CATEGORY

Anne Murphy thought she'd put her unhappy past a continent behind her when she joined Philadelphia attorney Bennie Rosato's all-woman law firm. Then a friend who's housesitting for Anne is murdered in what's clearly a case of mistaken identity, and Anne realizes that the past has caught up with her and that the only way to outrun it is to catch the killer before he realizes that she's still alive. But how can Anne play dead with a high-profile case just days away from starting? The only way to pull it off is to let her new colleagues in on the secret, which would mean telling them her other secrets, too, including the fact that she's in love with opposing counsel and the probability that her client may not be as innocent as she thought he was. The author deftly weaves the threads of plot and subplot together, helped by Mary DiNunzio, Judy Carrier, and Bennie herself, the familiar and well-drawn mainstays of this lively and solidly paced series (Moment of Truth, The Vendetta Defense, Rough Justice). It's vintage Scottoline, featuring some nice touches; a little suspense, a lot of female bonding, a few pithy asides on the human condition, and a surprise in the penultimate chapter. --Jane Adams