gripped to the pages. This is one of those that you keep saying "just one more page, just one more page." And really, my friends.. is it EVER just one more page?
March 16, 2019
A mother who wants to repair the past. A murdered teenage girl. A stepfather accused of murder.
Well, I shall say one thing about Lisa Scottoline, she sure knows how to create a page turner. I have read about seven or eight of her books now and I definitely like the courtroom drama ones the best. The story alternates between defendant Nick during the trial and his wife Maggie before the murder occurs. Although there were a few moments of disbelief on my part, I just couldn't put this one down!
Well, I shall say one thing about Lisa Scottoline, she sure knows how to create a page turner. I have read about seven or eight of her books now and I definitely like the courtroom drama ones the best. The story alternates between defendant Nick during the trial and his wife Maggie before the murder occurs. Although there were a few moments of disbelief on my part, I just couldn't put this one down!
March 20, 2018
Thanks to St. Martin Press for sending me a final copy of After Anna by Lisa Scottoline. The story is told in alternating chapters of Before Anna and After Anna. The After Anna chapters are in a court room setting which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Noah and Maggie are happily married. They both have children from previous marriages. Maggie loves Noah’s son Caleb. Unfortunately, Maggie lost custody to her daughter, Anna, when she was just a baby and has not seen her since. Maggie’s ex-husband, Florian, dies in a plane crash when Anna reaches out to her. She immediately meets with her and learns Anna is very unhappy where she is currently living. Maggie then decides Anna needs to come live with her family.
Maggie is so happy she finally has her daughter back in her life. She has the second chance at being a mom. Everything is perfect until Anna claims Noah has tried to molest her. A few days later Anna is dead.
I don’t know. The first 75% I enjoyed so much. I loved the court room drama. I was honestly rooting for Noah 100%. I liked the twist because I didn’t see it coming. I did not like how far fetched it got in the end. I just sat there like wait, what? Things drastically went in a different direction.
I rate this 3.5 stars!
Noah and Maggie are happily married. They both have children from previous marriages. Maggie loves Noah’s son Caleb. Unfortunately, Maggie lost custody to her daughter, Anna, when she was just a baby and has not seen her since. Maggie’s ex-husband, Florian, dies in a plane crash when Anna reaches out to her. She immediately meets with her and learns Anna is very unhappy where she is currently living. Maggie then decides Anna needs to come live with her family.
Maggie is so happy she finally has her daughter back in her life. She has the second chance at being a mom. Everything is perfect until Anna claims Noah has tried to molest her. A few days later Anna is dead.
I don’t know. The first 75% I enjoyed so much. I loved the court room drama. I was honestly rooting for Noah 100%. I liked the twist because I didn’t see it coming. I did not like how far fetched it got in the end. I just sat there like wait, what? Things drastically went in a different direction.
I rate this 3.5 stars!
March 13, 2018
Noah Alderman and Maggie are married. Everyone is happy, including Noah’s young son. Until Maggie’s lost but not forgotten daughter moves in with them. She is 17 and used to doing her own thing. Then she is murdered. Noah is on trial for the crime he swears he didn’t commit. What is the truth?
The more Lisa Scottoline I read, the less I like her books. Which is disappointing.
The only character I liked in the whole book was Noah, the man on trial for murdering his step-daughter. Maggie was annoying and whiney and entirely too accommodating to her daughter, who clearly respected no one and nothing.
The whole timeline of the story seemed off. The story itself was plodding in many points. Also, it was only a couple of weeks between Anna coming to live with the family and her murder. Yet no one can remember when they didn’t fight? After just 4 days they all need a weekend at the beach where their roles aren’t all set in stone?
And then there were the discrepancies. The trust manager who Anna knew so well even though her dad had just died. Why would a criminal attorney work for a group of allergist doctors? A malpractice attorney, sure. But a criminal one? If Kathy (Maggie’s best friend) is a teacher, how does she meet Maggie every morning for a walk? And, more importantly, how does she take all sorts of time off after the murder and during the trial to take care of and be with Noah’s son? How could Noah throw a punch when he’s handcuffed? It was snowing a lot, but Maggie could see the front of the farmhouse, but the next page there’s too much snow to see anything. Easter candy is a caffeinated treasure?
