4-10-2000
Moment of Truth
by Lisa Scottoline
Miss Pym finds that in her old age she likes some of the young things making and breaking the law on television. The spirited Boston attorneys in both "The Practice" and ""Ally McBeal" come to mind. (Hated it when they killed off Billy, even though he looked so silly in his blond phase.)
So it gave me great pleasure to find a spirited, funny lawyer, who's not on the fast track at all in Lisa Scottoline's new book, Moment of Truth (Harper Collins, $25.00.). Herself a Philadelphia lawyer with an Italian Catholic background (now there's guilt like mother used to make!)
Scottoline left a white shoe law firm to stay home and be a Mom-and has used her lawyerly skills in weaving magic plots ever since. An honors graduate from the University of Pennsylvania college and law school, she won an Edgar for her second legal DeNunzio, Final Appeal.
Last year Scottoline even made news when she went on-line to ask the help of her readers in plotting. If this is the book they jointly produced, then she's latched on to some pretty devious, diabolical plotters..
Moment of Truth begins with upper class lawyer Jack Newlin phoning nine one one and confessing that he has murdered his wife Honor Newlin. Convinced that he knows who killed her, and determined to hide the truth, Jack sets up the murder scene to look as if he's the culprit because he's convinced his sixteen year old daughter, Paige, killed her mother. To put the nail in the coffin, Jack phones the hot Philadelphia law firm of Rosato and Associates and hires its most reluctant rookie to defend him.
Unfortunately for Jack, Mary DiNunzio doubts his confession and begins to investigate the murder. What does any good Catholic girl who's also a lawyer do when she discovers she has an innocent client who's falsely proclaiming his guilt? She wades in, habeas corpuses flying, and as an ally has her mother Vita, who's not above waving her wooden spoon at the District Attorney and yelling "You wanna good smack?"
Mary, who's already in love with her client, has to joust with lawyers--the DA, the lawyers from Jack's firm--before she , with the help of a smart black detective-solves the puzzle.
And you know what Philadelphia lawyers are like!
