I’m always surprised when I discover an older work by one of my favorite authors. I believed that I’d read all of Lisa Scottoline’s stand-alone novels when I came across Final Appeal (1994, 322 pages in paperback format). Perhaps I didn’t read my first Scottoline book until we were into the 21st century. But I’m always delighted to find any overlooked books by authors whose work I admire.
Final Appeal opens with an introduction to Grace Rossi. Grace was a trial lawyer but is now a divorced mom with a part-time job clerking for Judge Armen Gregorian, whom she describes as “terribly handsome.” Although she’s got a six-year-old at home, she’s busy meliorating a spat between her fellow, though much younger, clerks Ben Sager and Artie Weiss. But their “Did so-Did not” squabble is overshadowed by a ticking noise that comes from the back of the courtroom.
As the legal team discovers, the sound is not made by a bomb, but rather by Shake n’ Bake, a homeless schizophrenic who was clicking off the seconds between the asking of a question and the witness’ delay in responding. This information would be insignificant if (a) the street bum didn’t turn out to be a much different man, and (b) he didn’t come to play a very important role later in the story.
Meanwhile, Grace is “head over heels” infatuated with Judge Gregorian. One night while they’re working late together, it becomes obvious that the attraction is mutual, and Grace and the Judge wind up on the judge’s desk. ‘Nuff said. The next morning, the entire office is shocked by Judge Gregorian’s suicide. But Grace finds a love note that Gregorian has slipped into her coat pocket. The tone of the note leads Grace to suspect that the judge’s death was homicide, and she decides to conduct her own investigation. She’s also adopted his huge dog, Bernice, who frightens her daughter to death. But Bernice is really a very gentle dog.
As Grace begins to uncover clues that lead her to the truth, her own life is threatened. Fortunately, she has someone watching over her, and it’s none other than Shake n’ Bake, who is not really mentally ill. And, if it weren’t for the death threats and the roadblocks that are thrown up in an attempt to stop her investigation, she might have been dissuaded from continuing when offshore bank accounts and other secrets are revealed.
I appreciated the fact that Scottoline did not linger on the theme of another single mom struggling through life with her attention split between caring for her child and solving a crime. Grace is a strong, competent, and compassionate character who appeals to most readers.
As always — well, almost always — Ms. Scottoline injects enough humor to produce an occasional chuckle. Otherwise, her writing is crisp and the story is engaging. Plus, we get an inside peek at how an appellate court operates.
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Jim Glynn may be contacted at j_glynn@att.net.