"After Anna" resembled a Lifetime movie to me. It had an interesting story line when the seemingly "perfect" Dr. Noah Alderman gets put on trial for the murder of his step daughter but the rest of the book pretty much fell flat after that. I was expecting more twists and turns but felt like the story was being dragged on and nothing new was really being revealed over the course of this 400+ page book. I managed to finish it, but I was underwhelmed and I felt that the ending was anti-climatic and unrealistic.

After Anna....an Incredible, Dark, Twisted, Suspenceful Thriller by Lisa Scottoline!!!  Keeping readers on the edge of their seat.  Continuous guessing.  Unable to stop turning pages.  From heart pounding hto heart breaking.  The story continually switches characters' perspective. Converging from multiple directions.  Just as the reader has it figured out...BAM!!!  What is true?!?  Who to trust?!?  Maggie Ippolitti, happy with husband and stepson.  Her high school age daughter has contacted her.  After years not knowing each other, Anna wants to be part of her life.  Dr Noah Alderman loves his wife.  Looks forward to this addition.  Things will spin out of control.  And only gets worse.  The daughter has no boundaries.  The husband accused of Anna's murder.  Insisting his innocence, tried and convicted.  The nightmare is still not over.  So many secrets.  Don't want to give any spoilers.  I received this book as an ARC from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley.  I am voluntarily posting this review.   An Unbelievable, Dark tale by Lisa Scottoline !!!

Couldn't put it down! This book kept me interested and guessing from start to finish! It jumps back and forth between two periods in time; but it was not hard to follow the story at all. I knew there had to be a big twist coming but couldn't guess what it could be. Great read!

This book had me guessing what was next the whole time.  It had a lot of interesting content.   Maggie and Noah are living normal lives with Caleb who is Noah's son from his first marriage.  He met Maggie after his wife passed away.   Maggie has been estranged from her only child Anna since she was an infant because of Post partum psychosis .  Her first husband would not allow any contact or information on her daughter.   After her daughter Anna contact her things change a great deal in their household. .  With every chapter  you find a new issue , so much is covered in this book greed,  sex trafficking , prison life,  tons of subject matter .   I hope if you pick this book up you enjoy it as much as I have.

Lisa Scottoline, along with Alafair Burke is one of my go-to authors for legal thrillers. They're a genre that once felt like they were everywhere (though that was perhaps in the days of John Grisham and Scott Turow - and the movies based on their novels). They seem to be less prevalent now, which makes me appreciate them more than I perhaps once did. (Although the book I read after this - Closer Than You Know by Brad Parks - was also a legal procedural!) 

After Anna, Scottoline's latest is less about the legal process in many ways, though part of the plot does unfold in a courtroom. It's more a novel of suspense with the majority of the story being told through the memories of a man on trial for murdering his step-daughter.

Noah and Maggie are great characters and the people we meet 'before Anna' are happy and devoted parents to Noah's son Caleb. 

We're fairly quickly brought up to date on Maggie's relationship (or lack of) with Anna, which involved her former husband moving overseas after Maggie's diagnosis of postpartum psychosis (when Anna was 6mths old). At the time Maggie realised she needed help and sought it, but she discovers her ex filled his daughter's head with stories of her mother harming her, encouraging no contact between the pair. 

Seventeen years later Maggie admits to stalking her daughter on social media as much as possible and even though Anna's been shunted off (back) to boarding school in the US, Maggie's respected Anna's decision to have nothing to do with her.

Which is why she's ecstatic to get a call out of the blue. Maggie's unaware her ex-husband and his new wife have been killed, and she's soon able to convince Anna that the stories her father told her about her were just lies. 

Now, with a hefty trust fund awaiting her, Anna's decision to leave boarding school and move in with her mother (and Noah) immediately is kinda strange, but Maggie doesn't care and she, Noah and Caleb do their best to welcome her into their family. 

It's rather shocking then to discover that Noah is accused of killing Anna less than a month later... however the cracks start to appear pretty quickly. 

Most of the story is told through Noah's eyes. Kinda in reverse - on the stand and through his memories of events 'after Anna' moved in. Because we're in his head we know he's trying to protect Maggie and although he claims to be innocent of the murder, he feels guilty. About something. 

Readers are privy to Anna's seemingly duplicitous behaviour.... although we really only have Noah's word on that. 