Also, there were so many plot points that just didn’t make sense to me. I hate to (and never have) written a spoiler in a review. But I have to this time around. So, if you are still wanting to read the book, stop reading this review now!
No law enforcement would let a mom ride along on an ambush of where her daughter might be being held. It just wouldn’t happen. Much less would the law enforcement let the mom get out of the vehicle and run to the scene of the ambush. How did Connie known PG had set up to meet Noah and been able to get there from out of state in time to kill her before Noah arrived? And more than that, why would he kill her before they had their hands on the large inheritance?
It just required too much suspension of disbelief for me in reading a realistic fiction suspense.
However, I do appreciate this book for helping me nail my overall issue with the last few Scottoline books I’ve read: there is too quick and unrealistic a resolution.
The more Lisa Scottoline I read, the less I like her books. Which is disappointing.
The only character I liked in the whole book was Noah, the man on trial for murdering his step-daughter. Maggie was annoying and whiney and entirely too accommodating to her daughter, who clearly respected no one and nothing.
The whole timeline of the story seemed off. The story itself was plodding in many points. Also, it was only a couple of weeks between Anna coming to live with the family and her murder. Yet no one can remember when they didn’t fight? After just 4 days they all need a weekend at the beach where their roles aren’t all set in stone?
And then there were the discrepancies. The trust manager who Anna knew so well even though her dad had just died. Why would a criminal attorney work for a group of allergist doctors? A malpractice attorney, sure. But a criminal one? If Kathy (Maggie’s best friend) is a teacher, how does she meet Maggie every morning for a walk? And, more importantly, how does she take all sorts of time off after the murder and during the trial to take care of and be with Noah’s son? How could Noah throw a punch when he’s handcuffed? It was snowing a lot, but Maggie could see the front of the farmhouse, but the next page there’s too much snow to see anything. Easter candy is a caffeinated treasure?
Also, there were so many plot points that just didn’t make sense to me. I hate to (and never have) written a spoiler in a review. But I have to this time around. So, if you are still wanting to read the book, stop reading this review now!
No law enforcement would let a mom ride along on an ambush of where her daughter might be being held. It just wouldn’t happen. Much less would the law enforcement let the mom get out of the vehicle and run to the scene of the ambush. How did Connie known PG had set up to meet Noah and been able to get there from out of state in time to kill her before Noah arrived? And more than that, why would he kill her before they had their hands on the large inheritance?
It just required too much suspension of disbelief for me in reading a realistic fiction suspense.
However, I do appreciate this book for helping me nail my overall issue with the last few Scottoline books I’ve read: there is too quick and unrealistic a resolution.
April 13, 2018
Give me a novel by Lisa Scottoline any day of the week! I was not disappointed by this latest release.
Maggie and Noah are happily married. This is a second marriage for both. Noah is a successful doctor with a 10-year old boy, Caleb. Maggie has a seventeen-year old daughter, Anna. Maggie lost custody of Anna when she was an infant due to postpartum psychosis which is more severe than postpartum depression. Anna is in a boarding school when she finds out her father’s plane was in a fatal crash killing all on board. She contacts Maggie, her only family member and Maggie is over the moon that she and Anna can be together after all those years. Anna moves in and they are the idyllic family.
The happy family scenario is short lived and takes a tragic turn when Anna is found dead just days after moving in. Noah is on trial for the tragedy. I love courtroom drama and this is tense as we wait for the verdict. The narrative moves back and forth in time from Noah and Maggie. There are plenty of twists and turns in the end in rapid fire succession in a race to answer all those questions floating in my mind.
After Anna is a satisfying page turner that sparks empathy, sadness, anger, and finally happiness. Thank you, Lisa Scottoline, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy.
Maggie and Noah are happily married. This is a second marriage for both. Noah is a successful doctor with a 10-year old boy, Caleb. Maggie has a seventeen-year old daughter, Anna. Maggie lost custody of Anna when she was an infant due to postpartum psychosis which is more severe than postpartum depression. Anna is in a boarding school when she finds out her father’s plane was in a fatal crash killing all on board. She contacts Maggie, her only family member and Maggie is over the moon that she and Anna can be together after all those years. Anna moves in and they are the idyllic family.
