Before, and even more so after, After Anna I am always blown away and thrilled to read a Lisa Scottoline novel. Yes her work tends to have a Lifetime feel to them, they still manage to be enticing. I'm usually hooked after reading a few pages in a way most novels in the women's lit' category are unable to do for me. The only time I watch the Lifetime or Hallmarkchannel, it's purely by accident or my favorite TV show ever, Monk is on.
Scottoline's After Anna follows the short time span in which a family, that was seemingly happy before her, is torn apart after her while revealing life before her. Or rather, the before Anna is life unfolding before Anna's death, and the trial that ensues after her murder.
Maggie is ecstatic when her long lost daughter reaches out to her and asks to move in with her and her husband, Noah. Noah and Maggie have a charming life together. Their marriage is quite new, but it's obvious they care for each other so when Maggie's daughter, Anna, asks to move in, Noah's supportive and all for it. He knows that Maggie wants nothing more than to have a second chance at being the mother her ex-husband stole from her 17 years earlier when her struggle with postpartum psychosis granted him custody. Unable to fight him for custody, Maggie moves on with her life.
From the beginning Anna bursts on the scene like a force of nature. Lucky for me, the reader, I know the after so I'm quite suspicious of Anna from the beginning. What we're privy to early on is that Noah is on trial for Anna's murder. What remains to be seen is why. Scottoline features dueling stories that present questions that beg to be answered. Will Noah be found guilty of Anna's murder? Did he really do it? What's really up with this girl Anna? In the wake of the "Me Too" movement, why do I find it so hard to believe anything she says? ****
Am I really that jerk that blames the victim?
I don't think so.
Ultimately, what I find is that Scottoline has managed, once again, to bait and hook me with a fast-moving murder mystery of a family on the brink of falling apart. And she does this every time. And I almost find that her chick-littish title is an over simplistic way of categorizing her works. Yes, her novels are emotionally driven and often feature a female lead. No there aren't the quintessential moments that focus on suspense... but then again... what's not suspenseful about a trial for your life?
Or a teenage stranger moving into your home?
Anyway it goes, After Anna was a great read. I didn't expect anything less from Scottoline. There's nothing disappointing here that would leave fans wanting.
Copy provided by St. Martin's press via Netgalley
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