Think twice

Review by Booklist Review

It was bound to happen: after legal eagle Bennie Rosato saved her sinister twin sister, Alice, from a murder rap in Mistaken Identity (1999) and discovered Alice impersonating her in Dead Ringer (2003), Alice decides to up the stakes. She invites Bennie over for dinner, drugs her, and buries her alive, intent on taking over her twin's life for a few days and stealing her fortune. As Bennie struggles to break out of the casket, Alice, pretending to be Bennie, gets a restraining order against her dangerous twin and sets into motion the transfer of Bennie's money to a bank in the Bahamas. In order to throw Mary DiNunzio, a sharp lawyer at Bennie's firm, off the track, Alice promotes her to partner. A few curveballs get thrown Alice's way, including the reappearance of Grady Wells, Bennie's ex-boyfriend, who has come to regret their breakup. Bennie manages to fight her way out of the coffin but finds that reclaiming her life is no easy matter. A subplot involving Mary's search for a house and her fears about her father's infidelity detracts from the novel's energy, but overall, Scottoline's latest is a pulse-pounding thriller, certain to please fans of her Rosato & Associates series.--Huntley, Kristine Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Bestseller Scottoline's 13th novel centered on the all-female Philadelphia law firm headed by Bennie Rosato (after Lady Killer) offers contrived situations and paper-thin characters on top of a premise that strains credibility. After Bennie's evil identical twin sister, Alice Connelly, drugs her and leaves her to die, buried in a remote farm field, Alice takes advantage of her physical resemblance to Bennie to assume her identity at the law firm as well as gain access to her wealth and, eventually, her ex-boyfriend. Many will wonder why the ruthless Alice didn't kill Bennie outright, leaving open the possibility that her victim will escape and attempt to foil her scheme. With authors like Lisa Unger proving that intelligent plotting and page-turning aren't incompatible, this tired effort is unlikely to win Scottoline new converts. 500,000 first printing; author tour. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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Review by Library Journal Review

Scottoline (Look Again) takes us back to Bennie Rosato's all-female law firm and the warm, witty women who work there. Bennie's twin sister, Alice, shows up, and if we weren't sure she was evil before, now we know: Alice drugs Bennie, buries her alive, then impersonates her sister in a scheme to steal her money. She almost gets away with it, running the show at the law firm while the wheels turn to make Bennie's money offshore. In the interim, Mary is house-hunting with Anthony, creating additional stress for their relationship, and Mary's parents are having their own relationship troubles. Bennie finds herself in a nightmare that brings out a side of her she never knew she had, and the tension keeps ratcheting up until the very end. VERDICT Readers who enjoy warm, believable characters, a touch of romance with their suspense, and a bit of humor will be delighted with the gang at Rosato's. Scottoline's intricate plot will keep thriller fans turning those pages.-Stacy Alesi, Palm Beach Cty. Lib. Syst., Boca Raton, FL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

