I have very mixed feelings about this book.  I have been a fan of Lisa Scottoline for a long time and have almost always really enjoyed her books so I went into this book expecting to love it.  I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either.  It was really just kind of okay for me.  I had a really hard time getting into this book and it actually took me an entire week to finish it which is a very long time for me to be reading a single book.  Once I really got into the book a bit, I did find the story a bit more entertaining and was very curious how things would work out.

I feel like Scottoline took a bit of a risk with how this story is laid out and I am not sure that it paid off at least for me.  The book is told through 2 points of view and 2 different time lines.  Noah's point of view starts at the end his trial for the murder of Anna and works its way backwards through time.  Maggie's point of view begins with Anna's first contact with her since she was a baby and progresses towards the events leading to the trial.  These two points of view move in opposite directions until they eventually come together.  I feel that one of the reasons that I had such a hard time getting into the book was that I already knew that Anna was going to be killed and Noah was going to stand trial for the murder.  I didn't know how those things would happen but some of the desire to find out what would happen next was lost simply because of how the story was laid out.

Eventually the two points of view meet up and start to follow the same basic timeline which really worked better for me.  Some of that is achieved through Noah's memories while he sits in the courtroom during his trial.  I think that some of the best parts of the book were the times that we would see an event from both Noah and Maggie's point of view. 

I love a good plot twist.  But I like for plot twists to be believable.  I want them to be at least somewhat realistic.  This book started taking twists and turns all over the place and most of them seemed way over the top.  Instead of surprise over the turn in the story, I felt shocked that the story had become so implausible.  The last part of the book spun in a whole new direction that seemed more odd than anything. 

Despite my issues, I do enjoy Scottoline's writing and found this book to be very readable and I did like the book.  I think that a lot of readers will enjoy this one more than I did so I would encourage anyone drawn to the description to give the book a try.  I do plan to read more from Lisa Scottoline in the future. 

I received a digital review copy of this book from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley.

WOW OH WOW!!! 
After Anna is completely AMAZING!! This is a MUST READ!! You will be hooked from the first page. This is about a family that is completely torn apart because of “lies” within the family. The mother gets a call from her estranged daughter, who she hasn’t seen since she was 6 months old. She (Anna) is now 17. She brings Anna home and life as they know it falls apart. The story is told through the trial of Noah....and Maggie’s view. Very very very good read with a twist ending!!!! You will not regret the time you spend reading this book. :)

After Anna by Lisa Scottoline. I've read past books by this author enjoyed them and this one didn't disappoint me. Everything you want from a thriller. A storyline that pulled me in from the first page. A ending I did not expect. Plenty of twists and turns. Lisa Scottoline knows how to give you a great storyline and book. Look forward to reading more by this author.

I have long been a fan of Lisa Scottoline’s legal thrillers, and generally consume them in two days or less. She knows how to craft a good page-turner and create compelling characters. After Anna was a departure for me, because I have not read her emotional thrillers and did not know what to expect. I was not disappointed. It, too, is a page-turner, and I could not put it down. A riveting mystery that unfolds around Maggie, who lost custody of her daughter 16 years ago and has not seen her since. After receiving an unexpected email from Anna, mother and daughter joyously reunite and Maggie brings her home to the serene family life she has created with her second husband, Noah. Things quickly go south when Anna is murdered and Noah is accused of the crime. That’s all I’m going to reveal about the plot, but the story has lots of plot twists and unexpected turns. It’s a great read, and I highly recommend it.

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

Having really enjoyed some of Lisa Scottoline’s previous books (Every Fifteen Minutes and One Perfect Lie) when I saw After Anna on Netgalley- I had to hit request!

The premise of After Anna intrigued me quite a great deal. It sounded like a mystery that would be calling my name till I sat down to read it.

What I liked:

The cover. I love it. The colors. The rip in the cover. I really love it!

Maggie’s dilemma- she’s found love and has a happy life and now her daughter Anna wants to be in her life and that is all Maggie wants- that is the cherry on the sundae. To have this situation is almost enough to break Maggie.

The ending. SO good!

 

Bottom Line: After Anna has something for everyone and Lisa Scottoline fans should be thrilled!

 

*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*

**After Anna is an April #FuturisticFriday selection for Traveling With T.**

This is a real page-turner; great for readers who like a strong plot and for a story line to move along. Scottoline's writing is funny, too; her personality comes through, especially when writing about being Italian.

A story of love lost and found. Also a story of betrayal. Well written with believable characters. Several unique twists throughout the book. I was a little disappointed with the ending but not enough to detract from the rest of the book.

