Lady Killer

Author - Lisa Scottoline ... [Goo?] [Posters]

This Hardcover Book item from Harper was reviewed on 10-Dec-2008.

Search ISBN:0060833203 offer from Abebooks or used books from Alibris. Lady Killer Reference Book. Classifications : Contemporary Literature & Fiction Subjects Books General AAS Literature & Fiction Subjects Books Scottoline, Lisa ( S ) Authors, A-Z Mystery & Thrillers Subjects Books Legal Thrillers Mystery & Thrill . Click the following link to view the cover of Lady Killer.

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1) Hardcover Book Lady Killer by Harper. Lisa Scottoline´s humor has always been part of the fun of reading her books, but she really captures
the joy and eccentricities of the Italian-American world of South Philadelphia in this one. From the
opening chapter when lawyer/heroine Mary Dinunzo is approached by her father and his three friends
all named Tony - distinguished only by their nicknames Pigeon Tony (he raises pigeons), Tony-From-Down-The-Block and Tony Two Feet - to sue a woman from the Frank Sinatra Fan Club who publicly defamed Dean Martin by "calling him a drunk", the smiles and laughter keep on coming.

The main plot features 4 former high school friends of Mary, known as The Mean Girls, because they were the girls with big hair who smoked and "put out" (which made them popular), and were always mean to the
girls who studied, like Mary herself. The Mean Girls all grew up to mostly work in the beauty salon business,
and now one of them, Trish Gambone, is in danger of being killed by a jealous boyfriend who is a low level mob figure.

Mary gets involved in finding Trish, when she is kidnapped and believed murdered, almost losing her job as
an associate at the Rosato law firm, because of the time she is spending on the case. It becomes a matter
of "helping someone from the neighborhood" versus "advancing her own career". It also turns out that
Mary has a link to the mob boyfriend from high school that no one knows about. It´s a touching and
surprising moment, when a secret from Mary´s past is revealed.

There are the usual wonderful twists and turns in the story, and plenty of hair-raising moments for
Mary Dinunzio to deal with, which I don´t want to ruin by revealing here. I´ll only say it´s a very
satisfying book, with plenty of emotion and suspense.

It´s well worth your time.

¤

2) Hardcover Book Lady Killer by Harper. It was painful to read about the talented Mary DiNunzio giving up her world for Mean Girl and Goretti alum, Trish Gambone. Mary comes off as pathetic and desperate for acceptance. She screws up work, friendships, and a potential relationship so she can help Trish. I never felt sorry for Mary; I just felt embarassed for her. Once the author revealed the murderer, I stopped reading.

There´s way too much going on in Lady Killer. We´ve got South Philly Italian culture, Mary´s low self-esteem, Mary´s widowhood, kookie neighbors and coworkers, an abusive boyfriend, high school bullies, Mary´s high school ex-boyfriend, mob connections, and MARY´S BIG SECRET.

I fgured out the secret in the middle of the book. It wasn´t shocking, but some readers might be offended. The secret does and doesn´t help the story. I think it is treated too lightly. When Mary reveals the secret, it just isn´t **so shocking**. (Is that why Judy and Anthony show no emotion?) I also didn´t believe that Mary was in love with Bobby Mancuso, now Trish´s boyfriend. I thought she had a lusty teenage crush on the guy.

To add to the nonsense is Bonnyhart, a small town in the Poconos. How and why Mary ended up there is just too unbelievable.

Does Mary owe anything to Trish? Yes, Trish asked for Mary´s help. Mary gave her legal counsel. Trish disappears. Should Mary get involved? Or, should she just wait until if and when Trish returns? And what about Mary´s honor? The close-knit Italian neighborhood snubs Mary when they think she´s snubbed Trish.

