Moment of Truth by Lisa Scottoline: A review

This represents a bit of a twist on the usual plot of legal thrillers, in that an innocent man sets out to frame himself for the murder of his wife. I confess this is the first Lisa Scottoline novel that I've read so I don't know if unusual plot twists are a trademark of her work, but, for the most part, I think she pulls it off.

A Philadelphia civil law attorney named Jack Newlin arrives home for dinner and finds his wife murdered in their kitchen. Their teenage daughter was supposed to join them for dinner on the night of the murder and Newlin immediately jumps to the conclusion that the daughter Paige, who is absent from the house, must have killed her mother. He determines to protect the daughter at all costs by confessing to the murder himself. He sets the scene to make it appear that he was the murderer and then calls 911.

After being arrested, Newlin makes a statement to the police and is videotaped confessing to the murder, but in mid-confession, he realizes he is making it too easy and that a real murderer wouldn't behave this way. He stops his statement and demands to see a lawyer, but his plan is to find the most incompetent lawyer he can and hire that person for his defense.

He reaches Mary DiNunzio, a rookie lawyer at the firm of Rosato & Associates, who has only ever tried one murder case. He counts on her inexperience to seal his fate, but he doesn't count on Mary's lawyerly instincts and her ethics. She is determined to give her reluctant client the very best defense possible, and soon she becomes convinced that Jack is, in fact, innocent and is trying to protect someone. She will do everything in her power to prove her client's innocence, with or without his cooperation.

Soon, we learn that the Newlins were a very dysfunctional family and that the daughter may have been being emotionally, and perhaps even physically, abused by the mother. This may be the source of Jack's feelings of guilt - the fact that he didn't do more to protect the girl.

Meantime, Paige, who is a model living on her own, has become involved with a boyfriend who seems to be a real jerk and who may be a criminal besides. Is it possible that he was involved in his girlfriend's mother's death?

There are lots of twists and turns in the plot, plenty of red herrings thrown in to confuse the issue. Also, Mary is strongly attracted to her client and it isn't clear that she is able to separate her personal feelings from her professional responsibilities.

Mary DiNunzio is a very appealing character and while she may be short on experience, she is long on persistence and completely determined to reach that "moment of truth" when all is revealed and her client will be exonerated.

I found Scottoline's plotting of the story very brisk. She kept things moving. Moreover, her descriptions of her characters' appearances and her setting of the scenes was exceptionally sharp, I thought. I had no trouble at all envisioning the various characters and the various places where they found themselves. It was all laid out for me.

It seems that there are a number of books in this series about the Rosato & Associates law firm in Philadelphia. I gather that each one features different lawyers within the firm. That is an interesting concept on which to base a series. Evidently, it has proved successful for Scottoline and if this book is a fair example, I can see why.

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...

Poetry Sunday: Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney

My mother was a farm wife and a prodigious canner. She canned fruit and vegetables from the garden, even occasionally meat. But the best thing that she canned, in my opinion, was blackberry jam. Even as I type those words my mouth waters! Of course, before she could make that jam, somebody had to pick the blackberries. And that somebody was quite often named Dorothy. I think Seamus Heaney might have spent some time among the briars plucking those delicious black fruits as well, so he would have known that "Once off the bush the fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour." They don't keep; you have to get that jam made in a hurry! Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust ...

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...

The Nature of Things

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