The blurb implies Maggie doubts her husband's guilt and wants to get to the bottom of the crime, however sadly Maggie seems to shut Noah out of her life. The fact he'd be capable of killing Anna goes against all of her instincts but there seems to be no other alternative. And.... after all, Anna made a number of allegations against Noah before her death. 

It's actually not until the end that Maggie has doubts and things change pretty quickly. For me the final twist was one too far. I liked the premise but the 'why' seemed a bit far-fetched and a little unrealistic. 

It probably brought my rating of the book down a little, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless. 

3.5 stars

What would you do if one day your biggest dream came true? Then you had to choose between that dream or the family you had?? That's the dilemma Maggie faces in After Anna. When she gets her daughter back after over 17 years the relationship between Anna and her husband Noah causes an explosive rift that tears apart the family but somethings aren't quite what they seem. 

Lisa Scottoline is one of my favorite authors and as soon as her new titles get announced I hurry and request it from the library. Once again Lisa delivers a suspenseful nightmare of a drama that could literally happen to anyone you know. With each chapter, I just needed to know more and needed answers. You will definitely want to clear out your day before you sit down for this because you won't want to put it down.

"You can't believe people when they look you in the eyes. You gotta look behind them. See what they're standing in front of. What they're hiding."

Maggie Ippoliti Alderson is married to a widower, Dr. Noah, and she's ectastic when she gets a call from her long absent 17-year-old daughter, Anna Desroches. Maggie had lost custody of the infant Anna due to post-partum psychosis. She hasn't seen Anna in all that time. Anna wants them to meet and soon it is arranged that she will come live with Maggie, Noah and Noah's son, Caleb. Anna's wealthy father has died, and she wants to make up for lost time. Maggie and Noah help Anna move in and everything is finally as Maggie has dreamed -- until it all starts to go wrong. The next thing they know, Anna is dead and Noah is on trial for her murder.

The narrative starts at trial and goes backward in time with present day interspersed. Courtroom action, family disintegration, emotional pain and bewilderment as the happy family implodes. But it's not over, yet...NO SPOILERS

With an unusual twist that almost completely defies belief, the story concludes in a very unexpected way given all the events that transpired. The denouement took the book in a completely different direction to what was anticipated. Not sure I bought it, but I was definitely glued to the pages. Some of what transpired was hard for me to buy, but I did enjoy the action, the drama and the writing even it didn't ring plausible. I love a good legal thriller and all the legalese, but this ended up more being a bit off of that path. I'll continue to read books by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-book ARC to read and review.

After Anna reads in two parts before Anna and after Anna. It was a dark story that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about it s the story started but it quickly pulled me in and held me close. 


** I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

After Anna by Lisa Scottoline 

April 2018

I received a digital copy of this ARC for review from NetGalley and St Martin’s Press. 

A suspenseful novel in true Scottoline style, providing twists and unexpected turns in plot. This story is narrated with alternating chapters from Maggie’s perspective “before” Anna and Noah’s perspective “after” Anna during his murder trial. 

Maggie has almost everything she wanted with a new husband, Dr. Noah Alderman, a pediatric allergist and his 10 year old son, Caleb. Although she feels fortunate to have such a loving and caring new family, she can’t help but ruminate on her past transgressions. 

She has many regrets for the postpartum psychosis she experienced after giving birth to Anna. Her marriage to Florian soon failed resulting in an acrimonious custody battle. Since Maggie last saw her daughter at 6 months old, she continued desperately to develop a relationship with Anna. Her affluent ex-husband had remarried and moved to France sending Anna off to fancy boarding schools. 

One Easter Sunday, Anna receives an unexpected call from her daughter, Anna. Apparently, Anna has been stateside at a private high school Congreve in Maine. Her daughter, now 17 years old, wants to reconnect and meet her mother. Everyone is thrilled when Anna comes to live with them after her father is killed in a plane crash. 

What begins as a wonderful reunion soon begins to disintegrate the once happy family when lies and deceit gradually emerge. There’s no way to prepare for the twists and turns this story will take as Noah stands trial for murder. Truths and lies become entangled making it difficult to decent who to believe.

Omg this book was soooo good. I couldn't put it down. Such an easy and fast read. I would've never guessed it in a million years. It was such a shocking twist at the end. All the revelations that came to light at the end were fantastic. This book had everything. Great characters, content and a shocking ending. What more do you want from a book???

