Think Twice by Lisa Scottline

Title: Think Twice
Author: Lisa Scottoline
Publisher:
St. Martin’s, 2010

If you’re looking for a quick, action packed thriller that will make you laugh as well as cry, this is it.  But just because its a fast read and action-packed doesn’t mean its fluff.  Far from it.  Lisa Scottoline’s latest novel is filled with deep relationship issues, betrayal and revenge, identity theft, the law and money, and the consequences of making decisions based on hope and fear.  All of these revolve around a main question: how far can a good person be pushed before they snap?


In Think Twice one of the primary relationships is between Bennie Rosato and herself.   Bennie is a good person, a hard worker who owns her own well-respected Philadelphia law firm.  A few books ago Bennie discovered that she had a twin who was given up at birth.  Years ago Lisa Scottoline discovered that she had a half sister who was given up at birth.  Lisa’s sister isn’t evil, but Bennie’s twin sister, Alice, is pretty rotten.  In an attempt to save her own life, Alice tries to take over Bennie’s life.  She drugs Bennie and buries her alive.  Bennie’s sense of betrayal and need for revenge pits her against her own better nature.  Bennie is the hero and most readers probably assume that she’ll end up alive at the end of the book.  But will she be the same Bennie?  Will she cross a line to the dark side, take a step from which there is no return? 


Earlier this evening I had a great time at Lisa’s book signing at the Borders in LaGrange, IL.  She had the audience laughing at times and getting teary eyed at others…just like she does in her books.  I’m sitting in Caribou sipping a hot coffee and munching on a Tastykake as I write.  I’m in Chicago and you can’t buy Tastykakes here (yet).  The Tastykake is from Philadelphia, courtesy of Lisa Scottoline.  She always hands them out at her events and I always eat them, even if they are a little on the sweet side for my tastes.  It would be rude to decline.

Think Twice is another winner from Lisa Scottoline.  I love her books and have been a fan for ten years now.  One of my coworkers turned me on to her books and if you’re not already a fan, I hope you’ll give her a try.  Her novels are full of intelligent, humorous, and “real” women–busy women who work hard and deal with family, friends, bosses, colleagues, significant others, kids, and pets.  Some are supremely confident, others are struggling with self-confidence.  If you haven’t read any Scottoline yet, you’re in for a pleasant surprise.  After you read Think Twice, you’ll probably want to go back to the beginning and pick up Lisa’s first novel, Everywhere That Mary Went, and read them in chronological order.  You don’t have to read her novels in chronological order, but it’s interesting to see the characters’ development over time (in the series books, some are stand-alones) and to see Lisa’s growth as a writer.  If you’re already a fan, you’ll be thrilled by the action and growth/change in the relationships between the returning characters of the Bennie Rosato and Associates series. 

Below is a list of Lisa’s books.  The first chapter of each book is available to read on her website.

  • Think Twice, 2010*
  • Why My Third Husband Will Be A Dog, 2009 (nonfiction)
  • Look Again, 2009
  • Lady Killer, 2008*
  • Daddy’s Girl, 2007
  • Dirty Blonde, 2006
  • Devil’s Corner, 2005
  • Killer Smile, 2004*
  • Dead Ringer, 2003*
  • Courting Trouble, 2003*
  • The Vendetta Defense, 2001*
  • Moment of Truth, 2000*
  • Mistaken Identity, 1999*
  • Rough Justice, 1998*
  • Legal Tender, 1997*
  • Running From the Law, 1996
  • Final Appeal, 1995
  • Everywhere That Mary Went, 1994*
*denotes books with characters from Rosato and Associates

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