The happy family scenario is short lived and takes a tragic turn when Anna is found dead just days after moving in. Noah is on trial for the tragedy. I love courtroom drama and this is tense as we wait for the verdict. The narrative moves back and forth in time from Noah and Maggie. There are plenty of twists and turns in the end in rapid fire succession in a race to answer all those questions floating in my mind.
After Anna is a satisfying page turner that sparks empathy, sadness, anger, and finally happiness. Thank you, Lisa Scottoline, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy.
April 7, 2022
AFTER ANNA was my first Lisa Scottoline book, and I was drawn in by the blurb—a doctor who has recently married for the second time is accused of molesting and murdering his new stepdaughter. He swears he is innocent. Who is lying—the stepdaughter who just arrived in the household weeks before her death, or Noah, her stepfather? This had lots of interesting dynamics—a blended family, with both parents bringing one bio child into the new blended household. A new marriage, which was on solid ground before Anna, Maggie’s daughter who she hasn’t seen since she was an infant arrives. And then there is the complication of Maggie’s past—she suffered from post-partum psychosis when Anna was a baby and lost custody of her to her father. She hasn’t seen Anna in years. After Anna’s father dies, she comes to live Maggie and Noah… but things quickly go bad.
This book was told in dual timelines—before Anna’s death and after—which were mostly scenes during Noah’s trial.
This book was told in dual timelines—before Anna’s death and after—which were mostly scenes during Noah’s trial.
April 3, 2018
It’s no secret I love most books written by Lisa Scottoline and I was thrilled to get this book through the publisher and Goodreads. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This is my 10th book by Ms Scottoline and she never disappoints. This grabbed me from page 1 with a strong start. And holy cow, what a FABULOUS book!!!! If you have not read any of her books ... START WITH THIS ONE!!!!! It has you guessing till the end and I’m still thinking about it which makes for a GREAT book!! This might be my FAVORITE BOOK OF 2018 to date!!!
September 22, 2019
So...I needed a cooling off period after reading this book. Admittedly my feelings and thoughts were all over the place because I couldn't seem to truly believe what I had just read/listened to. The honest truth is that I did not like this book at all. I really tried since it was my first Lisa Scottoline book. When I started reading the large print version from my local library I had a hard time getting into it. The audio version was available so I downloaded it. Listening to the audio while reading the book really helped me. Truthfully, I thought that this would make it a 3 star book for me. Alas, there were just too many issues that I couldn't look past. The issues I had with this book could be broken down to: 1) an over saturation of conveniences in the plot, 2) the characters themselves, and 3) the narrators.
It annoyed me with how many conveniences there were with all the big parts of the plot. A school full of adults and teenagers who are set for the Ivy Leagues never noticed when students went missing. You mean to tell me that rich teenage girls going missing in a rural small-town in Maine who all happened happened to be connected by friendship, activities, and living together in a dorm never seemed odd? Oh, of course not, if they're moody "Goth Wiccans" they must have run away. Oh a minor sent an email to their principal that they never see stating they're leaving school and not to look for them is all it takes to drop out of school? COME ON! What school official in this day in age is going to be that stupid to accept an email from a student as gospel especially when they leave all their stuff in their room? It doesn't matter if the child is considered a wealthy orphan; they could have asked the lawyer who was paying her tuition and is practically family to the girl if she's okay. The court "evidence" was full of these conveniences too. They couldn't prove or disprove much but practically everyone hated Noah, the main male character, so he has to be guilty since he's a "control freak" doctor who is a good looking white male living with a wealthy teen girl. Give me a break! Not all men are cheaters, and sometimes you can trust people as just wanting to help. The plot had moments were everything was just too far fetched that it made it hard believe for a realistic crime. The court scenes were technical and showcase Ms. Scottoline's real-life crime attorney knowledge pretty nicely. My brain was fully focused to absorb laws and legal jargon being used. Once it became Maggie's part though things started making less sense. Since the book switches POVs every chapter this became tiring. I couldn't take anything too seriously because of this back and forth. Also, just because Maggie is an Italian isn't a good enough reason for me to see her as being more emotional than Noah. He had his emotions too. The thing Maggie is is reckless and unable to think for herself, which makes her over emotional and easy to be controlled. Personally, I think using Maggie being Italian was a bit insulting to other Italians as they aren't necessarily going to react and think like Maggie but that's just me.
