Final Appeal [by] Lisa Scottoline
HarperCollins [1994, 2003]
Grace Rossi is starting over after a divorce. A part-time job with a federal appeals court sounds perfect, especially when it’s Chief Judge Armen Gregorian’s court. She finds herself extremely attracted to him, but keeps her distance because he is married – to a Senator, no less. But a late night session on a big case finds her in his arms, as he tells her that his marriage is over and he wants her. She floats home in ecstasy.
The next day she falls from the great height of her affair, as she learns that her lover is dead, by his own hand. Not only is he dead, but his cases have been divvied up amongst the other judges, and there is a judge getting ready to move into his chambers. The only thing that Grace has been able to do is to take his large dog Bernice under her wing, even though her daughter Maddie doesn’t like Bernice one bit.
Grace is convinced that the judge didn’t kill himself – he was murdered, but the only person who seems to think she might have some claim to the truth is a man she knows as a homeless friend of one of the law clerks, a man nicknamed “Shake and Bake.” But it turns out that this paragon of disguises is actually an undercover secret agent.
As Grace looks at the secret papers hidden in her lover’s credenza, she discovers he has a pseudonym and a secret bank account. This doesn’t jibe with what she understands of him as a straight-arrow, and she begins to question not only who he was, but also who she is, and who her parents were. She questions her relationships with her parents and with her 6-year-old daughter. She vows to be a better mother, and, by the end, has decided not to beat up either of her parents for their failures.
Things get fast and furious at the end, when the killer unmasks himself, and threatens to throw Grace out of Armen’s window. She has discovered a pool of corruption at the court, which affects some of the judges, clerks, and security staff and which has wide-flung ramifications. However her friendships have gotten deeper with some of her colleagues, and the understandings they have about the law has solidified. Grace Rossi has matured more than she would have ever expected.
This is about the ordinary life of a court and of the men and women who strut out the drama through it. The narrative is detailed and feels authentic, the arguments insightful, and the growing suspense really does come as a complete shock. The central character of Grace will appeal to the reader with her problems and her strength in raising above it all. Highly recommended.
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I read this book on my Kindle.
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