You know when you read everything an author writes how you start to anticipate how the story will go.   You know the authors writing style and think you can tell where she is going to take you?  Yea, well this is a Lisa Scottoline thriller but it will take you down paths that are not in your comfort zone and will make you question where you thought the story was going.     

After Anna is a psychological thriller that touches on mental illness, losing your parental rights, rape, and lies.   So many lies…    There were times that I could feel the story was off, some of the things happening just didn’t add up.    There were times that I wasn’t sure if the character was telling the truth or a lie.   The story kept me on my toes, kept me guessing, and kept me wondering where I would end up.   

This was not my favorite Lisa Scottoline book but it was a book that I continue to think about even a few days after I have finished.    The story has stuck with me, I told my mom about it, recommended it to a friend at work, and am excited to see what other’s will think about it.  

I recommend picking up your own copy.

Maggie and Noah were married and happy as they could be
After Anna arrived, chaos occurred as all will agree
Range Rovers, sexual allegations
Inappropriate pics on vacations
Within the court and out, there are two sides to the couple’s tale
Hopefully this one won’t end with Noah locked up in a jail
Ultimately who was Anna’s killer?
To find out read this excellent thriller
#FrugalFriday’s short review is being presented this week
In rhyme for National Poetry Month-I’m just a word geek!
Even if this poem’s gobbledygook
The author deserves 4 stars for the book!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy.

Clever and surprising tale of before Anna and after Anna. Kind of thought this was a boring story and eagerly anticipated the trial verdict. And then it become much more intriguing and interesting. All of my guesses were wrong.

I gave this book only 3 stars due to the constant back and forth. Before Anna, After Anna. That part of the story was very tedious. I knew based on Ms. Scottoline's prior books that there had to be something worth waiting for. It didn't occur until almost the very end. I think the story could have been more entertaining if told straight through. I have a sister who we have to tell her if a book will grab her right from the beginning, sad to say I will have to tell her this is not her cup of tea! 

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Lisa Scottoline for the ARC to review.  I have read a few Lisa Scottoline books.  I liked the way the storyline was set up Before Anna/After Anna. We learn about Maggie and Anna in the Before Anna.  How Maggie and Anna are separated and reunited.  It seems Anna is spoiled, entitled and manipulative. We learn about the trial of Noah Alderman in the After Anna, as well as, Noah's short time in prison.  I felt the story was very well done and the trial parts were riveting, however, when it came to the part in the storyline that Maggie is alerted that Anna may be alive (spoiler) I find it hard to believe that she would drag her step-son out in a storm.  That she could put all of this together that quickly was also amazing. And how quickly Noah was release from prison was also quite unrealistic.  I was a little disappointed.

Book Review: After Anna by Lisa Scottoline

I've heard a lot but haven't read Lisa Scottoline's books, and recently received an advance copy of her latest.

To say I wasn't disappointed would be an understatement; it was unputdownable, took me just over a day. 

The protagonists are a mom precipitously reunited with her long-lost daughter from a prior marriage; a family whose idyllic suburban life is rattled and turned upside-down by the sudden intrusion of a new family member; a husband and father who's accused of sexual abuse and hauled to court for a capital crime; and the lost daughter, now an heiress rich beyond the family's wildest dreams.

The author's writing style piques our interest seamlessly between "before" and "after" Anna, through tedious deliberations in a courtroom drama setting, almost a bit protracted at times, with equal time devoted to the ecstatic joy of a mom and daughter catching up and savoring lost quality time.

Both elements fuse to a narrative which vividly builds up tension to an expectation of what can only be inevitable, then woven up marvelously to set up an ending which underscores the very definition of irony. 

This review is based on an ARC (Advance Reading Copy), with many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Lisa Scottoline for the privilege.

The story begins in a police procedural type fashion. With the accused about to get a verdict and then tells you how we got to this point. The chapters alternate points of view. The main ones are Maggie and Noah’s. We get their observations and analysis based on before Anna and after Anna enters their lives. 
It was a hard to believe story. I know Maggie wanted her daughter back in her life but why would she throw away the life she has now instead of trying to make it work for all of them. Most mothers would not ignore all the signs. She wouldn’t even listen to anyone else’s observations or conjectures.
I felt a lot of the prison action was contrived and not realistic. Most inmates cannot make demands and have them met immediately.
It took way too long to get to the meat of the matter. Three quarters of the way through the story, it becomes a lot more interesting. Unfortunately, it felt rushed and left us wanting more substance in wrapping it all up . I felt the author was in a hurry to end the story.

When Anna returns to her mother, Maggie's life, it is a big upheaval for the woman and her husband and stepson.  Anna doesn't think she needs the rules from the woman who let her go.  When Anna is murdered, Maggie's husband Noah is the accused and Maggie is determined to find the truth.  Engrossing from beginning to End.  Scottline just gets better and better!

