KILLER SMILE by Lisa Scottoline
KILLER SMILE by Lisa Scottoline is a rarity among books today because it is a thriller that invigorates the mind but also touches the heart. The age-old questions of who did it and why are raised, but there are other issues that arise that have more to do with loyalty and integrity than who is the killer? These facts make this Scottoline's best novel yet and the one by which her future stories will be judged.
The plot focuses on Philadelphia attorney Mary DiNunzio. She has been hired to handle the estate of Amadeo Brandolini, an Italian immigrant who died in an internment camp during World War II. The facts as she finds them indicate he was rounded up with several other Italians during the war and sent out West where he was placed in a camp. A few months after arriving he committed suicide.
At first Mary assumes that everything about the estate investigation is going to be simple, but then she discovers facts that don't jive with each other. Then another death occurs and she begins to believe there is a cover-up of sorts going on. Her friends and her family want her to back off but she is determined to see it all through to the end.
While all these events of the plot are going on, the reader is also learning more about Mary's life. Scottoline gives you a glimpse into the loneliness and heartache of being a widow. She combines that with the embarrassment and disillusionment of going out on a series of first dates.
There is also a view of Mary's family. Her parents are getting older and Mary worries about this. Plus she has a feeling her mother's health is not the best, but no one is talking about it. Mary has to find a way to break the wall that surrounds that need for her mother to protect her.
Everything about this book works, from the reader's involvement with the characters, to the intimate way Scottoline writes about the indignities suffered by Italian-Americans during the war. Scottoline has ancestors who were treated this way and the book is dedicated to them.
As a mystery this is a top-notch book, but as a study in human emotions it is even better. When you read this story you shouldn't fly thought it trying to learn the solution to the mystery. You should read it steadily and carefully in order to get every nuance and passionate passage that are spread throughout the pages.
KILLER SMILE is published by HarperCollins. It contains 549 pages and sells for $25.95.