The Vendetta Defense - Softcover

When Judy Carrier, one of Bennie's attorneys, takes on Tony's defense, she's faced with a legal and moral dilemma. Tony admits that he killed Angelo Coluzzi, but insists it wasn't murder but vendetta, a justifiable payback for a blood crime committed nearly half a century ago and a continent away. The Coluzzi family knows about vendetta, too--they've got their own payback planned, and the trick for Judy is keeping Pigeon Tony (and herself) alive long enough to get them to trial. There's a complication de coeur when Judy falls in love with Tony's grandson, a hunky stonemason who will do for fences what Robert James Waller did for covered bridges (Clint Eastwood's too old, Brad Pitt's too young, etc.). But all's well that ends well in a tidy little read that will probably earn Scottoline another well-deserved shot at the bestseller list. --Jane Adams

Lisa Scottoline is a New York Times bestselling author and serves as president of the Mystery Writers of America. She has won the Edgar Award, as well as many other writing awards. She also writes a Sunday humor column for the Philadelphia Inquirer, titled "Chick Wit," with her daughter, Francesca Serritella. There are thirty million copies of Lisa's books in print, and she has been published in thirty-two countries. She lives in Pennsylvania with an array of disobedient but adorable pets.