John Devlin, the eldest Devlin sibling in the family’s law firm, kills a client in self-defense. He flees the scene, and his once-jailed, alcoholic younger brother, is determined to help him. What follows is a domestic thriller that keeps me reading with anticipation of what is to come. All I can say is the Devlins are quite a family, warts and all.



Having read previous books written by Lisa Scottoline, mostly books in a series, I know I enjoy her writing. Reading this book gives me confidence to give her other standalones a try. Thank you, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and NetGalley, for the chance to read and review an advance reader copy.

Lisa Scottoline is back with another highly entertaining, stand-alone thriller that has a “catchy” title, and a snarky, likable lead character who you can’t help but root for!

TJ Devlin is the only child who is not a lawyer at Devlin and Devlin, the highly successful family law firm which employs not only both parents but also both of his siblings.

Instead he holds the title of “Investigator” given to him by his family after time in jail for an alcohol related crime.

His sister Gabby is whip smart, but prefers her pro bono work- making his older brother John the family MVD (most valuable Devlin)

So TJ is pretty shocked when at their father’s birthday party, John confesses that he needs TJ’s help. It appears that he accidentally killed one of their clients, an accountant he’d confronted with proof of embezzlement.

TJ may have to OBSTRUCT justice to save John, but he wants to make amends with his family and prove his worth. At the same time, Gabby needs TJ’s help to GET justice for her dying plaintiffs-prisoners who were experimented on by a large pharmaceutical company,

This would be a lot for anyone but TJ will have to balance both cases while also dealing with his own personal demons-AA meetings-the loss of love-and a newly adopted, diabetic cat named Mango, who tolerates him at best.

Don’t let the 400 pages scare you away! The chapters are short and this is compulsive “just one more chapter” reading! I was engaged from the first page through the last.

And, this story COULD be the prequel for the next chapter in TJ’s life…🤞🏻

DO read the acknowledgements at the end of the story. It turns out that Gabby’s plaintiffs were fictional but what happened to them was NOT. Inmates at some of Philadelphia’s prisons were used as human subjects for medical experimentations from the late fifties to the early seventies and she provides sources for those of us who would like to learn more.

TW: Alcoholism (handled thoughtfully)

A buddy read with DeAnn. Be sure to check out her thoughts in her terrific review!

AVAILABLE March 26, 2024

Thank you to G. P. Putnam’s Sons for the gifted copy provided through NetGalley. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review.

A Gut-wrenching family drama

SUMMARY
TJ is the black sheep of the highly successful Devlin family. Everyone in the family, his parents and two siblings, are attorneys. TJ never finished college. He works as an investigator for the family law firm. At a family dinner, John, TJ’s older and highly successful brother, confesses secretly to TJ that he might have killed a client earlier that day in a confrontation over suspected embezzlement. TJ is surprised by the confession and wants to help his big brother, but as he begins to investigate the man’s death, his world is turned upside down, and his entire family turns against him.


REVIEW
The Truth About the Devlins is a gut-wrenching family drama about justice and devastating lies. Author Lisa Scottoline’s writing weaves a tale sizzling with suspense and is full of emotion. Scottoline’s background as an attorney certainly served her well in this novel. The writing is fast-paced and captivating.

TJ’s character as a recovering alcoholic who had served time in prison is delightfully authentic and real. His vulnerabilities drive both the character and the story.

An interesting thread of the story involves TJ’s sister, Gabby, also an attorney who asks for TJ's help investigating illegal drug tests conducted on inmates at a variety of prisons by pharmaceutical companies, resulting in terminal illnesses for participating inmates. This part of the story, based on real events, was very intriguing.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher Penguin Group Putnam
Published March 12, 2024
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam Books for a complimentary copy of this novel!
From the author of What About the Bennetts, comes another domestic, suspense thriller about a family of lawyers. One of them has a deep, dark secret that threatens to rip apart their entire family. The Devlin family have a very successful law firm. TJ, who served time for his alcoholism, is the firm’s investigator, since he can’t work anywhere else. John, TJ’s brother, is the golden boy who in their father’s eyes can do no wrong. So when John comes to his brother TJ on the night of their dad’s birthday and tells him he killed one of their clients, TJ tries to help his brother. John claims that when he tried to confront a client that he was embezzling, he took a gun out on John and John threw a rock at his head to protect himself and ran. But when they later get to the location of where this happened, the body is gone. So TJ begins to investigate without telling the rest of his family (only him and John know), but the more TJ investigates and tries to help John, the more lies and deceptions are revealed.