In truth, I could look past the far fetched incidences if the book has compelling characters. The only character I really liked was the cat and the boy with the speech impediment. Maggie Ippolitti is a selfish bitch whose gullible and stupid. She hasn't seen her daughter since she was 6 months old but has her resign from her high school and moves her to her house in another state THE NEXT DAY... Her husband, Noah, and stepson give no complaints and do everything they can to make her feel like a true part of the family. All of this is fine as long as they don't have any complaints or upsetting truth about her daughter's behavior. The stepson can't bring up a bad incident with Anna for fear of upsetting his stepmom that he loves. When Noah tries to disciple or make Anna take responsibility for her actions because Maggie is afraid of making Anna dislike her Maggie jumps on him for treating her daughter badly. She also complains about how Noah dares to keep bringing up his grief about his 1st wife dying of cancer when she has her guilt and grief about not having a relationship with Anna for most of her life. His past relationship with a younger LEGAL woman of 23 must mean he has "thing for young girls" so of course he had to make sexual advances on Anna. What Anna says is absolute truth because she "feels it in her mother's heart" and teenage girls who is practically a stranger would never lie or manipulate to get what they want. Maggie, sit down and take multiple seats! Despite all she's done nobody can find any fault with her because she's "been through so much." Oh please! Everybody has something but the free pass this woman keeps getting is ridiculous! She's almost 40 yet being treated like a spoiled brat. I’d divorce her and never forgive her if I was Noah. Oddly enough there isn't anything really wrong with Noah. He seems to have the worst luck possible because whether he does the wrong or right thing he'll suffer. It was odd finding no fault with him. He has no anger towards Maggie who wants to divorce him after she helps put him in jail and waits a good while before letting the authorities know of developments that could prove him innocent of murder. She was busy in Maine so it's fine. He gets her back in his bed for cuddles. Noah has no backbone with this woman! I get being in love with someone means you forgive them for mistakes but when that results in someone almost being killed... Pretty sure it's time to move on and find someone else instead of going back to the person who believed you murdered someone and helped put you in prison and destroy your reputation. Maggie's best friend, Kathy, believes everything Maggie and everyone else says and has no original thoughts of her own. It was so annoying how she kept trying to keep Maggie from thinking about multiple ideas at once. Let her develop a brain!
Narrators can make the listening experience better. In a way they did but didn't in this instance. They definitely helped me keep moving forward with this book. If I had just listened or read then I probably would have given up this book regardless of it being a book club pick. These narrators don’t seem to know how to showcase some emotions like surprise or anger, which is bad since this is a murder mystery/court case novel. When Anna was crying and afraid of possibly being raped there was no sense of urgency or upset. Raising your voice is not the same as conveying heavy emotions. If I had to choose I'd say the male narrator did a better job but not by much. Neither would be a narrator I'd actively seek out to listen to.
To wrap up this took long review, I can't say I'd recommend this book. If it interests you then give it a shot but be sure to shut off your brain. This book is somewhere between 1.5 to 2 stars for me. 2 Stars feels generous so I’m going to lean more towards the 1.5 side when it comes to star rating. Not sure if I'll ever read another book by Ms. Scottoline unless I keep getting recommended a book that multiple people tell me I'll love and be interested in. It would have to be something that seems tailor made to peak my interest and I just don't see that happening.