If Scottoline eliminated all the extras, this book would have been much better. And, Scottoline should have made Mary´s involvement a little more believable. Because Lady Killer received a number of 4 and 5 star reviews, I will be reading the earlier Mary DiNunzio books.¤

3) Hardcover Book Lady Killer by Harper. After several years, Lisa Scottoline finally brings back Mary DiNunzio and her friends at the law firm of Benny Rosato. And even though Mary still isn´t 100% convinced of her skills as a lawyer, she has become somewhat of a rainmaker for her little firm, especailly with the help of all the people from her old neighboorhood. When an old high school nemesis turns up looking to Mary for help, all her childhood angst comes back to haunt her. Unfortunately Trish refuses to take any of Mary´s advice, and she ends up missing. Now Trish´s friends are on Mary´s case to do something, and in order to ease her feelings of letting Trish down, Mary dives head first into finding out what happened. And in the process jeopardizes her job at Rosota and Associates. The book moves along at a fast pace, keeping the reader turning the pages. While I didn´t love this book as much as the others, it was great to see Mary and friends back - and Mary once again fighting for what she believes in.¤

4) Hardcover Book Lady Killer by Harper. Lisa´s "hook" (to read her books) is delightful characters in her novels, especially her Mary D. series. I dropped one star cause the ending could have been written better (belief index too low).

People who rated this book low probably have difficulty buying in to the character of Mary, who is a current era Mary Poppins and "Virgin" Mary personality. I have no trouble being sold because I´ve encountered some women in my personal life of 60 some years who have similar personality traits to Lisa´s main character, and her mom/dad.

I was born in Philadelphia, and my dad was Italian; so I can relate to Mary´s fictional home life with her parents, especially the kitchen scene´s - cooking, eating, arguing, lying, guilt tripping, etc.¤

5) Hardcover Book Lady Killer by Harper. Plain, nerdy and smart, Mary DiNunzio was always expected to do well in life but was bullied mercilessly by "The Mean Girls", a group of showy, good looking girls who made her life in High School a sheer hell. Mary is now a successful lawyer and when she is approached by Trish, the leader of the girl pack who tormented her in school, she is amazed to be asked for help and protection against one of the school jocks who is physically abusing Trish. Bobby was a High School hero and is now on the fringes of the Mob, selling dope. He is an abusive drunk who threatens to kill Trish every time he beats her up, but this time she is convinced that he means to murder her on her birthday. Mary tries to convince Trish to go to the police but she disappears before Mary is able to organise some help. It´s a terrific read if you enjoy Mob stories which aren´t too violent, and full of detail of life in the suburbs of East Philadelphia in the Italian quarter. Lisa Scottoline writes extremely well and is superb at giving the reader the feeling of being one of the locals.¤

6) Hardcover Book Lady Killer by Harper.

Mary DiNunzio is a trademark Lisa Scottoline heroine—she´s strong, she´s smart, and she´s got plenty of attitude. In recent years, she´s become a big-time business-getter at Rosato & Associates, but the last person she expects to walk into her office one morning—in mile-high stilettos—is super sexy Trish Gambone, her high school rival. Back then, while Mary was becoming the straight-A president of the Latin Club and Most Likely to Achieve Sainthood, Trish was the head Mean Girl, who flunked religion and excelled at smoking in the bathroom.

As it turns out, however, Trish´s life has taken a horrifying turn. She´s terrified of her live-in boyfriend, who´s an abusive, gun-toting drug dealer for the South Philly mob. There´s only one problem—Mary remembers the guy from high school too. Unbeknownst to Trish, Mary had a major crush on him.

Then Trish vanishes, a dead body turns up in an alley, and Mary is plunged into a nightmare, one that threatens her job, her family, and even her life. She goes on a one-woman crusade to unmask the killer, and on the way, finds new love in a very unexpected place.

But before the novel´s shocking surprise ending, Mary is forced to confront some very uncomfortable truths about her own past, and the profound effects of lifelong love—and hate.

Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 7-Jan-2009, 00608332039780060833206, 030-010-880-260-710-790-8

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