Book Talk: Lisa Scottoline, ‘Betrayed’

The law firm may belong to partners Bennie Rosato and Mary DiNunzio, but this is Judy Carrier’s story. Because Mary is now partnered with Bennie, Judy is now Mary’s employee. However, Bennie throws Judy a bone, which could be a career-maker. Bennie acquired 75 asbestos-liability cases from a New York law firm and gives them to Judy.

Judy is Mary’s best friend, dresses in non-matching clothes, and is the conscience of the practice. She doesn’t want the cases, not only because it will tie her up for a couple of years but also because her job will be bargaining down the amount of money that victims receive from insurance companies. If she had to work this case, she’d rather argue in favor of the victims. And, she’s got her hands full with a sex-discrimination case.

To top it off, Judy’s Aunt Barb has breast cancer and is facing mastectomy surgery. Although Judy and Aunt Barb love each other deeply, Aunt Barb refers to her housekeeper Iris Juarez as her best friend. In fact, Aunt Barb even attends the local Mexican church with Iris, and this makes Judy suspicious. It turns out that Iris is an illegal immigrant, as are most members of the church. But Father Keegan welcomes all to the church, and he’s got a younger priest to assist him. To complicate things a bit more, Judy’s mother insists on staying by Aunt Barb’s side. And Judy and her mom have the typical mother-daughter issues. Moreover, I haven’t mentioned her fiancé, an adolescent in a grown-man’s body who can’t be pulled away from his equally juvenile friends and televised sports games to help Judy with her many crises.