It annoyed me with how many conveniences there were with all the big parts of the plot. A school full of adults and teenagers who are set for the Ivy Leagues never noticed when students went missing. You mean to tell me that rich teenage girls going missing in a rural small-town in Maine who all happened happened to be connected by friendship, activities, and living together in a dorm never seemed odd? Oh, of course not, if they're moody "Goth Wiccans" they must have run away. Oh a minor sent an email to their principal that they never see stating they're leaving school and not to look for them is all it takes to drop out of school? COME ON! What school official in this day in age is going to be that stupid to accept an email from a student as gospel especially when they leave all their stuff in their room? It doesn't matter if the child is considered a wealthy orphan; they could have asked the lawyer who was paying her tuition and is practically family to the girl if she's okay. The court "evidence" was full of these conveniences too. They couldn't prove or disprove much but practically everyone hated Noah, the main male character, so he has to be guilty since he's a "control freak" doctor who is a good looking white male living with a wealthy teen girl. Give me a break! Not all men are cheaters, and sometimes you can trust people as just wanting to help. The plot had moments were everything was just too far fetched that it made it hard believe for a realistic crime. The court scenes were technical and showcase Ms. Scottoline's real-life crime attorney knowledge pretty nicely. My brain was fully focused to absorb laws and legal jargon being used. Once it became Maggie's part though things started making less sense. Since the book switches POVs every chapter this became tiring. I couldn't take anything too seriously because of this back and forth. Also, just because Maggie is an Italian isn't a good enough reason for me to see her as being more emotional than Noah. He had his emotions too. The thing Maggie is is reckless and unable to think for herself, which makes her over emotional and easy to be controlled. Personally, I think using Maggie being Italian was a bit insulting to other Italians as they aren't necessarily going to react and think like Maggie but that's just me.
In truth, I could look past the far fetched incidences if the book has compelling characters. The only character I really liked was the cat and the boy with the speech impediment. Maggie Ippolitti is a selfish bitch whose gullible and stupid. She hasn't seen her daughter since she was 6 months old but has her resign from her high school and moves her to her house in another state THE NEXT DAY... Her husband, Noah, and stepson give no complaints and do everything they can to make her feel like a true part of the family. All of this is fine as long as they don't have any complaints or upsetting truth about her daughter's behavior. The stepson can't bring up a bad incident with Anna for fear of upsetting his stepmom that he loves. When Noah tries to disciple or make Anna take responsibility for her actions because Maggie is afraid of making Anna dislike her Maggie jumps on him for treating her daughter badly. She also complains about how Noah dares to keep bringing up his grief about his 1st wife dying of cancer when she has her guilt and grief about not having a relationship with Anna for most of her life. His past relationship with a younger LEGAL woman of 23 must mean he has "thing for young girls" so of course he had to make sexual advances on Anna. What Anna says is absolute truth because she "feels it in her mother's heart" and teenage girls who is practically a stranger would never lie or manipulate to get what they want. Maggie, sit down and take multiple seats! Despite all she's done nobody can find any fault with her because she's "been through so much." Oh please! Everybody has something but the free pass this woman keeps getting is ridiculous! She's almost 40 yet being treated like a spoiled brat. I’d divorce her and never forgive her if I was Noah. Oddly enough there isn't anything really wrong with Noah. He seems to have the worst luck possible because whether he does the wrong or right thing he'll suffer. It was odd finding no fault with him. He has no anger towards Maggie who wants to divorce him after she helps put him in jail and waits a good while before letting the authorities know of developments that could prove him innocent of murder. She was busy in Maine so it's fine. He gets her back in his bed for cuddles. Noah has no backbone with this woman! I get being in love with someone means you forgive them for mistakes but when that results in someone almost being killed... Pretty sure it's time to move on and find someone else instead of going back to the person who believed you murdered someone and helped put you in prison and destroy your reputation. Maggie's best friend, Kathy, believes everything Maggie and everyone else says and has no original thoughts of her own. It was so annoying how she kept trying to keep Maggie from thinking about multiple ideas at once. Let her develop a brain!
Narrators can make the listening experience better. In a way they did but didn't in this instance. They definitely helped me keep moving forward with this book. If I had just listened or read then I probably would have given up this book regardless of it being a book club pick. These narrators don’t seem to know how to showcase some emotions like surprise or anger, which is bad since this is a murder mystery/court case novel. When Anna was crying and afraid of possibly being raped there was no sense of urgency or upset. Raising your voice is not the same as conveying heavy emotions. If I had to choose I'd say the male narrator did a better job but not by much. Neither would be a narrator I'd actively seek out to listen to.