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is a very exciting story full of twists and turns. Lots of intrigue. Hard to put down. Scottoline has never let me down!!!

Omg! What a breath-holding book that kept me reading with intrigue and excitement. This book was gripping good all the way through. Not one boring part. Loved! Book provided by NetGalley.

After Anna by Lisa Scottoline is a highly recommended domestic thriller.

Maggie Ippoliti is overjoyed to receive a call from her daughter, Anna Desroches, since she hadn't seen or heard from her daughter since she was six months old. After Anna's birth Maggie was suffering from postpartum psychosis. Anna's father Florian Desroches divorced Maggie and immediately moved overseas, cutting Maggie off from all access to her daughter. Anna had also written to her mother saying she wanted nothing to do with her. Now Anna, 17, is attending high school at an exclusive boarding school in the States. Her father, his second wife, and their two children were all killed in a plane crash, leaving Anna alone. She is now reaching out to Maggie, trying to form a relationship and family. Maggie's husband, pediatric allergist Noah Alderman, is supportive and excited for Maggie. She has been a wonderful stepmother to his son, 10-year-old Caleb, who has apraxia.

After Anna opens with Noah on trial for Anna's murder and awaiting sentencing, so we know right from the start that this isn't going to be the story of a happy family reunion. The chapters alternate back and forth between when Maggie first received the phone call from Anna and to Noah's trial for murdering Anna. To complicate matters, Maggie's narrative is told in chronological order and move forward in time, while Noah's chapters are told in reverse order and move backward in time. It is also clear at the beginning that Anna is not to be trusted, but that Maggie is too ecstatic to allow any doubts to creep in to the burgeoning relationship.

The characters are well-developed. I will admit that at the outset Maggie's over-exuberant, excited and positive exclamations over Anna's sudden phone call and appearance turned me off. Sure, I get it, be happy, but don't lose all sense of caution and discernment. Her actions didn't seem plausible to me. Yes, encourage the relationship, but goodness, use your head, take it slow, and tell Anna you want a relationship with her, but you all need to take the time to get to know each other. Or, if Maggie couldn't do this, Noah should have encouraged her to take some caution.

Scottoline is an accomplished author, so she handles with aplomb the complications of her novel and the expected twists and turns leading up to the meeting of the two timelines and on to the conclusion. After Anna is an entertaining story with complications, cliffhangers, and courtroom drama. There are a few plot holes and the ending is a bit of a stretch, but it will entertain and hold your attention throughout.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of St. Martin's Press.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2018/04/after-anna.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2358094996
https://www.librarything.com/work/20002900/reviews/154817115
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https://twitter.com/SheTreadsSoftly/status/984120927716814848

3.5 stars 
Maggie has happily settled into her life with her husband Noah and her stepson Caleb.  Yet she still feels incomplete.  She recognizes that what is missing from her life is a relationship with her daughter Anna.  A relationship that was interrupted when Maggie lost custody of Anna while suffering from a case of postpartum psychosis.  Despite Maggie's understanding of the disease, it is still a part of her past that she is ashamed of.   No one besides her husband and best friend even know that Anna exists.  All of this changes after Anna contacts Maggie after the unexpected loss of her father.  Maggie, eager to rekindle their relationship, invites Anna to come live with her and her family.  But tensions soon run high and Anna is soon found dead, murdered via manual strangulation.   The prime suspect -- Maggie's husband, Noah.

<u>After Anna</u> is mainly told from both Maggie's perspective leading up to the murder and Noah's during his trial.   At the beginning of the novel Noah's chapters read like a legal thriller and seem to have more energy.  Maggie's narration is more focused on her mental state as she is pressed with having to choose between her husband and her long lost daughter.  Scottoline's depiction allows the reader to feel Maggie's unease, her hesitation to stand by her husband.  We understand that she is in part led by the guilt that her absence in her daughter's life has caused as well as her maternal need to protect her daughter, to prove to Anna that she can count on her to champion her cause.   As the novel drew to its close, the pace quickened, twists and turns abounded yet I felt as if some of the events were a bit unrealistic serving to pull me from the book's emotional draw.

One of the best books I’ve read in a long time. Noah and Maggie are thrilled to hear from Maggie’s long lost daughter and Maggie plans to bring her home to live with them.  Anna is murdered shortly thereafter and Noah is accused of her murder.  The book is told from both Noah and Maggie’s point of view, Noah’s at the present and Maggie’s before the murder.  While I normally don’t like books in this format, for this book it completely works and makes it more fascinating.  It’s a riveting story and I couldn’t stop reading it.  As a regular reader of Ms. Scottoline’s books I was waiting for the twist and when it came I audibly gasped! I highly recommend this book!