Philadelphia lawyer Bennie Rosato is the head of an all-female law firm. She has taken on her most challenging client, Alice Connolly, a woman accused of killing a police officer, her lover Anthony Della Porta. More importantly, she makes the breathtaking claim that she is Bennie's identical twin. This is plausible, because when Bennie first sees her at the Philadelphia Central Corrections facility, a maximum security prison that is home to a motley collection of murderers and deviants, Alice certainly looks and acts like she's been drawing chromosomes from the same genetic well. Presumably there's one person who could solve this conundrum, and that's the mother who would have borne the two sisters, but unfortunately she's not much help, given her mental illness, and the DNA is not yet back from the lab. So Bennie, with a week's notice, has to decide whether she's going to save her self-professed twin from the botched defence she's been dealt by a less than stellar lawyer. And by the way, this is a capital offence, so an appointment with a needle-wielding executioner is at stake. It's her sister (or is it?) after all, so there's some pretty fantastic legal tactics bandied about to try and deliver the client from her doom, helped along by the biased rulings and demeanor of Judge Harrison Guthrie. Is there a conspiracy in the offing? Was the deceased cop involved in drug dealing? Can Bennie put the highly personal aspects of the case aside and be the dispassionate lawyer she must be? There is every possibility that the accused is in fact Bennie's twin - or maybe she isn't. It's subtle enough to keep you guessing. A real sense of place - Philadelphia comes alive, even if you've never been there (and this reviewer hasn't). There is a strong emphasis on courtroom scenes - and as we always say here at Law4u, we love a good court room scene. The internet gets a few mentions in this novel. Welcome to the modern world. There might be a few too many plot lines at work. The mystery twin; the legal conspiracy; crooked cops; the whodunit; courtroom antics; and the family's mysterious past. The plot's a bit convoluted, and the book could have been trimmed with more judicious editing. "The female John Grisham"; "The female John Grisham"; "The female John Grisham" - is that enough for you? How many times can this catch-phrase be used to push this writer's barrow? Isn't Scottoline a person in her own right? How come John Grisham is not the male Lisa Scottoline? Alice is something of a loud mouth, described by one of our Law4u readers as "crude, lewd and rude", and clearly unlikely to elicit a favourable response from the jury. What do lawyers do in this situation? Under the law in the United States, they don't have to put the defendant on the stand - then again, it is dangerous, because juries always want to see the defendant up there, and have the opportunity to gauge their credibility for themselves. Put yourself in the position of a juror: you've heard a lot about why the defendant is guilty (the prosecution goes first) and perhaps something to suggest that there may be "reasonable doubt". How do you make up your mind? A lawyer would look at it this way: if there is not enough evidence to convict, and the defendant is not going to do a good job in their telling of the story (true or not), why risk it? Usually you would need to be pretty secure in this judgement call before using this strategy, because as we said, the jury might be suspicious and perhaps even angry. In other words, it would not be useful unless the bulk of the evidence clearly favoured an acquittal. What's the situation in Australia? Many people know this issue as the "right to silence" - in fact, it is really a right not to "self-incriminate" - can you remain silent in your own defence? In general yes, but if you are charged with committing a crime, and you provide no reason to suggest otherwise, it can be reasonable for a jury to wonder why you have nothing to say in your defence. The same is true when asked questions at the police station. In Australia, the High Court has clearly stated that there can be no suggestion of guilt by the prosecution merely because a person refused to answer police questions. There is an obvious (and often asked) question that arises from this - if a person has nothing to hide, why would they refuse to answer fair and reasonable questions posed by the police? This argument does not really pass muster. There are any number of reasons a person might not want to answer a question by police when they are entirely innocent. Also, the police have a lot more experience with the interview process than most suspects. People accused of committing a crime are often confused (especially if they didn't do it!) and vulnerable - this can be exploited. Also, there are many elements to a crime that have to be proved by the prosecution, so it is unwise to answer some questions and not others without proper legal advice. It is also dangerous to respond to statements allegedly made by others - e.g. "your mate Harry says you're the one who's responsible for that robbery". This may or may not be true, or may not be exactly what Harry said - in other words, silence is often the wiser course. "Mistaken Identity" is Lisa Scottoline's sixth legal thriller. She is proof of our conviction that the best legal thrillers are written by lawyers, preferably those who have had some trial experience. Lisa has the added knowledge gained as a clerk to Federal and State Judges, so she can claim some real insight into the judicial process and the way that judge's think. Lisa graduated magna cum laude (in other words, she was a star) from the University of Pennsylvania law school, following her graduation with a B.A in English (she studied with the celebrated Phillip Roth). Following her clerkship she joined a top law firm, practising in litigation, in Philadelphia - if you know her books, that will be obvious. From here it's a bit of a Cinderella story. Through personal circumstances she was forced to leave the practice of the law, and facing financial crisis, turned to writing about the law. Clearly this was a massive move in the right direction, and let's face it, there aren't too many lawyers who wouldn't mind swapping the chrome and glass for the best-seller lists. "Everywhere That Mary Went", the product of that difficult labour, was bought by top publisher HarperCollins, and then nominated for the Edgar Award, the most prestigious prize in suspense fiction by the Mystery Writers of America. She lost, but her second novel, "Final Appeal" was nominated for an Edgar the following year - and she won! Lisa's later efforts have included the novels "Running From the Law", "Legal Tender "and "Rough Justice", all of which have been favourably reviewed and gained her an enormous following. Oh, by the way, have we said she's the "female John Grisham"? P.S. The author discovered in mid-life that she had a half-sister who could have beenher twin! "Running from the Law" "Legal Tender" "Rough Justice" We've met some of these characters before, and readers of Lisa's previous novels will be pleased to see the development of the characters and their creator, whose writing style improves with every novel. Alice seems to be the most obvious suspect for the killings, but in her inventive fashion, the author keeps the reader well and truly guessing. Bennie's firm is a fruitful source of suspense for thriller lovers. Not only is it all-female, interesting in itself, but they're specialists in criminal law and have a leaning towards police misconduct cases. Anthony Della Porta, the dead police officer, is a decorated hero, so we know there will be some revelations about his past if the conspiracy theory is going to be helpful to the defence. Like all good thrillers, and particularly important in series novels, she places a fair emphasis on the character development. We're caught between the dueling plots, the dispute about the shared heritage of the lawyer and client, and the trial at the heart of the book. Scottoline doesn't always take the most direct paths between plot points, but she's given herself plenty of room to move (the book is nearing 500 pages) and leaves us without dangling questions and unresolved issues. Nevertheless, the plot might have been a little less convoluted. A pacy page turner by a legal thriller writer at the top of her game. If you liked this book, check out her "Rough Justice" which is perhaps even better and features Bennie in a supporting role. Want us to tell you when we review another book ? Read this: The legal information contained above is intended to be general information about the law. It is not a substitute for legal and other professional advice. Lawscape Communications P/L does not accept responsibility for loss to any person, who either acts or does not act because of this information. |