Lisa Scottoline does it again!

I have read a few of Ms. Scottoline's books by now, and she never disappoints. To me, her books can best be described as legal thrillers with a heart. The stories have all the earmarks of a great legal thriller, with lots of twists, turns, and courtroom drama, but there's another ingredient in Lisa's books that make them even more compulsively readable: Emotion. She writes characters with stories that the reader gets emotionally invested in, the kind of characters you root for, played off against the kind of characters you wouldn't want to meet in a back alley. The result is a page-turning story that moves at a pace that will keep you up at night and characters that you won't be able to shake.

Her newest title, Damaged, is another home run. It is the story of Patrick, a young boy with dyslexia and anxiety, who lives with his grandfather. His mother is dead and his father has never been in the picture. His grandfather, Edward, hires Mary DiNunzio to represent Patrick when he is charged with assaulting a teacher's aid at school with a pair of scissors. The aid quits his job at the school and sues the boy, his family, and the school district. Before long, DiNunzio's role in Patrick's life morphs from lawyer to advocate to champion and more. As the story unfolds, we soon discover that Patrick may be more troubled than he at first appears and all may not be as it seems on the surface.

If you are looking to start your fall reading list and you love a good page turner that will by turns make you gasp, cry, cheer, hope, fear, worry, and celebrate, add Damaged by Lisa Scottoline to your stack - preferably right on top.