[.ca] Dead Ringer (ISBN 0060514949)

The twin is starting to annoy me:
I like all of Scottoline's books and this is also a quick, enterntaining read. Unfortunately, the evit twin of Bernie's returns to cause more chaos. If you have never read any of Scottoline's books before, then choose one of her earlier novels. If you always read Scottoline's books, then you are going to buy this one anything. Just realize it won't be one of her "better" ones.

Not Up To Par:
I usually enjoy the "Rosato and Associates" series, but this was was really lacking. In previous books in the series, all the characters except Mary came off as strong and independent, but you always got the feeling that Bennie was in charge and kept that fine line between employer and employees. That line has been erased. Bennie is portrayed as "one of the girls," and the associates (whom she annoyingly refers to as "the kids" throughout the book) seem to have taken over the asylum, demanding to know Bennie's financial situation as if it's their right, and standing by their homegirl as one united entity. That's all well and good, but in the real world, single women would be hitting the pavement looking for interviews if they found out their job might not last another two months. The dialog between them seems as if they're in a high school home ec class, filled with silly slang that isn't befitting a group of women professionals. And some of the writing left a lot to be desired -- his change jingled unhappily in his pocket as he ran? Do coins have the ability to be happy or unhappy? Where on earth would Ms. Scottoline come up with drivel like this? The problem with the story is that it's too scattered. Bennie's twin is back playing havoc with her life, but we never really understand why, even after she tells us. She breaks into Bennie's house and kidnaps her dog, who Bennie obviously loves dearly, and all she does the next day is put the dog in the basement as a safeguard? Then there's the "mysterious stranger" who shows up to save the dog and suddenly devotes his life to trailing Bennie to make sure she's safe. Wow. That sure happens every day. Then you have the client to whom Bennie seems to form an unnatural attachment, her law firm's financial troubles, the offer to buy her firm, the trumped-up charges against her -- there was just too much going on, but not enough detail paid to any of these things to make you care much about them. Bennie also came across as stupid in this novel. She's a lawyer, yet she has no problem interfering in a police matter just because she feels like it (because of this unnatural attachment to her client). She gets arrested and doesn't know enough to keep her mouth shut while Carrier represents her. She knows her life could be in danger, yet she takes off on her own looking for a pay phone -- in a construction area. It was just too ridiculous to believe. And then she figures out who the murderer was -- with no clues or hints at all...it just comes to her in the blink of an eye! Maybe she should join the police force. This was a very disappointing effort from a writer I usually enjoy very much.

Murder Mystery and Humor:
Bennie Rosato, is a successful lawyer but a businesswoman on the decline. While her reputation as a trial lawyer is stellar, her firm is on the verge of bankruptcy, until a big case comes along that just might solve all her problems, then things suddenly go haywire, and it started with a lost wallet. Lisa Scottoline brings us through this mystery with attitude and wit, never allowing a serious moment to go by without a quirky afterthought. The writing was informed and just right, and while certain things just pop out of nowhere, this book has no pretentions. The tension its plot could have had in unbearable proportions was lightened by the exceptional character of Bennie Rosato who, even in the direst of situations, never takes herself seriously. Bennie is pushy, but endearingly so, and she doesn't have to apologize for it either. Her character and St. Amien's was the best developed in the entire cast. Bennie, however, could've done without a certain Navy Seal. A hefty reward and a thank you would've sufficed. ^_~ All in all, it was a good book and I would recommend it for the Murder-Mystery enthusiast who just wants to sit back, relax and take a break from intensity.

More Bennie is always just enough!:
I met Lisa Scottoline at Book Expo Canada a few years ago, and she's a blast. So, whenever I saw her books, I nabbed them. But, truth be told, I'd not started reading them. Recently, I listened to 'Legal Tender,' and really enjoyed it, and so when I saw this and another Lisa Scottoline available on audio, I nabbed it. We return to Bennie Rosato and find her just as snarky, sarcastic, and tough as ever. The reader still being Kate Burton really helped, as she's got the perfect voice for the character. Now, since I've been reading this out of order, some characters I knew weren't in it (apparently, the relationship that began in 'Legal Tender' didn't work out, for one), and I didn't know that Bennie had a twin (I must have missed a book between this and the last one). But when her twin starts to show up and make malicious attempts to ruin Bennie's life, things get interesting. Especially when Bennie's own little law firm is on the financial rocks. And when her biggest client ends up murdered, Bennie's in real trouble - because what if the murderer is her twin? Or are they unrelated? Or, is someone else also trying to ruin Bennie? Solid stuff, this story, interesting, and the mystery had me confounded (bonus points for that). Thumbs-up, especially for Kate Burton's reading voice. 'Nathan

Entertaining Humor about the Perils of Private Practice:
Bennie Rosato is the heroine and narrator of Dead Ringer, and the book opens with a very compelling series of episodes that display the problems that any small legal practice faces during hard economic conditions. Bennie is losing clients right and left to bankruptcy, and the clients she has aren't paying her. She's behind on the rent, and has laid off one staff person. No new clients seem to be on the horizon when she gets an unexpected call from a courtly Frenchman whose company has been hurt by an illegal boycott. But . . . the case will be a class action suit, and Bennie has never done one before. Soon, she's mixing it up with the multimillion dollar class action lawyers who expect her to pony up $30,000 to play in the contingent fee case. If that isn't enough, someone has started impersonating her and is using her credit cards to send unwanted goods to the office. Whenever Bennie thinks she has gotten her head above water, she has another setback. Before long, she's engaged forced to defend her very honor by solving two mysterious crimes. In the process, the danger grows to unacceptable levels . . . and a mysterious, handsome stranger becomes her Good Samaritan. With her hear aflutter, she finds it hard to concentrate on her legal practice. Dead Ringer started off to be a remarkably entertaining book. Around two-thirds of the way through, the book began to unwind from its excellent beginning. The first weakness is that Ms. Scottoline makes too little use of the other characters who work at the Rosato firm. Although they are in many scenes, the narration doesn't shift to them . . . or give us enough of a sense about how they feel. As a result, the associates and staff seem more than a little too understanding about Bennie's financial problems. Why aren't they out looking for another job . . . or at least petrified by their financial peril? The mysteries turn out to be way too easy to resolve . . . and Bennie's many complications unwind themselves like a slip knot. Although it's impressive as a plot device, the result feels hollow to the reader. Also, litigators seldom have financial problems unless they only do contingent fee work. If Bennie is all but unbeatable in court, why weren't clients lined up at her door all along? Her disregard for police procedures also seems flagrant. She really is obstructing one police investigation, and all she gets is one growl along the way. As a result of these flights into fantasy, the book ends up not being a serious effort . . . but rather as scaffolding for a number of fairly humorous gags. But slapstick isn't a fine novel, even though it can be entertaining. Those who have enjoyed Ms. Scottoline's other books will probably enjoy this one as well. If you like lawyer humor and don't know Ms. Scottoline's work, feel free to try this one. If you want a taut legal thriller that seems so real it scares you, look elsewhere. As I finished the book, I thought about why novels tend to have great endings rather than great beginnings. I assumed that Dead Ringer would have an ending as good as the beginning. Perhaps authors realize that it's more important to leave you on a high than to start you with a bang!