Betrayed: A Rosato & Associates Novel

When Iris Juarez, an undocumented immigrant, turns up dead in her car in bestseller Scottoline’s rewarding 13th Rosato & Associates novel (after 2013’s Accused), lawyer Judy Carrier winds up investigating, since Iris was the best friend of Judy’s cancer-stricken aunt, Barb. Meanwhile, both Judy’s personal and professional life explode: her boss orders her to take on a series of dubiously ethical asbestos cases, and her boyfriend, Frank Lucia, proposes just as Judy prepares to break up with him. Judy is a sympathetic protagonist—passionate about her job, loyal to her family, and dogged in her pursuit of justice—which makes her struggle to reconcile her ideals of justice with the realities of working at a big Philadelphia law firm particularly compelling. While Scottoline does a good job of balancing the various elements of Judy’s life, the novel feels like a small part of a much larger story, leaving the mystery with an unfinished quality. Author tour. Agent: Molly Friedrich, Friedrich Literary Agency. (Nov.)