Damaged

Starred review from June 27, 2016
In bestseller Scottoline’s outstanding 15th Rosato & DiNunzio novel (after 2015’s Corrupted), Mary DiNunzio, a partner in the Philadelphia law firm of Rosato & DiNunzio, takes on a heartbreaking case involving a dyslexic fifth grader, Patrick O’Brien, who’s bullied at school and is getting no support for his language disability. Patrick, who’s being raised by his paternal grandfather, allegedly attacked a school aid with scissors, and now the aid is suing both Patrick and the school board for damages. On the brink of her wedding to college professor Anthony Rotunno, Mary becomes emotionally attached to Patrick, more so than any previous client, and finds herself pitted against a diabolical attorney, Nick Machiavelli (aka the Dark Prince), who’s determined to win a settlement, despite the emotional cost to the 10-year-old boy. In her struggle to save Patrick, Mary finds herself fighting her associates, her fiancé, and social services. Tensions mount until the story concludes with a satisfying, unexpected twist. 400,000-copy announced first printing, author tour. Agent: Robert Gottlieb, Trident Media Group.

October 3, 2016
In Edgar-winner Scottoline’s 15th Rosato & DiNunzio novel, the Philadelphia law firm’s Mary DiNunzio takes over the novel, getting ensnared and emotionally involved in the defense of Patrick O’Brien, a 10-year-old accused of attacking a teacher with scissors. When Edward, the boy’s grandfather and sole caregiver, dies, Mary’s battle against a damages suit from the teacher and his sleazy lawyer, Nick Machiavelli, escalates into her attempt to gain custody of the boy and, ultimately, defend him from charges that he murdered his grandfather—all this while Mary is planning for her wedding in two weeks. Actor Lowman handles the novel’s highly charged and sensitive sections without deviating from her precisely enunciated delivery. Her interpretation of the bullied, introverted Patrick, given to bursts of anger, is both compassionate and credible. She is equally successful in helping define the opposing forces in what is cynically described as “a fight between good and evil with billable hours.” But her main effort is Mary, assisting Scottoline in creating a caring, very human protagonist who faces tough cases and even tougher opposing forces with determination and intelligence. A St. Martin’s hardcover.