I would like to thank my favorite publisher, St Martin's Press,   and Netgalley for providing m with an ARC of this wonderful book in exchange for my honest review.

" After Anna" is the first book that I read from this author, Lisa Scottoline, and I can tell you now it will not the last. The first lines of Chapter 1, gets the reader hooked as Dr. Noah Alderman is watching the jurors enter the court room with the verdict. Will he be convicted of first degree murder. The reader wonders which murder.
Ms. Lisa cleverly delivers the story by alternating to the present and flash backs and tells the story from the view point of Dr. Alderman and his wife. This  style of alternating between the past and the present keeps the reader engaged and turning the pages all night long to find out what happened and what is happening now.
The story is full of twists and turns, even up to the last chapters. This story will pull you in and make you weep, as it will tug at your heart strings.
I highly recommend this suspenseful and  wonderful book!
I have posted this review on my goodreads.  amazon account and Barnes and Noble.

Once again, Lisa Scottoline does not disappoint!  I thought I had everything figured out (more than once I might add) , but boy was I wrong.  Great read that kept me guessing throughout and I have been recommending it to my customers since I finished!

I love Lisa Scottoline stand alone books. This one had an interesting start, by beginning with the trial and before the trial chapters mixed in. It was a different writing style than usual for Lisa and I liked it. I really felt bad for Noah in this story and I am not sure I could have forgave everything like he did. As a parent my heart broke for Maggie and what she went through when Anna was a baby. Another winner for Lisa Scottoline with After Anna!

Maggie Alderman is happy. She is married to a fantastic pediatric allergy specialist, Noah, and step-mother to his ten-year-old son. Her daughter, Anna, from a previous marriage phones and wants, after seventeen years of no contact, to meet with her. Maggie has had no contact with Anna because her then husband, Florian, got complete custody because Maggie was suffering from post-partum psychosis, a severe mental illness.  Now her husband and his new family have been killed in a plane crash, and Anna reaches out to Maggie.  Of course, Maggie invites Anna to live with her and Noah once she learns Anna is very unhappy at the boarding school she attends and wants desperately to leave. Once installed at Maggie’s house, things take a turn for the worst.  Long story short.  Noah is accused and on trial for killing Anna, which he claims he did not do.  Maggie’s marriage is falling apart due to the circumstances and stress of everything. As time goes on, Maggie begins uncovering clues about what really happened to Anna, and how Noah and Anna are intertwined in a fascinating but deadly scheme. Little by little, the story moves to an interesting and different ending. I will admit that I did not see this ending coming, though it was obvious something strange was going on. Not sure everyone will agree with me on this, as there are probably clues scattered throughout, which I obviously missed.

I enjoyed reading this book, but it became a difficult read for me about half way through.  I wanted to know what really happened, but the story was drawn out and difficult to take for me at times. The characters were well done, but I am not so sure about the story line. As I said, however, it could have moved along at a faster pace.  The story became interesting during the last third to quarter of the book, as it lost the drag that was pulling it down, and Maggie began -unraveling the various plots and sub-plots. The ending came as a bit of a surprise to me, and I wish there had been more lead up to it.  However, as I said, there probably clues that I missed. In addition, I also am not sure I found the ending as believable as the author intended. Perhaps it is the clues. I have read many books by Ms. Scottoline and found this one somewhere in the middle of all of them.  I did not really like it, but I did enjoy it, and it did catch and hold my attention. Finally, I thought Noah’s trial was pertinent, though not some of the subsequent events and actions that occurred while he was in prison. For me they were sort of like filler in the book, which, as I said, could have been shorter and still as good. Nevertheless, the book is an interesting mystery worth reading for those who have the time and enjoy this author’s books. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.

2.5 stars

I had heard many good things about Lisa Scottoline’s books and so when I was offered an ARC of her latest thriller After Anna, I went into it expecting an intense read.  The plot (from the summary) sounded promising and the first 2-3 chapters actually did draw me in, made me interested in the story and wanting to find out what was really going on with Anna’s murder and what Noah’s role was in it.  Unfortunately, the story quickly started falling apart for me (I was barely at the 8% mark on my Kindle) and kept going downhill the more I read – by the time I got to the end of the book, the story had become such a tangled mess that I felt like kicking myself for not having DNF’ed this earlier on (especially when I already have a long list of books I still need to get to).