To wrap up this took long review, I can't say I'd recommend this book. If it interests you then give it a shot but be sure to shut off your brain. This book is somewhere between 1.5 to 2 stars for me. 2 Stars feels generous so I’m going to lean more towards the 1.5 side when it comes to star rating. Not sure if I'll ever read another book by Ms. Scottoline unless I keep getting recommended a book that multiple people tell me I'll love and be interested in. It would have to be something that seems tailor made to peak my interest and I just don't see that happening.
April 6, 2018
4.5 Stars rounded up!
I feel like I needed a really solid mystery/thriller to read as of late. I was excited when I got the chance to read Lisa Scottoline's new book. I was totally engrossed in this book and I read it in just about 24 hours. That's when I know I really liked something. I kept picking it back up just to know what had happened!
We meet Noah and Maggie. They are a happily married couple and they are both married to each other in their second marriages. We find out that Maggie had a child (Anna) with her first husband but was deemed "unfit" to take care of her. It's now been 17 years and every year she celebrates Anna's birthday hoping that she will one day come back to her. One day Anna gets a call out of the blue and so their journey begins. Anna and Maggie have to get to know each other but how does a Mother balance being a Mom after 17 years of her child missing and then also making them feel the most welcome they possibly can?
The other focus of this story is Noah and Anna's relationship. Are there secrets about Noah we don't know about that make Anna feel uncomfortable? Is Anna manipulative? There's a courtcase involving Noah and Anna that plays out that is SUPER interesting (at least to me). I would like to think that what came of the case in the book also happens often in the US Legal system.
I would say the biggest theme that came out of this book is that people may not always be who they seem to be no matter HOW good they are at manipuation....
There's also a large twist at the end, well actually a few. One thing the author did that I loved is she used names to her advantage. You know those names that you assume the gender? Well, this book does a good job tricking you with that which made the twist even better.
I would definitely recommend this book to those who love mystery/suspense novels. It did a great job keeping my interest the whole time. Well done to Lisa Scottoline!
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for sending me an ARC of this novel. Be sure to pick this on up on April 10th when it's published!
I feel like I needed a really solid mystery/thriller to read as of late. I was excited when I got the chance to read Lisa Scottoline's new book. I was totally engrossed in this book and I read it in just about 24 hours. That's when I know I really liked something. I kept picking it back up just to know what had happened!
We meet Noah and Maggie. They are a happily married couple and they are both married to each other in their second marriages. We find out that Maggie had a child (Anna) with her first husband but was deemed "unfit" to take care of her. It's now been 17 years and every year she celebrates Anna's birthday hoping that she will one day come back to her. One day Anna gets a call out of the blue and so their journey begins. Anna and Maggie have to get to know each other but how does a Mother balance being a Mom after 17 years of her child missing and then also making them feel the most welcome they possibly can?
The other focus of this story is Noah and Anna's relationship. Are there secrets about Noah we don't know about that make Anna feel uncomfortable? Is Anna manipulative? There's a courtcase involving Noah and Anna that plays out that is SUPER interesting (at least to me). I would like to think that what came of the case in the book also happens often in the US Legal system.
I would say the biggest theme that came out of this book is that people may not always be who they seem to be no matter HOW good they are at manipuation....
There's also a large twist at the end, well actually a few. One thing the author did that I loved is she used names to her advantage. You know those names that you assume the gender? Well, this book does a good job tricking you with that which made the twist even better.
I would definitely recommend this book to those who love mystery/suspense novels. It did a great job keeping my interest the whole time. Well done to Lisa Scottoline!
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for sending me an ARC of this novel. Be sure to pick this on up on April 10th when it's published!
August 3, 2019
Wowsa!! What a twisted intense thriller! Giving this a whopping 4.5 ☆
My first experience with this author and won’t be my last! It’s amazing - recommend!
My first experience with this author and won’t be my last! It’s amazing - recommend!
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