Cover Image: After Anna

After Anna

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Member Reviews

This was my first time reading this author and I was disappointed. I thought Maggie was naive and stupid.... Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel.

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It is difficult to write a review for this book that does not give the story away but I was reading this book thinking I had it all figured out then BAM everything changed. I think the end of this book was one of the most riveting endings I have read in a loooong time. Wow! I really enjoyed the characters especially Maggie, Noah and Caleb. I always got a weird vibe from the Anna character so I was not really surprised that all was not on the up and up with her. The writing is superb and the story was the perfect pace. This was my first Lisa Scottoline book and it will definitely not be my last. What a great book!

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I received an advanced copy of this book through Netgalley. This book had me from the very beginning. I love that it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I would highly recommend this book to my fellow readers. Thank you for the chance to review this book!!!!

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After Anna by Lisa Scottoline is a psychological thriller that will keep you guessing for a while. Told in different viewpoints and at different time periods, the story had great potential. It did have some interesting plot twists; however, the characters were not well developed and the plot was difficult to get through at times. It is an okay read. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher. These opinions are entirely my own.

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Noah and Maggie have only been married for a few years when Maggie's estranged teenage daughter calls out of the blue and wants to see her. Not having a relationship with her daughter has caused Maggie a lot of heartache over the years since she has been better, but now her ex is dead and Anna has been left alone. Her husband Noah has graciously shared his son with Maggie, but even cute little Caleb does not fill the hole in Maggie's heart. After that out-of-the-blue call, Maggie makes a trip to her daughter's boarding school and ended up bringing her home. But, that is the trouble really starts. Anna starts to accuse Noah of inappropriate behavior and Maggie doesn't know who to believe. Her husband or her daughter. When Anna turns up dead her whole world is shattered. Could her husband really be capable of murder?

After Anna is a hard-hitting mystery that is told from the viewpoints of both Maggie and Noah. The timeline jumps around which comes in the form of "Before" and "After". (Hint: that is where the title originates) Maggie and Noah seem to have a really solid relationship before Anna enters the picture. It is understandable that Maggie would jump at any chance to have Anna back in her life, but inviting her to live with them without talking to Noah is kind of a big deal in my opinion. That is when things really start to go bad. Because we get Noah's view on things before they happen (while on trial) it is very easy to get a clouded opinion of Anna, too. He thinks so little of Anna that my own opinion of her is quite poor and then I question my motives for disliking her. What *if* the twist was that Noah really did misbehave with Anna? What *if* Noah really did kill Anna. --CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS

Bottom Line - Lisa Scottoline has not written a single word that I have not liked. Her writing is smart and the topics are relevant and even somewhat hard hitting. After Anna covers both of her genres, legal and mystery in a fast-paced novel that you won't be able to put down.

Details:

After Anna by Lisa Scottoline
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Pages: 352
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: 4/10/18
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Another hit from a talented author. Read this book now, Very hard to put down. Grabs you and does not let go. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book. Although I received the book in this manner, it did not affect my opinion of this book nor my review.

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This was my second book from this author. I honestly don’t know why I waited so long after the first to read another. Lisa Scottoline knows how to deliver a mystery that keeps me turning pages needing to know what’s happening. I struggled putting this book down. I really like how the author gave us the before and after Anna. I think that helped us to really be able to get the fully story and be able to understand the feelings that went on. I really enjoyed this story and look forward to reading more from this author soon.

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I'm a huge fan of Lisa Scottoline. After Anna didn't disappoint! Great cast of characters, tons of twists and turns, lot of action and suspense. A true page turner.

The odd thing - something felt familiar about this story. For the first half of the book I felt like I read it before, but I didn't....

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Love Lisa Scottoline and loved this book, no surprises there. Howevery, the book itself reveals many surprises and unexpected turns. It's the story of a missing daughter, a sad and sorrowful mother who later gleans a bit of happiness in her life. A page turner indeed and just when you think you have it, oops no you don't. A great suspenceful read. Thank you NetGalley for ARC!

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Another page turner by Lisa Scottoline. I have read several of her books and always forget that even though I might think I know where the story is going,I end up being totally on the wrong track! This book is suspenseful and fast paced that will leave you guessing until the very end. The twists and turns are clever and although some elements seemed far fetched I still enjoyed this book. I am looking forward to reading more from this author.

