Where to begin... (Some Spoilers I'm Sure)This was the second book by this author that I read. The first was another of the Rosato and Associates series- Courting Trouble. I really liked that first one and, being a sucker for a series, I went out to find as many of the others as I could. I found a few at the local used bookstore and was excited to find that the few I had found contained characters from Courting Trouble (Mary in this book and Bennie Rosato in a couple of others). I assumed these books would be similar to ones I've read from one of my favorite authors, Karen Rose. All of her books refer to characters from other books and some of the same places but you can read them (well some of them at least) without always having to have read everything before it to understand. But it's nice when favorite characters are a part of other books. This was not the case with these at all.First off, the books are not a series in any sense of the word. SO far I have read three and just started a fourth but am already so irritated after only a few chapters that I don't think I will even finish it. The only books I have read so far are: Courting Trouble, Everywhere that Mary Went, and Legal Tender (CT,EWTMW and LT to save me from typing all that every time lol). I just started Mistaken Identity.CT,ETMW and LT are basically the same book. The only difference is the name of the characters. And the fact that the author can't seem to keep her facts straight from book to book. For example, in CT, Bennie is deathly allergic to cats. In LT, she finds an abandoned kitten and snuggles it on her lap often and keeps it with her everywhere she goes. In LT, Bennie has female dog but it somehow becomes male by the next book with her, Mistaken Identity. Despite the few factual changes between books, far more things stay the same. For instance, All three of those books are written in first person and all three of the main characters sound, act and talk the same. They are all lawyers in danger of losing their jobs at some point, being chased by a killer and on the lam having to hide out. They all make the same type of jokes (changing Grun and Chase to Moan and Waste)and go on about not believing in God. Gay best friends and discussions on AIDS became a trend and romantic interests who were both lawyers and suspects (of course, how predictable) were a given in each. It felt less like I was reading three books about three different characters and more like a part two and three of one character. And the racist/prejudice undertones were enough to make me cringe. If a character is Asian or black, better believe you will be told over and over not only by description but by their dialect. ("I was axin...")It was enough to make me not want to finish the current book.The characters of Bennie and Mary in CT are nothing like the characters they are portrayed as in the other two books. They act, talk and behave like completely different people. Suddenly, quiet meek Mary from CT is a crass ballsy lawyer in ETMW and 'police are awful and I spend all my time helping my clients sue them' Bennie from LT is transformed into 'let's tell the police, I know they will fix this!' cop enthusiast in CT. The endings are abrupt and usually a let down and there are details in the books that seem out of place or just odd.I really wish these books had been better and if I had read just one, I would have thought they were. I would have preferred she'd written about characters that knew nothing about each other and weren't related in any way. Mistaken Identity is also about Bennie Rosato but this time it's written in third person and the author seems to lose the ability to fully develop the character in the style. Altogether, this author's been a let down...
I am SOOOOOOO mad! I CAN'T STAND THIS BOOK!! (Granted, I may be writing out of anger since I finished reading this book after a very difficult 12-hour shift...hungry, tired, smelly? Not a good combo....). The premise of this book was interesting but I CAN'T STAND HOW BAD IT WAS! It was SO fragmented and confusing! (Reminds me of when I tried to read Wicked...so bloody confusing!). Anyway, it was too fragmented to follow. *SPOILER ALERT*Here is a list of things that didn't make sense in the book:-Mary's husband's death: there's absolutely NO INDICATION ANYWHERE AT ALL that his death might be suspicious: until the very end. It's as if the author said, "His death was a sad, tragic, random accident.....JUST KIDDING! Let me make weird, random ties between his death and COMPLETELY UNRELATED THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING RIGHT NOW!" (in a way that only makes sense if you squint one eye and close the other....)-Mary's twin sister: there was potential for a good story here. A twin sister who mysteriously dissappears into a convent in a cult-like fashion and is forbidden to make any contact at all with her loved ones FOR YEARS ON END? GREAT POTENTIAL! However, absolutely NOTHING INTERESTING happens here. *sigh*-Mary's new love interest: he is a handsome, successful, quiet guy who is secretely in love with Mary. He painfully watches as she dates another guy, marries him, mourns him after his death....and when he *finally* gets his chance to shine and gets to spend a crazy-romantic weekend with her....she finds a medicine cabinet FULL of anti-psychotic medications! ANOTHER AWESOME STORY LINE! GREAT POTENTIAL! In fact, Ned is the only likeable person in the ENTIRE BOOK! Could he be Mary's stalker?!?! No. That would make the story *TOO INTERESTING*. I could go on and on. This book had TONS of great storylines within the story itself, but the author chose not to dive into any of them. The result of this? A VERY boring book. And, I understand that this is a book that deals with law and everything, but the author spend WAY TOO LONG discussing lawyer mumbo-jumbo. What's a deposition?! What's a jurisdiction?! What was the Hanks' lawsuit all about?! AUGH!!! There are pages upon PAGES written in lawyer-talk that the average person (such as myself!) has no way of understanding what's going on! I got SO LOST in the lawyer-language and the author gave NO explanation that I finally gave up trying to decipher it all!And the ending.....oh sweet God, the ending! NO SENSE AT ALL!!!! The villain LITERALLY CAME OUT OF NOWHERE WITH A HUMOUNGOUS STORYLINE OF HIS OWN THAT LITERALLY MADE NO SENSE!!!!!! AUGH!!!!! I am SO FRUSTRATED by this book.....I wish I could give it NEGATIVE 5 STARS!!!!!