Philadelphia lawyer Bennie Rosato's evil twin takes over her life. No, really. Alice Connelly is in deep trouble. The drug runner she'd hooked up with has gone missing, and she's certain that their supplier, Q, plans to disappear her too. Luckily, she has an escape route: Knock out Bennie Rosato, the identical twin from whom she's been separated since childhood (Dear Ringer, 2003, etc.), take her place long enough to bleed her bank accounts dry, then take a well-financed powder. Though she's a total sociopath, Alice is no dummy, and the plan works like a charm. In short order, she fools Bennie's associates, Mary DiNunzio and Judy Carrier; Bennie's all-important private banker, Marla Stone; and Bennie's ex-lover, Grady Wells. Only self-styled witch queen Fiorella Bucatina, Mary's cousin from Italy, has her doubts. Meanwhile, Bennie, who's been buried alive because soft-hearted Alice doesn't want to shoot anyone with her face, claws from the inside of her casket to free herself as a wild animal claws from the outside. Even after Bennie climbs out of her grave, she'll face a series of daunting challenges because Alice has succeeded so completely in ensconcing herself in her role as Bennie, turning Bennie's buds into her allies, and recruiting them to watch out for Alice that it's bedraggled Bennie, not well-armored Alice, who looks like the imposter. Scottoline (Look Again, 2009, etc.) unfolds her story in breathlessly quick cuts from Alice's plans to Bennie's tribulations to the family problems and amatory complications of Mary, which seem to have wandered in from another, considerably less urgent, installment in the saga of Rosato and Associates. Whenever Bennie seems to be closing in on her goal of avenging herself on Alice for good, Alice finds a countermove that changes the game, even though Bennie's chase becomes less interesting as it grows more straightforward. No matter. You won't believe a word of this tale of cat and mouse, but you won't put it down unfinished either. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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Chapter One Bennie Rosato didn't have anything in common with her identical twin, except their DNA. They shared the same blue eyes, strong cheekbones, and full mouth, but whenever Bennie looked at Alice Connelly, all she could see were their differences. Tonight, Bennie had on a khaki suit, white shirt, and brown pumps, her lawyer uniform. Alice had on tight shorts with a low-cut black top, flaunting cleavage that Bennie didn't even know they had. She made a mental note to look down her shirt, after she got home. Alice was making dinner and she opened the oven door, releasing the aroma of roasting chicken. "Finally, it's ready." "Smells great." "You sound surprised." "Not at all." Bennie changed the subject. "I like your new house, it's great." "Yeah, right." Alice turned, carving fork in hand. "Why are you being so condescending?" "I'm not." "You are, too. It'll look better when I move all my stuff in, and the rent is low, since the estate can't sell it. That's the only way I could afford it. I don't have your money." Bennie let it go. "It's good that it came furnished." "This crap? It's dead people furniture." Alice pushed back a smooth strand of hair, yet another difference between them. She blew-dry her hair straight, and her eyeliner was perfect. Bennie let her hair curl naturally and thought ChapStick was makeup. She sipped her wine, feeling warm. There was no air-conditioning, and the kitchen was small and spare except for knobby wooden chairs and a dark wood table. A greenish glass fixture gave little light, and cracks zigzagged down the plaster like summer lightning. Still the cottage had a rustic charm, especially set in the rolling countryside of southeastern Pennsylvania, an hour or so outside of Philadelphia. Alice plopped the chicken on the table, then sat down. "Don't panic, it's organic." "You're eating healthy now, huh?" "What do you mean? I always did. So, are you dating anybody?" Alice asked. "No." "How long's it been since you got laid?" "Nice talk." Bennie bit into a potato, which tasted good. "If I remembered sex, I'd miss it." "Whatever happened to that lawyer you lived with? What was his name again?" "Grady Wells." Bennie felt a pang. She'd get over Grady, any decade now. "So what happened?" "Didn't work out." Bennie ate quickly. It had taken forever to get here from Philly, in rush-hour traffic. She wouldn't get home until midnight, which wasn't the way she wanted to end an exhausting week. "Who'd you see after Grady?" "Nobody serious." "So he's the one that got away?" Bennie kept her head down, hiding her expression. She couldn't understand how Alice always intuited so much about her. They'd never lived together, even as babies, though Alice claimed to have memories from the womb. Bennie couldn't even remember where she put her car keys. "So, what's new in your life? Don't give me the official version. I read the website." "Nothing but work. How about you?" "I'm seeing a few nice guys, and I'm working out. I even joined a gym." Alice made a muscle of her slim arm. "See?" "Good." Bennie had been an elite rower in her time, but she'd been too busy lately to exercise. "By the way, I hear great things about the job you're doing at PLG. Karen thinks you're terrific." "Are you keeping tabs on me, now?" "Of course not. I ran into her, at a benefit." Alice arched an eyebrow. "Does she have to report to you just because you got me the job?" "No, but if I see her, we talk. She knows me, like she knows most of the bar association. She has to, we all support the Public Law Group." Bennie felt a headache coming on. She'd lost a motion in court this morning, and it was turning out to be the high point of her day. "So what did she say, exactly? She loves to gossip." "It wasn't like that." Bennie sipped her wine, but it didn't help. "All she said was that they like you. They have you doing office administration, payroll, and personnel, in addition to the paralegal work." "Not anymore. I quit." "What?" Bennie said, blind-sided. "You quit PLG? When?" "The other day. It wasn't for me, and the money sucked." "But you have to start somewhere." Bennie couldn't hide her dismay. She'd stuck her neck out for Alice and now her friends at PLG would be left in the lurch. "They would have promoted you, in time." "When, ten years?" Alice rolled her eyes. "The work was boring, and the people were so freaking annoying. I'd rather work with you, at Rosato & Associates." Bennie's mouth went dry. She couldn't imagine Alice at her firm. "I don't need a paralegal." "I can answer phones." "I already have a receptionist." "So fire her ass." Bennie felt cranky. Maybe it was the headache, which was a doozy. "I like her. I would never do that to her." "Not even for me? We're the only family we have." "No." Bennie tried to keep a civil tongue. Being her sister's keeper was getting old. "I can't fire her. I won't." "Okay, fine, then think outside the box. You need somebody to run the office, don't you?" "I run the office." Alice snorted. "If you ask me, you could use a hand with personnel. Those girls who work for you need a life lesson, especially the little one, Mary DiNunzio. Time for girlfriend to grow up." "That's not true." Bennie wished she hadn't come. Her stomach felt queasy. Her appetite had vanished. She set down her fork. "DiNunzio's a good lawyer. She should make partner next month." "Whatever, then I'll be your assistant. I'll take ninety grand, to start." "Listen, I can't always be the solution to your problems." Bennie's head thundered. "I got you a job, and you quit it. If you want another job, go out and find one." "Thanks, Mom." Alice smiled sourly. "The economy's in the toilet, if you haven't noticed." "You should have thought of that before, and you'll find something, if you try. You went to college, and you have lots of . . . abilities and, oh, my head. . . ." Suddenly the kitchen whirled like spin art, and Bennie collapsed onto the table. Her face landed on the edge of her dirty plate, and her hand upset her water glass. "Aww, got a headache?" Alice chuckled. "Too bad." Bennie didn't know what was happening. She felt impossibly drunk. Her eyes wouldn't stay open. "You're such a fool. You think I'd really want to work for you?" Bennie tried to lift her head up, but couldn't. All her strength had left her body. Sound and colors swirled together. "Give it up. It's over." Bennie watched, helpless, as darkness descended. Excerpted from Think Twice by . Copyright (c) 2010 by Lisa Scottoline. Published in March 2010 by Roaring Brook Press. All rights reserved. This work is protected under copyright laws and reproduction is strictly prohibited. Permission to reproduce the material in any manner or medium must be secured from the Publisher. Excerpted from Think Twice by Lisa Scottoline All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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