Yet another great Philadelphia tale with women

If you could sum up Accused in three words, what would they be?

A very fun as well as intriguing mystery with the author's usual sense of place and fine Philly touches. Nice to have a mystery with strong women and not wimpets.

What other book might you compare Accused to and why?

Probably a Deborah Crombie mystery set in London. I don't much care for comparisons.

What about January LaVoy’s performance did you like?

I liked her okay, but thought the voices of the three Tony's was over acted and the sound volume was annoying. I wish she had read it mostly straight and not as if she was on a Vaudeville stage - especially the south Philly scenes.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Pigeon Tony unloaded the bees.

Any additional comments?

A splendid read and an unexpected outcome. I would have enjoyed it more if the reader had not annoyed me at times. Still, a solid story and wonderful characterizations. Nice to be back with the lawyer women.

21 people found this helpful

A "chick" legal thriller

Considering the degree to which Accused deals with relationships most people would likely believe women are the audience, a "chick" book. Despite being male, I enjoyed the book. The plot is about a lawyer attempting to free an innocent man convicted of murder. The relationships between the characters are thoroughly explored and are quite interesting. There are two interesting twists near the end that add to the story. RECOMMENDED!

33 people found this helpful

Narrator was poor!

I have enjoyed the Rosato and Associates series and was pleased to see a new edition out. Mary is made partner and has accepted Anthony's wedding proposal. This is one book that I think I would have enjoyed more if I had read it rather than listened to it. Although there was always humor in the series, the women were professionals and acted accordingly. This narrator has such a juvenile, excited voice for women that I was continually having to ignore her voice to get any enjoyment out of the story. The women sounded like little girls rather than the professionals they are. I come from an enthic family where half of the family is deaf so everyone speaks loudly to be heard over everyone else. However, the author shouting with two of the older Italian characters, one Mary's father and the other a long-time neighbor, I found very difficult and demeaning to them as loving, colorful individuals. Being hard of hearing myself and from a family with hearing problems, I know our voices may be louder than a soft-spoken person but we do not yell. My advise to catch up on what is happening in the Rosato law firm is to read the book rather than listen to the audible version. Audible, please find another narrator for series.

26 people found this helpful

Don't bother

Would you try another book from Lisa Scottoline and/or January LaVoy?

No, I will return all 3 in this series. I will never again buy a series just because they are on sale. Duh!

What did you like best about this story?

The story line IS interesting, the characters and the narrator are absolutely nauseating.

How could the performance have been better?

Perhaps for younger audiences this is entertaining but for me (63) the ecstatic screaming of female lawyers celebrating an engagement, the shouting to depict multiple octagenarians who have hearing deficits (as I do, you'd think I'd be sympathetic), and the absolutely impossible "clothes pin on the nose" depiction of a British accent. Really? I might have listened to the whole thing for the story if not for the assault on my ears.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Only to remind me never to buy books on sale, there must be a reason people don't buy them.

Any additional comments?

nope, thats it.

3 people found this helpful

Greatest one yet!

I love catching up with the girls and seeing where they are in life! It makes me feel connected to the storyline!

3 people found this helpful

narration annoying in part, but a decent story

Where does Accused rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The story is average and simply not that memorable.

What did you like best about this story?

I like that the reoccurring characters continue to mature and change.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The performance gets a mixed review. The narrator is good except for when she shouts in an attempt to portray Mary's hard of hearing father. Unless you can do a voice well when reading aloud it is best to read in your normal voice. I was tempted to forgo listening when she was shouting, totally unpleasant to listen to. In addition the narrator's attempt to sound like the young girl involved failed to be pleasing as well. It was just lacking authenticity. The narrator's normal voice was okay on the ears and hopefully she will improve.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No. I found the book really fell flat midway through and from then on the story was contrived and rather boring.

18 people found this helpful

Getting old

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A better story. This is far fetched. The author should keep to things that actually happen in a law practice. The premise is flawed. The characters get annoying after awhile. Murder is okay. Investigation is okay. The child who is the center of this is really a fantasy. The Italian background is okay, but the yelling and screaming, etc has no place. That might be what Italians do, but this is a mystery and is over played and irritating.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Not Scottoline. I just downloaded Michael Connelly.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of January LaVoy?

Her voice is grating especially when she goes Italian

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Emesis

21 people found this helpful

Entertaining

Great to have Lisa Scottoline writing about the Rosato and Associates the Philadelphia all women law firm again. I have missed reading about them; I have read all of the books in the series. These are easy to read legal procedure books with humor and a bit of a “who done it.” Mary DiNunzio has made partner in the firm. Mary and Judy Carrier take on a 13 year old girl Allegra Gardner who is a rich, genius who wants them to find out who killed her older 16 year old sister 6 years ago. This is complicated because a man is in prison who confessed to the killing. Allegra loves bee’s and when she is in the hospital Mary, pigeon Tony along with all the Tony’s and her father pick up the bee’s from the post office and take them to Allegra’s house to put the bee’s in the new hive. Thought the scene of pigeon Tony handling the bees was great. Mary gets engaged to Anthony Rotunno in the story with all the Italian family goings on around it also adds humor. There is no court room drama in this book but lots of suspense because they took on a 13 year old against her family’s wishes. I thought the real killer was established then Scottoline tosses in a twist for the ending. January LaVoy does a good job with the narration. This is a nice easy to read book to relax with.

9 people found this helpful

Soooo needs a good editor

Because I admire Scottoline's story lines, I ordered one more book. I will not order any more. This writing style is for kindergarten teachers. It is too loaded with description to endure. These are not children's topics and childish explanation is insulting. I don't need to know about the finish on the tabletop of an irrelevant table. Most offending was the description of what the police mean when they "like" someone for a crime. We ALL watch TV!!!. A good editor would diminish this book by 1/3. Suggest this author read Steven King's essay on how to write. CROSS OUT what is not relevant to the plot.

2 people found this helpful

Ridiculous story

Ludicrous story from a legal point of view, and I'm not a lawyer but it really bugged me. Predictable storyline. I can't believe this is a series. The worst thing I've ever gotten from Audible.

2 people found this helpful