Corrupted (Rosato & DiNunzio Series #3)

by Lisa Scottoline

Overview

Blockbuster bestselling author Lisa Scottoline is back with Corrupted, a novel of breathtaking legal suspense about one woman’s fight for justice—at all costs.

Bennie Rosato, the founder of the Rosato & DiNunzio law firm, hides her big heart beneath her tough-as-nails exterior and she doesn’t like to fail. Now, a case from her past shows her how differently things might have turned out. Thirteen years ago, Bennie Rosato took on Jason Lefkavick, a twelve-year-old boy who was sent to a juvenile detention center after fighting a class bully. Bennie couldn’t free Jason, and to this day it’s the case that haunts her. Jason has grown up in and out of juvenile prison, and his adulthood hasn’t been any easier. Bennie no longer represents those accused of murder, but when Jason is indicted for killing the same bully he fought with as a kid, she sees no choice but to represent him. She doesn’t know whether or not to believe his claims of innocence, but she knows she owes him for past failures—of the law, of the juvenile justice system, and of herself. Forced to relive the darkest period of her life, Bennie will do everything in her power to get the truth and justice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250104618
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/02/2016
Series:	Rosato & DiNunzio Series , #3
Pages:	464
Sales rank:	208,840
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

LISA SCOTTOLINE is a New York Times bestselling and Edgar award-winning author of more than twenty-five novels, including Look Again, Lady Killer, Think Twice, Save Me and Everywhere That Mary Went. She is coauthor of several humor memoirs and writes a Sunday column for The Philadelphia Inquirer. She has thirty million copies of her books in print, and is published in thirty countries. She lives in the Philadelphia suburbs with an array of disobedient pets.

Hometown:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Date of Birth:

July 1, 1955

Place of Birth:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Education:

B.A., University of Pennsylvania, 1976; J.D., University of Pennsylvania Law School, 1981

Website:

http://www.scottoline.com

Editorial Reviews

08/31/2015
Edgar-winner Scottoline’s lackluster 14th Rosato and DiNunzio novel (after 2014’s Betrayed) focuses on law firm–founder Bennie Rosato. In 2002, a panic-stricken father from Mountaintop, Pa., hires the Philadelphia lawyer to appeal his 12-year-old son’s juvenile conviction. Jason Lefkavick shoved bully Richie Grusini, and both boys have been incarcerated. In the Poconos town, Bennie discovers rights violations and judicial corruption—and becomes involved with Declan Mitchell, Richie’s uncle. When Jason’s father learns of the relationship, he fires Bennie and drops the appeal; then Declan ends the affair. Thirteen years later, Bennie receives a desperate call from Jason, who’s being charged with Richie’s murder but insists he’s been framed. Guilt-stricken, she agrees to represent him, even though she doesn’t believe his story. Bennie’s uncharacteristically unprofessional affair with Declan strains credibility, especially when she’s utterly blindsided by the repercussions. The surprise courtroom twist lacks punch, and a predictable ending may satisfy series fans but is unlikely to win new readers. Author tour. Agent: Molly Friedrich, Friedrich Literary Agency. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for the Rosato & DiNunzio series:

“Pop culture's current crop of female lawyers owes a great deal to the attorney's at Rosato & Associates...After more than twenty novels, the Edgar Award-winning Scottoline is still able to create surprising, suspenseful plots with likable, daring heroines at the center.” —The Washington Post on Betrayed

“Compelling.” —Publishers Weekly on Betrayed

“Scottoline writes terrific legal fiction with warmth, smart characters and lots of humor and heart. Her legions of fans will be happy with this one, and it should find her new readers as well.” —Booklist on Betrayed

“This is an author who knows what she wants to say and knows how to say it entertainingly.” —The Huffington Post on Betrayed

“Accused is Scottoline in top form.” —Time.com

“Intriguing.” —Publishers Weekly on Accused

“After some rockin' stand-alones, Scottoline returns to her popular series about feisty all-female law firm Rosato & Assoc. Nice to have them back.” —People magazine on Accused

“One can almost hear the cheering from Scottoline's fans, including this reviewer, upon learning that the charming and often amusing ladies of Rosato & Associates have returned. Their personalities and antics burst from the pages, leaving readers wanting more.” —Portland Book Review on Accused

From the Publisher

05/15/2015
Despite the best efforts of Bennie Rosato, founder of the Rosato & DiNunzio law firm, 12-year-old Jason Leftavick landed at a juvenile detention center after finally punching out a class bully. Now an adult, he's accused of murdering the very same bully, and Bennie feels that she must take the case. Third in the series; with a one-day laydown on October 27.

Library Journal

Narrator Kate Burton's clear, unvarnished delivery captures the persona of cool, straight-shooting Bennie Rosato, the star of Scottoline's popular courtroom drama series. Burton's brisk pacing and nuanced tones are perfect for keeping the listener on course through the detailed investigative and trial procedures featured in Scottoline's novels. This same rapid tempo occasionally causes difficulty in differentiating speakers, but this is a minor distraction. Burton also succeeds at helping the listener maneuver through flashbacks and inner musings as Bennie revisits a case, and a relationship, in an attempt to right a wrong that has haunted her for more than a decade. Any disappointment fans might find with this latest Rosato offering would come from the addition of a romantic element to the straight legal format, and not from Burton's excellent narrative performance. M.O.B. 2016 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2015 - AudioFile

2015-07-29
Twelve years after a Kids-for-Cash scheme ends the childhood of two boys, Philadelphia lawyer Bennie Rosato must defend one of them on a charge of murdering the other. It's nothing but a childhood fight, really, but the judge throws the book at both Jason Lefkavick, who draws 90 days in a juvie prison, and Richie Grusini, who gets off with 60 days because his uncle, Declan Mitchell, was a state trooper. Bennie, responding to the pleas of Jason's father, Matthew, hikes out to Mountaintop, Pennsylvania, in hopes of springing Jason, who hasn't been properly advised of his right to counsel. In the course of her investigation, the famously abstemious Bennie falls for Declan, and their liaison gets her fired just as her legal wrangling would have borne fruit—and saved scores of other young victims whose families won't find out till years afterward that the judge has a financial interest in the prison he's kept stocked to the brim. Fast-forward to the present, when Jason's been found clasping a bloody knife a few feet away from Richie, whose throat has been slit in an alley minutes after the old enemies had a well-witnessed fight in a Philadelphia bar. Bennie, who's felt all this time that her fling with Declan ended up tossing Jason to the wolves, is convinced that she has to defend him, even though he refuses to get on board with the self-defense strategy she methodically pursues as her cross-examination picks holes in the testimony of one witness after another. And then, as things seem to be looking up for Jason, a bombshell makes them look much worse for Bennie. As so often for the firm of Rosato & DiNunzio (Betrayed, 2014, etc.), the ending, logical but woefully underprepared, is a serious disappointment. Fans eager to see Bennie's courtroom mettle won't care a bit.

Kirkus Reviews