Rex’s reviews of anything (but mostly books)

Look Again - Lisa Scottoline

Ellen Gleeson reached the mommy track via an unconventional route: after writing an article about a sick boy in a Philly hospital, the thirty-something single reporter ended up adopting little Will when his birth mother relinquished him. Now three, Will’s the apple of his Mommy’s eye, and there’s no way she could conceive of her life without him.

No way, that is, until the card comes in the mail. You know the ones: white cardboard advertising circulars with the words “Have You Seen Me?” printed beside a picture on the back. Little Timothy Braverman, kidnapped two years ago in Florida, looked exactly like Will. And he was the same age. And some strange form of “adoptive-mother’s intuition” let Ellen know that the two were the same child…

Even though there were layoffs in the wind at her paper, Ellen knew it was up to her to prove that Will was not the missing boy. If doing so placed her job in jeopardy – not to mention maybe never seeing hunky Marcelo, her Brazilian editor, again – there was no comparison. And so Ellen began doing what good reporters do: she started her own investigation. But a strange thing happened along the way: people connected with the adoption kept dying…

Would Will Gleeson turn out to be the son of Carol and Bill Braverman? Would Ellen Gleeson’s worst nightmare come true? You’ll have to look for yourself – and then Look Again.

Veteran courtroom drama writer Lisa Scottoline leaves behind lawyer thrillers in the Rosato Associates series (Lady Killer, Killer Smile) and similar standalones (Devil’s Corner, Dirty Blonde) to parlay her new “career” writing the weekly Philadelphia Inquirer column (“Chick Wit”) into a novel about a reporter. Ellen Gleeson’s vocation notwithstanding, however, Scottoline gains no ground on the formula that has made her previous novels popular among aficionados of the intersection of mystery-thriller and bodice ripper.

Gleeson, a “woman of a certain age” (where “certain” is undefined), follows the inept footsteps of the many Scottoline heroines who precede her. Where she’s different from her predecessors is that the only man in her life is three years old instead of a buffed thirty-something Adonis. Of course, there is the obligatory thirty-something buffed Adonis waiting in the wings… Instead of pencil skirts, man-tailored shirts, and CFMPs; Gleeson’s typical garb is a sweater over a tee shirt, jeans, and a pair of Dansko® clogs. We know they’re Danskos, since Scottoline mentions the brand name several times (a variation from her other novels, where she usually prattles on about Manolo Blahniks). Ellen is, naturally, mortified that – as a mommy – she’s no longer “sexy,” making her secret crush on that gawdawful gorgeous new editor all the more painful for her.

Gleeson has other, more pressing problem, however. First, she’s obsessive; second, she’s a lot dumber than one might expect. Third, she makes bad choices and then refuses to backtrack to correct them. And, of course, as a working mother she’s eternally concerned that her son is being raised by the babysitter, Connie (we’re treated several times to Will’s inability to determine whether he’s supposed to call Gleeson or Connie “Mommy”). Most of all, though, she doggedly insists on going it alone and not letting anyone else help her. Dummy – but typical of a Scottoline heroine.

Like other novels in the Scottoline canon, Look Again is sufficient for light reading. The characters are likeable though exasperating, the premise is fairly interesting; and, for those who are interested in such things, one will encounter the requisite tastefully-done “Oh! My darling!” and “throbbing loins” moments. On the whole, however, Look Again is pretty lightweight stuff, but a step or two above the comedy-based chick lit series such as Stephanie Plum’s adventures. Scottoline livens the character list a mite by tossing in a back-stabbing coworker and the occasional clueless family member; and adds a startling but highly unlikely plot twist to tie a nice bow at the completion of the story

Overall, an average novel that apparently earned its author a few additional pennies for product placement. If I boldface Dansko a few more times, can I expect some royalties, too?

Buy Look Again at amazon.com

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