The Barnes & Noble Review
In this Lisa Scottoline thriller, a reckless federal judge with a sordid sex life is forced to track down a murderer before her reputation and career are irrevocably destroyed.
It's only been a few months since 39-year-old Cate Fante has donned the prestigious black robes, and she has quickly made a name for herself as a competent, well-liked, and unusually attractive judge. But no one else knows about her secret sex life, her irrational yearning to go to the sleaziest bars in and around Philadelphia to pick up the sleaziest men she can find. When a highly volatile lawsuit involving an allegedly stolen idea for a television show ends in a murder-suicide, Fante's sexual escapades are laid bare by a police officer who stumbles across a video tape and believes that the judge is somehow involved in murder…
A novel of extreme contrasts, Dirty Blonde adeptly blends the high-powered judicial world with the seedy nocturnal realm of run-down bars and drunken one-night stands. Straddling the line between these two very disparate environments, Fante is a much-flawed protagonist awash in contradictions. Readers, however, will find it virtually impossible not to root for this courageous and determined woman as she stands up to sexist social mores, an indifferent judicial system, merciless paparazzi, a rogue cop, and a heartless killer. Equal parts cold-blooded mystery and steamy erotic thriller, Dirty Blonde is an absolute knockout. Paul Goat Allen
Dirty Blonde
Narrated by Barbara Rosenblat
Lisa ScottolineUnabridged — 10 hours, 26 minutes
Dirty Blonde
Narrated by Barbara Rosenblat
Lisa ScottolineUnabridged — 10 hours, 26 minutes
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Overview
New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline delivers a riveting page-turner about sex and murder, which starts in the elite chambers of a sexy female judge and ends on the cold, gritty streets of Philadelphia.
Cate Fante is strong and smart, but when she gets appointed a federal judge, even she wonders if she can do the job justice. She's in her thirties, and she feels like she's joining the world's most exclusive retirement village. But Cate keeps her doubts a secret. And, as it happens, much else. For she leads a dark, double life that she hides from everyone.
Then a high-profile case in her courtroom explodes into a shocking murder-suicide, and it blasts her cover wide open. Overnight, her new career hangs in tatters. But Cate's troubles are only beginning. An enemy no one anticipated sends her running for her life -- embarking on a journey that begins in the mystery of her own childhood. She'll have to fight her way back to the truth, or die trying.
Dirty Blonde is Lisa Scottoline's most suspenseful and gripping thriller to date. Mixing poignancy with her trademark wit and wonderfully compelling characters, it questions whether law and justice are always the same thing.
Editorial Reviews
As a veteran reader of several Scottoline audios (including Moment of Truth and Devil's Corner), Rosenblat is completely at home with the author's characters and style. She gives the listener a clear sense of newly appointed Federal Judge Cate Fante's brash public presentation as well as her private life, which includes soft spots for a friend's autistic son and for sleazy men. But women judges, like Hebrew National Franks, are held to a higher standard, so Fante finds herself battling her colleagues as well as the bad guys. Rosenblat's pace is near perfect-nimble enough to capture the fast lives of the characters and to propel the reader through this vibrant whodunit, yet always enunciated clearly so that not a single word is lost. Fante's hilariously deadpan asides are perfectly delivered. Rosenblat is such an enthusiastic reader that she even recreates sound effects, such as bullets flying and tires rupturing. With Harper Audio hiding the CD numbers inside the disc's rim, some listeners might wonder "Where am I?" rather than "Who done it?" as they search for the next disk. Altogether, Rosenblat provides an excellent performance of one of Scottoline's best works. Simultaneous release with the HarperCollins hardcover (Reviews, Jan. 23). (Apr.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Cate Fante worries that at 39 she's too young to become a judge. But she's even more worried that a dark life she keeps secret will come out-which, of course, it does. With a one-day laydown; 12-city tour. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Judges who live in glass houses shouldn't mouth off, as the latest of Scottoline's Philadelphia legal eagles learns when her public and private lives collide with a bang. The Honorable Cate Fante is the golden girl of the Eastern District bench, appointed at 39 to one of the most prestigious positions in the American bar. But not even her sharp mind can figure out a way to keep powerful TV producer Art Simone from evading Philadelphia lawyer Richard Marz's clearly meritorious claim that his one-time buddy stole the idea and the leading characters for the wildly successful series Attorneys at Law from Marz. Cate reluctantly decides the case in favor of Simone. But the stern lecture she delivers to the defendant from the bench, which inspires Marz to hurl abuse at him in open court, is a distinct faux pas, as Chief Judge Sherman informs her privately. Actually, it's a hundred times worse. Within two days Simone and Marz are both dead, the first a murder, the second an apparent suicide. As if the resulting notoriety weren't punishment enough, Marz's friend and partner, Detective Frank Russo, threatens to go public with details of Cate's compulsive sexual interludes with lowlife pickups, the latest of whom is also dead. Even worse, Simone's death evidently won't prevent his production company from launching Judges at Court, a new series based on Cate's life, featuring thinly fictionalized versions of not only the besmirched judge but her publicity-shy best friend Gina Katsakis and her autistic son Warren. Can she sue the company to prevent her private life from turning into prime-time drama? Probably not-but if she doesn't, her days as a judge will be numbered. If only the fireworks whichScottoline (Devil's Corner, 2005, etc.) uses to extricate her feisty heroine from her problems were as compelling or believable as the sure-footed mastery with which she plunges her into hot water.
