Think Twice [Kindle Edition]

I've been a long-time Scottoline fan, owning all of her books, most in First Edition hardback. I've corresponded personally with Lisa, and she's a charming and very nice person. I've really enjoyed spending time in the world of Bennie Rosato and her associates. It's very painful for me to say that I didn't like this book very much at all.

I understand the artistic urge to take an established character into new and uncharted territory. It keeps it fresh for the author as well as, hopefully, the reader. But as with any risk, there's always the chance of failure.

In general, I don't think much of the doppelganger device in literature and movies. It has been used successfully - and rarely - to illustrate issues of morality and the duality of human nature, but there's a reason the phrase "evil twin" has become such a clichéd joke in our lexicon.

I didn't care all that much for the previous book in which Bennie's twin sister was introduced - it seemed contrived - and this book takes the whole thing way over the top.

The Bennie Rosato of the series is a cool and self-controlled character, with plenty of sang froid to spare, a woman who knows what she wants and how to achieve it. The Bennie in this book is completely unglued, running around like a lunatic with her hair on fire. The pacing and structure of the book reflect this frenzy: my Advance Reader's Copy has 371 pages divided into 128 chapters. Do the math; that works out to 2.9 pages per chapter. This book reads more like a movie script than a novel, and suffers accordingly. There's no real sense of setting in any of the scenes, no inner dialogues to speak of, a pretty complete lack of the kind of narrative of which Scottoline has proven she's capable.

I found the idea that these two women could change places so easily and successfully, given their respective lives, completely unbelievable. The idea that Alice - the "evil twin" - could simply step in and run a successful law firm without any formal legal training was, to me, preposterous.

There were other problems: WAY too much of Mary Di Nunzio's parents, for example, minor "characters" good as comedic foils in previous books, but far too overexposed here. A visiting "Italian aunt" who seems to have psychic powers and serves as a Deus ex machina device. Other things, but I think you get the idea.

Lisa, I know you sometimes read the Amazon reviews. I'm sorry, but I have to call it like I see it.

Wow...it's good to have the original cast back again, making progress in their lives but tougher than ever. This time Scottoline tells the tale from the perspective of Bennie Rosato, owner of the all-woman law firm where Mary and Judy work. There's also Anne, who appeared briefly in an earlier novel, but she is conveniently on vacation in this volume.

Scottoline's trademark is putting people in impossible situations and watching them carry it off. One she had a lawyer pretend to be an employee of another law firm. This time, she has Bennie's twin sister, Alice, impersonating Bennie.

It all begins when Bennie tries to be supportive of her troubled twin, accepting a dinner invitation where Alice claims to be living. Bennie foils Alice's attempt to kill her but then (as the reader will expect) Bennie's troubles really begin. She has to convince the cops that's she's Bennie, not Alice, which is hard to do when she's dressed like Alice. She has to stop Alice's elaborate scheme to steal her life.

Scottoline really hammers the reader. She juggles character viewpoints smoothly and convincingly. Her tone changes when we switch among Alice, Mary and Bennie. Mary and Judy are consistent with the characters Scottoline created in her very first book. We know just enough about Judy to keep interested. For a moment I thought we'd get to meet Judy's parents but no: we get more than enough of Mary's family. Let's just say that Judy's role in the plot was not surprising, given her character.

Following mystery conventions, Scottoline ends every chapter with a cliffhanger. She introduces, for the first time I can remember in the series, something new in the character of Fiorella, a distant cousin who claims to be a witch.

A finicky reader might complain about two points. First one character turns up a little too conveniently on the scene; however, this character creates a special test for Alice's deception and ultimately affects mostly Bennie's dog, Bear. Second, there was a lot of discussion about Mary becoming a partner in Bennie's firm, but wasn't Mary made partner in the very first book in the series, with a different firm? Wouldn't Mary and Judy remember so being made a partner would feel different the second time around? .

Alas, this is one of those books that's hard to put down, yet leaves the reader sorry it's over at the end.

I have have liked the other Scottoline's that I have read before - but not this one! The story is just too unbelievable. The evil twin takes over Bennie's life almost without a hitch! She knows the law with just a quick glance at a case. She is a computer expert who ferrets out passwords and masters international banking without difficulty. Not in this or any other lifetime! There are just a plethora of skills that nasty Alice manages without getting caught immediately. No one seems to realize the differences in Bennie's new, i.e. nicer, personality. It is too much of a stretch to consider. Bennie is a tough cookie who takes no nonsense from anyone. The Alice clone is not believable.
Topping this is the over-the-top DeNunzio Italian stereotypes. Basta, girl! The ethnic group isn't all spaghetti and Nona Stregas! Mary's family is almost a lousy t.v. sit com. This is not a book that I could recommend.