There were so many issues I had with this book, I honestly don’t know where to begin with relaying my thoughts on this one.  I guess perhaps I should start with the writing, which was where I first found issue with this book.  Most of the book (way too much of it to be honest) consisted of back and forth dialogue between various characters – the “After” sections were mostly about Noah’s trial, with the dialogue centering heavily on the back and forth questioning between lawyers and witnesses, while the “Before” sections had line after line of dialogue between Maggie, Noah, Anna, and other characters, building up the “meat” of the story in terms of how Noah got to the point of standing trial for murder.  Dialogue is of course a necessary component of all novels and when it is done well, it can definitely enhance a story and give keen insight into the story’s characters, but when the dialogue is overdone to the extent that it was here, it actually bogs down the story more than anything else.  With that said though, the issue I had wasn’t just with the excessive amount of dialogue, but rather, how trite and superficial majority of the dialogue was, to the point that I felt most of it was unnecessary and the story would’ve been more coherent without it.  There were some chapters where characters took up pages and pages having long, drawn out, yet repetitive arguments with each other (some of the arguments actually reminded me of the way children argued with each other)…or a character takes several paragraphs, sometimes even several pages, to “get to the point” of what they were trying to say (i.e.: almost all of the conversations between Maggie and Anna).  Outside of the dialogue, there was also too much description of “unnecessary minutiae” – details that were not really relevant to the plot and made me wonder why they were included in the first place (i.e. that entire chapter where Maggie and Anna are at the Congreve Inn and we are told what their room looked like, the different things they ate, Anna’s “play-by-play” reaction to the movie they were watching, etc).  All of this, combined with the issues with the plot as well as a general frustration with most of the characters (more on both these points this later), made the story feel so tremendously draggy that I found myself skimming a lot, especially at the halfway mark when I started getting increasingly annoyed with the way things were going (or, more appropriately, NOT going) and so resorted to glossing over entire paragraphs – sometimes even entire pages – so that I could get to the end quicker.

In terms of the characters, I didn’t like the way any of them were portrayed, as they all came across as one-dimensional and superficial to me.  I was especially irritated with the character of Maggie, who was supposed to be a mature 40-something mother and career woman, yet for nearly 90% of the story that she was in, she acted like a petulant teenager throwing a tantrum each time things didn’t go her way.  In fact, in some of the scenes between Maggie and Anna, I actually got confused who was the teenager and who was the mother because they both sounded equally immature.  The character of Noah came across as too much of a caricature – perfect husband, perfect father, tall and good-looking, exceedingly intelligent doctor, patient, attentive, loving, basically he was the penultimate “perfect” man whom Maggie obviously adored – but yet, upon one “complaint” from Anna, Maggie goes from loving her husband to automatically hating him and then refuses all attempts at rational thought after that. And of course, Anna was a very stereotypical character, but what irked me most was how blatantly obvious it was from the getgo that something wasn’t right with her, yet Maggie saw absolutely no issues, had absolutely no doubts, even when evidence was staring her in the face.  I personally can’t stand characters that are written deliberately stereotypical, especially female characters, so the way both Anna and Maggie were portrayed in this story really got to me.

Where I saw the biggest problem with this story though was in the plot, which honestly had more holes in it than swiss cheese.   I had to suspend disbelief for practically the entire book in order to get through it -- the opening chapters were decent but the plot grew more and more outlandish as the story dragged on and by the end, the plot had gotten so out of hand that I really had to question whether I was still reading the same book.  One particular section in the second half of the book really made my blood boil (the part where one of the characters accompanies the police on a high profile sting operation – I’m trying to avoid spoilers so being purposely vague here) – the actions of the characters made no sense to me (not just in that one section but throughout the entire story) and it seemed like a lot of the time, drama was being created for drama’s sake.  Overall, the entire plot felt forced and with all the holes, the flow of the story was negatively affected to the point that it was a huge struggle to get through the book.

Though I can’t in good conscience recommend this read due to all the issues I had with it, I am obviously the outlier here as there are many others who liked this one, so I would recommend checking out the 4 and 5 star reviews as well before deciding.  Also, despite my disappointment with this book, I am still open to reading this author’s other works in the future, as I’ve heard her other works are better, but it’s definitely less of a priority for me at this point.

Received ARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley

Since Lisa Scottoline is one of my favorite mystery writers, I appreciated Net Galley offering this title.  However, putting the ending at the beginning of the book (almost) was a little disturbing.  I really wanted to turn to the end of the book and read what happened, but since I enjoy the mounting suspense and plot twists I waited until I finished reading the novel.  The novel was intriguing and did not disappoint.