Compelling...sure-footed mastery” — Kirkus Reviews
“Compelling...the fast pace and ever-increasing tension will keep readers turning the pages.” — Publishers Weekly
“Scottoline...renders snappy dialogue and vivid descriptions of her native Pennsylvania in this engaging...suspense about consequences and truths.” — Booklist
“Assured way with dialogue.” — Entertainment Weekly
“Another winner...[a] fast-paced, entertaining yarn....Scottoline is a pro. She knows how to keep the pages turning.” — Philadelphia Inquirer
“Quick-witted.” — Seattle Times
“An explosive novel about legal entanglements that is hard to resist.” — Orlando Sentinel
“Breathless thriller...If a good roller-coaster is what you want, step up and have your ticket punched.” — People
Breathless thriller...If a good roller-coaster is what you want, step up and have your ticket punched.
Another winner...[a] fast-paced, entertaining yarn....Scottoline is a pro. She knows how to keep the pages turning.
Quick-witted.
An explosive novel about legal entanglements that is hard to resist.
Scottoline...renders snappy dialogue and vivid descriptions of her native Pennsylvania in this engaging...suspense about consequences and truths.
Assured way with dialogue.
Scottoline...renders snappy dialogue and vivid descriptions of her native Pennsylvania in this engaging...suspense about consequences and truths.
An explosive novel about legal entanglements that is hard to resist.
"Breathless thriller...If a good roller-coaster is what you want, step up and have your ticket punched."
Scottoline's heroine, Philly Federal Court Judge Cate Fante, is a challenging character for any actress to undertake. Kate Burton is the perfect match for this dark and emotional woman, whose ruling in a notorious case of intellectual property theft, murder, and suicide puts her own life in jeopardy. On the personal side, her secret pastime of picking up men for one-night stands threatens her career. Burton deftly controls the breathless action, including a hot-and-heavy motel encounter with a lover. Burton sounds tough when she needs to be but easily softens into a caring-sounding woman. This isn't the first time out for the Scottoline-Burton duo. We can only hope it won't be the last. M.T.B. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940172922213 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HarperCollins Publishers |
| Publication date: | 03/28/2006 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
| Sales rank: | 1,228,863 |
Read an Excerpt
Dirty Blonde
By Lisa Scottoline
HarperCollins
ISBN: 0-06-074290-9Chapter One
Six months later, Cate sat in her high-backed chair atop the dais, waiting to start the day's session. The courtroom was packed, and she hid her anticipation behind a professional mask, which was turning out to be a job requirement. The jury trial had taken all last week, but today was the only day that counted, like the final two minutes in a basketball game.Sixers-Hornets. It was on at the bar last night. Wonder who won.
Cate shifted behind the slippery wall of stacked pleadings in front of her. She hadn't slept well last night and was relying on her concealer, but was otherwise in full costume: synthetic black robes, dark blond hair in a judicial chignon, a swipe of pink gloss on her lips, and neutral makeup on largish, blue eyes. Finally the courtroom deputy flashed Cate a wink.
Showtime. Cate gestured to plaintiff's counsel. "Mr. Temin, let's begin. I assume that plaintiff continues his testimony this morning."
"Yes, Your Honor." Nathan Temin was a roly-poly lawyer with the paunch of a much older man and a dark suit that begged to be ironed, worn with equally unruly black hair. Still, Cate knew better than to judge a trial lawyer by his cover. She had dressed down for court many times. Prada didn't win jury verdicts.