This novel is a wild ride full of lies, deceptions, secrets and how far family will go for one of their own to protect them. Will the truth come out and if so, can the Devlin Family survive that truth? I enjoyed reading this novel! It kept me enthralled and wanting to keep reading to find out what happens. I’ve really enjoyed this author’s domestic suspense thriller books and look forward to more of them! Look for this thrilling novel by Lisa Scottoline AVAILABLE March 26, 2024!!!

"Devlin, Devlin, Devlin, and Devlin at your service. The Devlin family run one of larger law firms in the Philadelphia area and are beloved members of the community. There's daughter Gabby, who mostly does pro bono work and is currently suing a pharma company for illegal drug testing conducted on inmates in multiple prisons. (This was based on a true case, according to the author). John, the favored son, soon to be in line to succeed his dad as CEO of the firm, rarely raises his head from his desk in his quest to accrue the most billable hours. Then there's TJ, the black sheep of the family. An alcoholic, he recently did a stint in prison for leaving a child abandoned inside a car. But he's on his way to recovery, or so he says. In addition to helping with investigations for his family, he also dabbles in selling high end used cars as a side gig. Recovering from a breakup, he's shocked when John pulls him aside one day to say 'I think I've killed someone'. This kicks TJs investigative spidey senses into gear and he's off and running. Along the way, he encounters embezzlement, gambling addiction, money laundering, and fraud, as he tries to save his family's business from the dangers at hand. Ms. Scottline specializes in family dramas and tragedies, and this is one of many.
The entire story is told through TJs eyes, and there's some great character development here. You really root for him as he encounters obstacle after obstacle along the way and tries to redeem himself in his family's eyes. All the while he's struggling with addiction and has to deal with the constant 'are you ok?' concerns of family and friends. They don't know whether to believe his findings or not.

You can tell the author did a lot of research on this topic, above and beyond the standard AA descriptions. The way the ending wraps up puts her in the drivers seat for a slew of sequels, which I look forward to reading.

The Truth About the Devlins due to be published March 26 2024 by Penguin Group Putnam.

The Devlin's are a powerful family in Philadelphia. Both parents and two of their children work in the family law firm of Devlin and Devlin. Typically, every family has a black sheep and for this family it's TJ. Presently on parole. He's maintained his sobriety for two years, doing his best to get his life back on track.
TJ works for the family firm as the unofficial investigator.
But when his older brother pulls him into a case, TJ's sobriety and possibly his life are in jeopardy.

This was quite hard to really get into for me at the beginning but it really brought me in towards the middle and the end and I couldn’t put it down. I’m glad I stuck it out and finished be sure honestly I wasn’t disappointed.

I think this book works mostly as a popcorn read for a thriller fan: while the prose leaves a lot to be desired, it’s fast, it’s digestible, and it keeps you turning the page. The strongest element at play is the sheer enthusiasm of the author: you can tell this was written by a person earnestly invested in the story. The weakest is the construction of it, which feels a lot like a first draft, ping-ponging around the plot at rapid speed with little balance. It could have been a lot stronger if went through more tightening, editing, and feedback on the storytelling in itself. It’s definitely the sort that would feel stronger to me as an audiobook, as the pitfalls in the construction would be less noticeable. I would potentially be willing to read another book by this author if the premise is compelling, though I would probably only do so through a library.

The narrative, overall, is crowded with details and plot threads that get almost overwhelming at times, dropping in and out of the plot without much balance. The secondary plots aren’t woven into the overarching narrative entirely, and I would’ve liked to have seen them tie together more towards the end. A lot of the thematic elements at play in this novel resonate with me: the mires of addiction and recovery, complex family dynamics, the way caring for a pet can help someone to prioritize their own health, and interplay between the Devlin family’s privilege versus the harsh reality of life for Gabby’s pro bono clients, all are things that would capture my interest in a book. That being said, I wish these topics were given more depth and allowed to be inferred from the story rather than spelled out bluntly for the reader. I wasn’t able to get very invested in it because it’s somewhat surface level.

