Mistaken Identity - Hardcover

Scottoline, Lisa

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060187476 ISBN 13: 9780060187477

Publisher: Harper, 1999

Synopsis

“A humdinger”
—USA Today

“Ratcheting suspense, dynamic characters, and a master’s touch”
—David Baldacci, New York Times bestselling author of The Sixth Man

With the spellbinding crime fiction masterwork, Mistaken Identity, Lisa Scottoline rocketed onto the New York Times bestseller list—and she’s remained there ever since! A stunning tale of mystery and suspense, this classic from the beloved, Edgar® Award-winning author once again leads readers down the gritty streets of Philadelphia and into the offices of the law firm of Rosato & Associates. When a new client who’s been accused of murder—and who bears an astonishing resemblance to Bennie Rosato—asks the crusading criminal defense attorney to take her case, Bennie finds herself entangled in a sticky web of murder, corruption, and violence that threatens to reveal the shocking truth about her own past. If you haven’t read Lisa Scottoline before, Mistaken Identity will prove to you what her many fans already know: nobody does it better!

About this title

Review:

When confronted with the most challenging and the most personal case of her legal career, Bennie Rosato--an expert on police corruption--questions everything she has learned as a criminal attorney, and everyone she considers to be family. During a visit behind the bars of Philadelphia's Central Corrections facility, Bennie is shocked to discover that an inmate bears a striking physical resemblance to herself. The prisoner, Alice Connolly, stands accused of murdering her cop boyfriend Anthony Della Porta, and the case reeks of a police conspiracy. Connolly convinces Bennie to defend her in court. Bennie feels confused, intrigued, and even somewhat elated by this clone of herself, and dives head first into a bubbling cauldron of corruption, drugs, murder, and assault--mixed in with a thought-provoking subplot that questions the intricacies of legal ethics.

Mistaken Identity is Lisa Scottoline's sixth and tastiest dish yet. The book is gripping and smart, and it brings into bloom the highly likable character of Bennie Rosato, who made her debut appearance in Legal Tender. Bennie has her vulnerable moments--we witness this when, in some emotional scenes, she doubts the authenticity of her twin. Still, Ms. Rosato is no shrinking violet, especially when it comes to exposing the questionable goings-on of Philadelphia's Eleventh Precinct.

Scottoline keeps us in a bubble of suspense--is Connolly really Bennie's twin? Did she murder Della Porta? If not, who did and why? The author neatly ties all our unanswered questions together into a perfectly formed bow, and keeps us frantically turning pages until the very end. --Naomi Gesinger

From the Back Cover:

Lisa Scottoline continues to enthrall a growing legion of critics and fans with her superb talent for creating gripping, unpredictable stories that rival the best of John Grisham, Scott Turow, and Richard North Patterson. Filled with twisting plots, unforgettable flesh-and-blood characters, and absorbing dramatic tension, her previous national bestsellers have propelled her into the top ranks of legal suspense. Now, this acclaimed author is back with Mistaken Identity, her most thoughtful, riveting, and richest novel yet.

Life holds few surprises for Bennie Rosato, head of her own Philadelphia law firm. As a criminal attorney now specializing in police misconduct cases, she's seen the noblest and most deviant aspects of human nature. But nothing can prepare her for the moment she enters a maximum-security prison to meet her new client, Alice Connolly, face to face. Accused of brutally murdering her lover, a highly decorated police detective, Connolly claims the police framed her. A defendant protesting her innocence is not unusual for Bennie. What shocks her is that Connelly bears an uncanny physical resemblance to her. "Pleased to meet you. I'm your twin. Your identical twin," Connolly tells the astonished lawyer. But Bennie grew up as an only child, or so she thought. She has a law firm, a handsome young lover, and a golden retriever; she doesn't have a twin. Or does she?

Connolly knows too many intimate details about Bennie's life and family for the resemblance to be just coincidental. And there is something about the woman that compels the intrigued attorney to defend her, against her better judgment. Taking the case with the trial only a week away, Bennie plunges into the mystery of the murder, as well as her own identity and her family's dark secrets. Is Connolly innocent? And is she Bennie's unknown sister? It is not until Bennie takes the case to verdict that she will finally learn the truth, which threatens to change her life.

A legal thriller, a courtroom drama, and an exploration of the emotional bonds that define our lives and those we love, Mistaken Identity is a masterful achievement that takes the legal thriller to a new level as it resoundingly confirms Lisa Scottoline's place as one of the premier writers of suspense fiction today.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0060187476
• ISBN 13: 9780060187477
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 480