scmrak's Full Review: Lisa Scottoline - Daddy's Girl
If there's but one thing for which the reading public owes fervent thanks to author Lisa Scottoline, it's her apparently relentless program to debunk the myth of lawyer-as-super(wo)man. For those weaned on "Perry Mason" and now under the thrall of Grisham novels and the "Law and Order" franchises, the belief that upon passing the bar one acquires the unlisted phone numbers of the Bat Cave and the Fortress of Solitude is as ingrained as the grease under the nails of a Chevy mechanic. Scottoline, however, has never shied away from revealing that the average attorney has feet of clay.
The problem being, however, that the lawyers of Scottoline's fictional world not only have feet of clay, they have brains of mush as well. A case in point? Law professor - yes, someone who actually teaches budding lawyers - Natalie "Nat" ("Gnat") Greco, the diminutive heroine of Scottoline's latest, Daddy's Girl. Mush-for-brains, indeed!
To say that Nat Greco's first-ever visit to a prison resulted in high drama is indeed an understatement. Cajoled by a hunky co-worker into a clinic trip to the local minimum-security facility, Greco unhappily found herself in the midst of a riot - and that was but the beginning. She also happened upon a mortally-wounded guard and found herself the bearer of his dying words: "Tell my wife... it's... under... the... [gurgle-gurgle]... fooor(?)" Traumatic though that experience might have been, it paled alongside the fun 'n' games that awaited Ms. Greco, for soon the little law prof would find herself on the lam, a murder charge hanging over her pretty little head. That's not to mention splitting with her erstwhile soulmate boyfriend, or squabbling with her loud and mildly obnoxious family. Why anyone would consider her a "Daddy's Girl," however, is beyond me.
Scottoline's gaggle of female lawyers (the Associates of Rosato & Associates in her long-running Philly-Chick-Lawyer series) and, most recently, a lascivious would-be judge (Cate Fante of Dirty Blonde), have rarely fit the stereotype of lawyerly genius. Nat Greco, however, plumbs new depths for sheer lack of common sense, despite having the brains (or perhaps the money and connections) to get the coveted J. D. and pass the bar. "That girl," as Mom might say, "doesn't have the sense to come in out of the rain."
Therein, if you ask me, lies the problem with Daddy's Girl: I can take or leave the dumb-but-lucky-girl school of plotting, but this one's a bit far-fetched even for my well-practiced willing suspension of disbelief. Having served on a jury or two I'm well aware that lawyers aren't necessarily the cream of the intellectual crop, but Natalie Greco is about as dumb a protagonist as I've seen this side of that ex-underwear buyer turned bounty hunter. And even though Stephanie Plum didn't shell out $100K for a couple of college degrees, I somehow suspect even she would be marginally better at decision-making and risk analysis than the "Gnat." Ugh.
If you've read Scottoline before, you probably remember that every novel has a running gag; a "schtick," such as the repetition of "make a mental note" or the repeated mental image of long legs churning down the street in 400-dollar Manohlo Blahniks. This time out, the schtick is the repetition of Natalie's brother's eternally HIGH-VOLUME CONVERSATINOAL STYLE! Like Scottoline's depiction of the boorish Greco males and Natalie's Stepford-flavored mother, it gets very old very fast.
Perhaps the only thing Scottoline has going for her in Daddy's Girl is the ultimate plot twist, for the penultimate plot twist (the real reason for the prison riot) was a slam dunk, as George Tenet might say. But by this time, it's a case of too little, too late. I'd advise any but diehard fans of Scottoline - or those who might desire a heroine who makes Stephanie Plum look like a member of the Algonquin Round Table - to give Daddy's Girl a PASS!
In her latest New York Times bestseller, the author of Dirty Blonde delivers a fast-paced thriller in which a young law professor must unravel a consp...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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