DiNunzio and Rosato Refuse to Surrender in Lisa Scottoline’s ‘Feared’ [REVIEW]

They may have beat him in court, but now he’s back to get even in Lisa Scottoline’s Feared. (Photo by SalFalko, Flickr)

A firm of women lawyers is targeted by an enemy from their past. What starts out as an irritating lawsuit soon turns into something far more deadly, and suddenly they must save their firm, their lives, and everything they have worked so hard to obtain. But will they be able to do so in time? Find out in Lisa Scottoline’s supercharged new thriller, Feared. 

St. Martin’s Press

Mary DiNunzio and Bennie Rosato are ticked. They’ve been slapped with an outrageous lawsuit by three men they don’t even recognize—three men who say they weren’t hired because they are men. Then, to add insult to injury, their one male employee says there is some validity to the case and threatens to walk.

Mary knows who is really behind this sham of a case: Nick Machiavelli, an attorney who hates to lose. Last time she ran into him, she beat him in court and he simply refused to lose graciously. Instead, he vowed to one day get even and destroy Mary’s firm.

Things quickly go from bad to worse when it becomes evident that Machiavelli will stop at nothing to achieve his goal—even when murder strikes. Now more than ever, Mary is equally determined to stop her foe from hurting the people she cares about, decimating her firm, and finding the killer before he strikes again.

I have not read a Lisa Scottoline novel in a long time, mostly because I haven’t been interested in the storylines. But her latest novel, Feared, is different. Here she shows how two strong women—Bennie Rosato and Mary DiNunzio—react when they are threatened, especially after they break the glass ceiling by successfully forming their own firm with plenty of blood, sweat and tears. As Machiavelli pursues them using every means at his disposal, the ladies rally the troops and stand their ground, even if they do wonder if he can ultimately rob them of everything they have.

Propelled by authentic dialogue, taut suspense, a perplexing mystery, and fascinating characters, Feared is a novel in which Scottoline subliminally asks her readers, “Is it better to be loved or feared?” In a time when the powerful wield their influence without discernment, this novel is a treasure and a gift, one that makes each of us stop and think about the consequences that come when we allow men like Machiavelli to intimidate us. Scottoline’s Feared is a story that confronts bitter truths unabashedly, prompts us to stand up to the fear mongers courageously, and lingers in our minds long after the last page is turned.

Lisa Scottoline
(Photo by April Narby)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lisa Scottoline is a New York Times bestselling writer and Edgar award-winning author of 30 novels, including After Anna, Exposed and Think Twice. There are more than 30 million copies of her books in print in the United States, her work has been published in more than 35 countries, and her thrillers have been optioned for television and film.

She also writes a weekly column with her daughter Francesca Serritella for the Philadelphia Enquirer titled “Chick Wit,” which is a witty and fun take on life from a woman’s perspective.

These stories, along with many other never-before-published stories, have been collected in a New York Times bestselling series of memoirs including their most recent, I Need a Lifeguard Everywhere But the Pool. 

In addition to writing her own work, she reviews popular fiction and non-fiction, and her reviews have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Philadelphia Enquirer.

Lisa has served as president of Mystery Writers of America and has taught a course she developed, “Justice and Fiction,” at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, her alma mater. She is also a regular and much sought after speaker at library and corporate events.

She currently lives on a Pennsylvania farm with an array of disobedient pets, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Visit her home on the Web at Scottoline.com, like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

FEARED
By Lisa Scottoline
400 pgs. St. Martin’s Press. $27.99

Purchase Feared at one of these fine online retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, IndieBound, and Powell’s.