"Excellent." Cate nodded. "Fire when ready."
"Thank you, Your Honor." Temin hustled to the podium with a Bic pen and a legal pad, then pressed down his suit with apudgy hand. He greeted the jury and turned to his client, already rising from counsel table. "Mr. Marz, please take the stand."
Richard Marz walked to the witness stand, and necks craned from the gallery. Reporters scribbled away, and sketch artists switched to their flesh-toned chalk. The Eastern District of Pennsylvania didn't allow cameras in the courtroom, for which Cate thanked God and Chief Judge Sherman.
"Good morning, Your Honor," Marz said in his soft-spoken way, sitting down after he was sworn in. He was barely thirty years old, and his baby-blue eyes showed litigation strain. He smiled tightly, his lips taut as a rubber band, and he ran a finger-rake through muddy-brown curls that sprouted from under a crocheted yarmulke. A dark suit jacket popped open over his white shirt, and his striped tie hung unevenly. Everybody knew that people looked like their dogs, but Cate thought they looked like their lawyers.
"Good morning, Mr. Marz." She smiled at Marz in a professional way, feeling subterranean sympathy for his position. He was claiming that a powerful TV producer had stolen his idea for a series about Philadelphia lawyers and developed it into the cable blockbuster Attorneys@Law. In this battle between David and Goliath, Marz held the slingshot.
At the lectern, Temin tugged the black bud of a microphone down to his height. "Now, Mr. Marz, you testified last week that you had two meetings with Mr. Simone, leading up to the critical meeting. Please remind the jury of what took place at the first meeting, on June 10."
"Objection, Your Honor," said George Hartford, defense counsel. Hartford had gray eyes behind slightly tinted bifocals and was prematurely bald. He had to be about fifty, and stood tall and fit in a slim Italian suit with a yellow silk tie. "Asked and answered. Plaintiff's counsel is wasting the jury's time."
Temin said, "Your Honor, it's appropriate to review this proof because the weekend intervened."
"Overruled." Cate shot both lawyers her sternest look. "Let's not let the objections get out of hand today, boys. Play nice."
"Thank you, Your Honor." Temin nodded, but a cranky Hartford eased back in his chair next to his client, producer Art Simone. Even seated, Simone looked tall and trim, in his prime at a prosperous forty-something. His reddish hair had been shorn fashionably close to his scalp, and his tortoiseshell glasses paired with a caramel-colored silk tie and tan houndstooth suit. If Marz and Temin were the mutts in this dogfight, Simone and Hartford were purebred afghans.
"Mr. Marz," Temin began again, "tell us briefly what happened at the June meeting with Mr. Simone."
"Well, my background is from the DA's office, handling cases concerning computer fraud and Internet crime. I always liked computers." Marz sounded almost apologetic. "But I wanted to be a writer, so I started writing a screenplay for a TV show about four lawyers and how they use computer skills to solve murders. I called it Hard Drive. It was my wife who said, 'Why don't you do something about it?'" Marz smiled at his wife in the front row of the gallery, a sweet-faced brunette wearing a long skirt and sensible shoes. "So I called Art-Mr. Simone-and told him what I was doing and asked if he would meet with me about it, and he agreed to fly out to Philly to take the meeting." Marz turned to the jury in an earnest way. "That's what they call it in L.A., 'taking a meeting.' When they say no, they call it 'taking a hard pass.' A 'soft pass' is a maybe. I thought a soft pass was about sex, but what do I know?"
The jurors chuckled with evident warmth. Nobody loved underdogs like Philly.
Temin asked, "Had you known Mr. Simone, prior?"
"Yes, I knew him from summer camp from when I was, like, ten years old. Camp Willowbark, Unit A. He was my senior counselor, and I looked up to him like a big brother. I heard he was doing TV in Hollywood, so I hoped he'd help me out."
"And what happened at the meeting, briefly?"
"We met at Le Bec Fin and I told him all the details about my idea and asked him would he consider it for his production company. The lead lawyer in my series is a former detective, an Italian guy from South Philly who dresses great and is, like, a tie freak-"
"You needn't repeat the details," Temin interjected, preempting Hartford's objection.
"Okay, right, sorry. All that's important is that the four lawyers I told Mr. Simone about ended up being exactly like the four lawyers on Attorneys@Law."
"Objection, opinion!" Hartford said, and Cate waved him off.
"Overruled. The jury knows it's his opinion....
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Dirty Blonde by Lisa Scottoline Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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