Legal Tender
(Libby/OverDrive eBook, Kindle)

The heroine of Scottoline's rambunctious fourth legal thriller (after Running from the Law) may change the way readers think about lawyers. Benedetta ("Bennie") Rosato, who narrates, is a ravishing six-foot blonde, one of two partners in a thriving law firm. In quick order, the foundations of her world come crashing down. Her partner and ex-lover, Mark, turns up murdered shortly after he tells Bennie that he is planning to dissolve the partnership. It's not surprising that she then becomes the cops' prime suspect. When the murder weapon is found in her apartment, Bennie goes underground. Then a drug company CEO is killed, and she is falsely accused of that death, too. A hilarious caper ensues as Bennie disguises herself as, variously, a hooker, a bag lady and a lawyer "from the New York office" of a staid old white-shoe firm. In the midst of all her woes, she must also deal with a new boyfriend and a mother who's facing electroshock therapy. The Perry Mason-like ending is a bit strained but doesn't spoil the fun. Bennie, a delightful heroine, deserves an encore; and, again, Scottoline merits a big round of applause. $200,000 combined ad/promo for Legal Tender and the simultaneous HarperPaperbacks edition of Running from the Law; simultaneous HarperAudio; author tour; U.K. and translation rights: Columbia Literary Agency; dramatic rights: Linda Hayes. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

In this latest from Edgar Award winner Scottoline (for Final Appeal as best original paperback), a woman who crusades against police brutality is framed for the murder of her ex-partner (in love and law) and his new flame. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

What's worse than having your ex-lover announce that he's dissolving your law partnership and opening your old office to the associate who's taken your place in bed and bar? How about finding out that the guy's dead, the police like you for the murder, and your defender is a green associate who talked himself into the job while the boys in blue were making the first of many beelines toward you? Next: The murder weapon turns up in Bennie Rosato's apartment; she takes off one step ahead of a warrant; and her last remaining client, a slow-witted, fast-moving animal- rights activist, is implicated in the bombing of a corporate CEO his manic girlfriend and codefendant had threatened to kill. Could things possibly get any worse than this? Yes. Much worse. So much, in fact, that Bennie has hardly a moment to worry about sleeping, eating, or taking care of her ailing mother, who's been locked in her own anguished world for years. But don't despair: Despite ubiquitous newspaper headlines warning of ``RADICAL LAWYER ON KILLING SPREE,'' Bennie stands her ground, more or less, working out an unbelievably ingenious scheme to hide in plain sight in the heart of Center City, and even gets a shot at a new lover (not that circumstances are the most romantic) and some killer clothes. Forget who killed crumbum Mark Biscardi, and all those others. Philadelphia lawyer Scottoline (Running from the Law, 1995, etc.) provides nonstop action, smart narration, and dozens of helpful tips on going underground in your own hometown. ($200,000 ad/promo; author tour)

In this latest from Edgar Award winner Scottoline (for Final Appeal as best original paperback), a woman who crusades against police brutality is framed for the murder of her ex-partner (in love and law) and his new flame. Copyright 1996 Cahners Business Information.

The heroine of Scottoline's rambunctious fourth legal thriller (after Running from the Law) may change the way readers think about lawyers. Benedetta ("Bennie") Rosato, who narrates, is a ravishing six-foot blonde, one of two partners in a thriving law firm. In quick order, the foundations of her world come crashing down. Her partner and ex-lover, Mark, turns up murdered shortly after he tells Bennie that he is planning to dissolve the partnership. It's not surprising that she then becomes the cops' prime suspect. When the murder weapon is found in her apartment, Bennie goes underground. Then a drug company CEO is killed, and she is falsely accused of that death, too. A hilarious caper ensues as Bennie disguises herself as, variously, a hooker, a bag lady and a lawyer "from the New York office" of a staid old white-shoe firm. In the midst of all her woes, she must also deal with a new boyfriend and a mother who's facing electroshock therapy. The Perry Mason-like ending is a bit strained but doesn't spoil the fun. Bennie, a delightful heroine, deserves an encore; and, again, Scottoline merits a big round of applause. $200,000 combined ad/promo for Legal Tender and the simultaneous HarperPaperbacks edition of Running from the Law; simultaneous HarperAudio; author tour; U.K. and translation rights: Columbia Literary Agency; dramatic rights: Linda Hayes. (Nov.) Copyright 1996 Cahners Business Information.