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I thought that this book was fantastic!! I enjoyed it from the beginning until the very end. In fact, I read this novel in 2 days. I could not put it down. I also gave it to my husband to read. There were so many different plot lines that could be explored in this novel. There were family issues, divorce issues, friendship issues, and trust issues that could be discussed in any book club setting or classroom. I think a novel that leaves you thinking about it well after you have finished reading it is one that needs to be read. The only thing that I found a bit too "perfect" was part of the ending regarding the husband and wife and what was to become of their marriage. Kudos to Lisa Scottoline for another excellent novel.

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Simply AMAZING! After Anna is a book I won’t be able to stop thinking about- one I won’t be able to help but recommend. Wow!

Maggie, her hubby Noah, and his son Caleb have an idyllic life together. The only thing missing is Maggie’s daughter Anna who she lost to her ex-husband seventeen years before. Life has carried on, she’s adapted, but the pain of not having had her daughter in her life never has gone away. That’s why Maggie throws caution to the wind when she recieves an out of the blue phone call from her daughter proposing they meet up. It’s a mom’s dream. The opportunity to make up for past mistakes, lost time, and reconnect. It should be a happy time. The key word, however, is should.

I won’t say anything more about it for fear I slip up and give something important away inadvertently. Just know that in After Anna author Lisa Scottoline has a produced a jaw dropping thriller guaranteed to shock, horrify, and delight you.

ALL THE STARS!

A tremendous thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for granting me this review opportunity.

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Wow! What a ride! This novel started off with a bang and didn’t slow down. The story held my interest, and I didn’t see the twists coming. In my opinion, this is the best to date of Scottoline’s stand alone novels.

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I totally enjoy reading Lisa Scottoline and thrillers.

This was a great read, fast and thrilling! It was heartbreaking to watch this family deal with the challenges that they were faced with and how quick things can go south.

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I love Lisa Scottoline's books. Her style of writing and her stories just draw you in and don't let you go until the last word, then you spend time rethinking everything after you finish the book! This book is no different.

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This novel was not for me at all! I felt really uncomfortable and triggered by one of the characters claiming fake rape. It was just not a novel for me but appreciate this opportunity and the book was very well written and have heard good things of this author so I will be checking out her other novels!😁

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A woman is contacted by her long lost 17 year old daughter that she hasn’t seen since infancy. Shortly after her daughter’s birth, Maggie struggled with postpartum psychosis and she was voluntarily committed. While she was hospitalized, her husband divorced ed her and had her deemed an unfit mother my the courts. He took the daughter and moved to another country. They had no contact until the 17 year old daughter sends her a message that she wants to meet up. Her father has passed away and Anna wants to leave her private boarding school to live with her biological mother, stepfather and stepbrother. Everything happens very quickly. Anna moves in and the reader discovers she is murdered 10days later. The stepfather is being tried for the crime. The book goes back and forth between when Anna was living in the house and when the stepfather is going t9 trail for the crime. I don’t often enjoy books that jump between the past and present because it can becoming confusing. In After Anna, Scottoline clearly titles the chapter with before and after. I was hooked when I first started reading the book. I really enjoyed it until about 70% into the book when it seemed to fizzle. The book the takes a turn and I was sucked in again. I’m going to leave it at that so I don’t give too much away!

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First this book took me forever to finish which tells me that I just wasn't in to it. While the premise was good, it was just a little much. It makes our court system look extremely inept, and it was very frustrating.

Also the ending was ridiculous, and unbelievable. Life is messy and complicated and like ending didn't reflect that at all. The ending made me lose faith in both main characters, and was just not realistic at all.

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Wow. I just finished reading After Anna by Lisa Scottoline, and my head is still spinning. I loved the multiple points of view and the different time perspectives used bY Scottoline to tell this thriller---it honestly kept me guessing until the very end. Fans of Gone Girl will love this novel. Can't wait to read more books by Lisa Scottoline.

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4.5 stars! Wow! That was a whirlwind of an ending. I will admit it kept me guessing. I really enjoyed reading this book. I kept texting my sister and telling her she had to get it. I never would have figured out all the twists at the end, but it was done well. I was lucky enough to get this from Netgalley.

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