Dirty Blonde

DIRTY BLONDE is a sexy, seedy mystery full of surprising secrets and tension-filled pages. What I liked best about the book was Scottoline's superb character development, which helped me really connect with the book. Cate Fante, a federal judge who is the book's main character, has so many dimensions, from strong and professional to terribly insecure - I hope to see more of her in future books. Another recent release about a woman professional who gets pulled into a tangle of murder and suspense is SHADOW OF DEATH by Patricia Gussin. I'd recommend it if you're a fan of Scottoline.

Until Dirty Blond, Everywhere that Mary Went was my favorite Lisa Scottoline novel. Dirty Blonde has everything especially if you are a fan of All Things Legal like I am. Attorneys@Law is a new television series which is the brainchild of a lawyer author who becomes a chief suspect and pops up dead after losing a trial to a powerful Hollywood-type over the copyright infringement issues relating to the blockbuster series. The plot will resonate with many if you like the spicy legal dramas of lawyers or law clerks gone wild. You know, what I liked most about Dirty Blonde is that Scottoline was not afraid to show the many dimensions of her characters, especially Jurist Cate Fante, even if tragic and pathetic at times. Yep, even with all of her degrees plastered to the walls of her new office, she hid dark secrets. The cast of characters for the series and the book are a great mix of talents. With all the talk about who's playing whom and what to include and leave out of the movies, I can picture Dirty Blonde in a new fall line-up on ABC following Grey's Anatomy.

Cate Fante is young, beautiful and has lots of money, one would think she has it all. But wait! She gets appointed as a federal judge, a very good and rewarding job. Now she really does have it all. Or does she? There is just something a bit off in Cate's head, because she apparently can't believe she deserves her success, because this blonde has a dirty little habit. She sneaks off to sleazy bars, meets sleazy men and has sleazy sex. Then one of her first cases results in a murder and a suicide and this causes the dirty blonde's secrets to come to light. She's suspended from the bench and all of a sudden she is a woman on the run, because the man she ruled against in that fateful case seems bent on revenge in this very fast paced stand alone thriller by Lisa Scottoline. I think it was very brave of Ms. Scottoline to venture away from her tried and true formula for success and abandon the women of the all-female Philadelphia law firm Rosato and Associates and try something new, but boy did she hit paydirt when she did. This book will reach right out, grab you, tie you down and keep your eyes glued to the pages as your fingers keep 'em turning. Wow, that's what I have to say about this book. Keep them coming, Lisa.

Judge Kate Fante has just been appointed to a Federal Judge position, a life time appointment. She was handed a glitzy case involving the intellectual design and creation of a hit TV show "Attorneys at Law". Mr. Marz is suing producer Art Simone for stealing his ideas. While the law is clear on this issue Judge Fante delivers a lecture to Mr. Simone when she rules from the bench, which sets a number of events into motion. While she ruled in Mr. Simone's favor, she stated she believed the plaintive. This is a crushing blow to Mr. Marz and he attacks Mr. Simone in the court room. Court is cleared but later that night when Mr. Simone is gunned down Mr. Marz is blamed for it, especially when he turns up the victim of an apparent suicide. Judge Fante also has a secret life that comes out to haunt her. She has been sneaking to seedy bars to have hot sex with strangers. Unfortunately someone has been following her and feeding the information to Mr. Simone who has already set out to make a spin-off of "Attorneys at Law" starting a woman Federal Judge. A detective friend of Mr. Marz doesn't think that he committed suicide, or that he killed Mr. Simone he thinks Judge Fante hired a lowlife porn maker to do it for her. When trying to blackmail her doesn't work the information gets released to the press which sets into motion Judge Fante running for her life, being suspended from her job, and her determination to find out who really killed Mr. Simone. I listened to the audio version of this story and as usual the reader did a wonderful rendering of the different male/female voices. She also is able to correctly pronounce the Italian names that are found in the Philly area and talks about the story in a fluid rendering. I think this is one of the best audios I have listened to so far this year. The ending came up a bit fast for me. But the author was able to throw me off track of the real killer, so overall 5 stars.

This is a well-written book that keeps you turning pages as you meander through the life of Cate Fante, a Philadelphia judge who makes a decision in a seeming boring contract case only to find that it leads to the death of the man in whose favor she ruled, makes her into a plausible suspect and and worse yet, puts her in fear for her life and the reputation she has built. It seems, you see, that Judge Fante has an ugly secret. She picks up strangers in bars for more than conversation. There is a suicide, an attempt to remove Fante from the bench, and many twists and turns as she morphs from judge into investigator, trying to save herself (in more ways than one) along with her best friend and the best friend's son. Though the action is exciting and I read for several days, wanting to know the outcome, this good-hearted woman has serious personality flaws that are not resolved, needs counseling and the story has a pretty far-fetched ending. I liked "Thirst," a paranormal mystery about a female attorney, Dominique Olivet, who has problems like you or I, but who, for the most part, is a good person, a tough, smart woman who is thrust not only into a courtroom battle but into a clash with a bloodthirsty, psychopathic serial killer. There are plenty of courtroom scenes, nitty-gritty sex and the question of insanity vs. evil.