Four spectacular ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (and a half)\

Oh my gosh I loved this book!! 
Noah and Maggie have a quaint marriage, raising Noah’s son Caleb. Sadly, Maggie has a gaping hole in her heart where her own daughter Anna once was. Sometime ago, Maggie’s ex-husband took Anna as an infant and she hasn’t seen or heard from her dear daughter since...until now.  

From out of the blue, Maggie receives a phone call from Anna and she’s on cloud nine! Before long the two are meeting for a reunion lunch. And within no time at all, Anna is moving in. But it quickly appears that dear Anna may have her own reasons for wanting to reach out to her mother. And maybe this new family isn’t all she wanted after all.

The answer to everything that went wrong in their lives was...After Anna.

Told in two timelines. Before-Maggie’s POV, and After-Noah’s POV. The story-lines glides back and forth effortlessly. I never had a bit of difficulty following along.  

I’ve always been a huge fan of Lisa Scottoline, having read nearly every book she’s released. And this is definitely one of my favorites! If you’re a fan of hers this is a must read! And if you’ve never read one of her books, don’t put it off! This would be a great one to start with! 

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Lisa Scottoline for an ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

For this review and our full Traveling Sister review please visit Brenda’s and Norma’s fabulous blog:
https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com/

Norma and I were lost in the dense lush coulee with Kaceey reading After Anna and even though we ended up in the same coulee we were on different sides of the coulee on how much we enjoyed this one. 

After Anna is an entertaining, fast-paced and suspenseful domestic thriller that had us running in circles in the coulee trying to figure out who was manipulating who in this story.  Norma at times struggling to escape the circle and Kaceey and I just going with the flow until that great twist tossed out of the circle.  

We all loved that great twist that only Norma saw coming and we thought we figured out at least what direction this story was going only to be taken totally out of the coulee and into a different direction wondering if we were reading the same book.  The ending high in drama stopped us in our tracks and then separated us in different sides of the coulee.  Kaceey in the greener side, Norma feeling a little parched in the drier side and me in the middle wondering what just happened.  

Published April 10, 2018

Thank you, NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Lisa Scottoline for a copy to read and review. 

Review written and posted on our themed book blog Two Sisters Lost In A Coulee Reading.
https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com
Coulee: a term applied rather loosely to different landforms, all of which refer to a kind of valley.

3.5 Stars!

AFTER ANNA by LISA SCOTTOLINE was a fast-paced, interesting, and for the most part an enjoyable read for me but some of the subject matter in regards to how fast things progressed with the characters and their situations just happened a little too quickly for me.

LISA SCOTTOLINE delivers a well-paced and gripping read here which is told from alternating points of view, Before Anna from Maggie’s perspective and After Anna by Noah through trial excerpts.  I really enjoyed reading the trial chapters and found them both intense and gripping.

This book really challenged me and honestly nothing really rang true to me and I was constantly trying to figure out what the heck was going on.  Then at one point everything kind of clicked in my mind and I was pretty sure I had it all figured out.  From that point on I couldn’t read it fast enough to see if my prediction was correct.  Well, I was partially correct but would have never of guessed the why though! 
      
There were a few things near the end of the book that did bother me a little bit so I wasn’t totally satisfied with how everything wrapped up but all in all it was an entertaining and enjoyable read though and I’m glad that I read it.  I have read quite a few LISA SCOTTOLINE novels in the past and have really enjoyed them and I will continue to read more in the future.  Would recommend!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Lisa Scottoline for the opportunity of reading an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review!

I really enjoyed the parts of this story that dealt with the trial of Noah Alderman, and his recollection of the events leading up to his being accused of murdering his stepdaughter.  I found the character of Maggie to be very frustrating.  She was entirely too trusting and eager when her daughter made contact with her for the first time in seventeen years.  Throughout the book, she made snap judgements about Noah's behavior, and allowed Anna to get away with too much.  While I suspected what would happen in the end, I felt that part was rushed and the issue of sex trafficking seemed to be brushed over.  It wasn't clear to me why no one mentioned that Connie was a male even though many references were made to Congreve being an all-girl school.  I also had serious issues with Maggie and Kathy dragging Caleb into their quest to find out about Anna at Congreve. As always, I enjoy the references to the Philadelphia area in Lisa Scottoline's books.