Damaged: A Rosato & DiNunzio Novel

In Edgar-winner Scottoline’s 15th Rosato & DiNunzio novel, the Philadelphia law firm’s Mary DiNunzio takes over the novel, getting ensnared and emotionally involved in the defense of Patrick O’Brien, a 10-year-old accused of attacking a teacher with scissors. When Edward, the boy’s grandfather and sole caregiver, dies, Mary’s battle against a damages suit from the teacher and his sleazy lawyer, Nick Machiavelli, escalates into her attempt to gain custody of the boy and, ultimately, defend him from charges that he murdered his grandfather—all this while Mary is planning for her wedding in two weeks. Actor Lowman handles the novel’s highly charged and sensitive sections without deviating from her precisely enunciated delivery. Her interpretation of the bullied, introverted Patrick, given to bursts of anger, is both compassionate and credible. She is equally successful in helping define the opposing forces in what is cynically described as “a fight between good and evil with billable hours.” But her main effort is Mary, assisting Scottoline in creating a caring, very human protagonist who faces tough cases and even tougher opposing forces with determination and intelligence. A St. Martin’s hardcover. (Aug.)