Do You like book Everywhere That Mary Went (2003)?
It has been a while since I have read a Scottoline book, or an adult book for that matter. I did enjoy this book and I would give it a 3.5 if it were allowed here. There were some really well written portions and quotes that I really enjoyed, but the overall writing of the book left something to be desired. I enjoyed the story well enough but it seemed like there was so much more to the story that had to be condensed which made it a little boring to be honest. There is a mystery and you are being pushed to believe it is one person but I never believed it to be that person. In the end when you find out who it is there isn't enough of a connection made for it to fit. I do plan on reading Scottoline in the future as I enjoy her writing typically but this one fell a bit short for me.
—Rosemary
It's clumsy, but it has good bones. Mary DiNunzio, the protagonist in this first book of the series, is not my cup of tea, but I will read the next one before deciding on whether to read more. A lot of threads were left that look like they will be fleshed out as the series progresses, such as the one unreeling for the main character's relationship with her twin sister. There was too much stalking, not just from the criminal, but it seemed every male in the book, including the gay ones, love Mary best over everyone else in their lives. (Only the cat hates her.) The plot is about a man who loves her insanely, and he is scaring her with wild threats to her life which clearly demonstrate a crazy mind at work. But many many other characters love her too very much over the top. Mary appears to be a hard worker, but insecure and indecisive, clingy and seeking a male protector despite her distrust of men. She also has a female friend whom she loves; however she turns to males for solace and advice, ignoring her own inner voice as well as her female best friend. The plot matches Mary's queer emotional life, appearing uneven to me and it doesn't quite make sense. For someone making Partner in a top legal firm, Mary appears too dumb and too high school, not like a smart professional. Perhaps this is because the book is teetering into the Romance genre at many points instead of sticking to the path of a legal thriller. I guess the next one might make it more clear who is the intended audience.
—aPriL does feral sometimes
In a high-powered Philadelphia law firm, Mary DiNunzio is working hard to earn a position as a partner. She has a lot to prove, to herself and to her family.But something is distracting her these days, threatening to derail her focus.First there were the oddly threatening notes, hang-ups on the phone, and then the feeling that someone is always following her. But who? And why?Mary hasn't felt like herself since the hit and run death of her husband Mike Lassiter a few months before. So is she imagining the menace that seems to be hovering over her?But her best friend and co-associate at the firm, Judy Carrier, does not think so. Between the two of them, they start to piece together the clues. And then a second hit and run death leads Mary and Judy to believe that there might be a connection between the "accidents."Everything ratchets up a few notches as various possible suspects come to mind. Could it be someone at the firm? A jealous associate? Or possibly a rejected suitor?"Everywhere That Mary Went (Rosato & Associates Book 1)" was a page-turning thriller that had me guessing until the very end. I trusted none of the possible suspects, but I was blindsided by the identity of the perpetrator. And in between the mysterious events, there was a lot of fun dialogue and charming episodes with Mary's Italian family. I have read and enjoyed other books in this series, but it was delightful to read this one that introduces the main characters. Four stars.
—Laurel-Rain