The author does seem to have tried for the baseline of bare minimum diversity, to varying degrees of success, which could have been improved with the consultation of sensitivity readers. There’s a presence of implicit stereotyping on the author’s part, particularly when it comes to racial minorities, that sensitivity reader feedback could have countered; for example, there’s a completely unnecessary passage in which a character repeatedly calls a Brown businessman “the Shah”. Conversely, a lot of research went into the portrayal of the other subjects touched upon in the book, such as the experimentation done on incarcerated individuals, as well as the inner workings of sobriety and addiction recovery. This fact makes it all the more disappointing that the portrayal of racial minorities didn’t have the same level of care applied to them as other topics in the book did.

There’s an issue here of under-writing and rushing of the narrative, which lends to the first draft feel of this book. There’s a degree of info-dumping present that comes off as rushed, with plot threads getting introduced late, explained quickly, and resolved abruptly. The style is very straightforward, more “tell” than “show”, and the prose was often repetitive, occasionally redundant. It comes across frequently as “I did XYZ, and then ABC happened. I thought about ABC, and suddenly, XYZ happened”. Description throughout is scarce and doesn’t offer much by way of enhancing the prose.

Word choice and phrasing are very clear and coherent, almost to a fault; language doesn’t really feel effectively utilized here. The story itself takes priority over the telling of it. The technical aspects—punctuation, spelling, and other grammatical elements—of the book are competent and consistent. The dialogue is very soapy, which isn’t inherently a bad thing—I grew up watching daytime soaps and have a soft spot for their strange melodrama. That being said, I think more work being put into establishing unique voices for each character would have done a lot of good.

I usually love Lisa Scottoline books but this one fell flat for me. I enjoyed TJ but that was about the only redeeming quality of this book. It was boring, too long, and the set up was weak.

This book was a lot of fun, and a quick read. I felt so angry on behalf of what the main character was going through, and I was satisfied by the way the story was resolved. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the book. A standalone by Lisa Scottoline. You get to really get to know and love or hate the characters. Mostly the Devlins and some are much more likable than others. I loved Gabby the most, great lovable character.
Lots of action, court and lawyer stuff, of course, and maybe a bit too much detail, but good book. Highly recommend.

It’s been awhile since I read Scottoline— my TBR has prevented it, but this one did not disappoint! Lots of family drama, and unexpected twists and turns. Also, as a PA native I loved all the Philadelphia references. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow this book was so good it took me no time to read it. I'm a huge fan of this author and I recommend going into this book knowing as little as possible. I can't wait to read what she comes with next.

A solid legal/domestic thriller. I found it to drag a tiny bit in the middle but it really takes off and gives a good ending. I have never read this author before and I’m interested in her very extensive backlist now.

This novel left a lot to be desired. As a fan of Lisa Scottoline, I found this book to be quite the bore. Even after reading half of the book, I felt like the story was not engaging.

Lisa Scottoline is an auto-buy author for me, and the Devlins are a prime example of why. This saga is a messy family drama featuring rich people behaving badly, and I absolutely flew through these pages.

TJ, a recovering alcoholic, is working hard to put his life back together by working at his family's law firm as an unlicensed investigator. His older brother John, the family's golden child, calls TJ for help one night after he thinks he may have killed a man. It's way more complicated than that, though, and the twists and turns were a fun ride. I expected the drama, the thrills, and the twists, but the number of time I laughed out loud at this book was such a pleasant surprise. I think TJ and I would be excellent friends.

Thank you to NetGalley, G.P. Putnam's Sons, and Lisa Scottoline for taking me along on this adventure through the Philly streets in exchange for my honest review.

This is a great thriller that keeps you guessing what the truth about the Devlins really is. It centers around TJ Devlin, the black sheep of the family - didn't go to college, recently out of prison, and a recovering alcoholic. The rest of the family are all lawyers at the family law firm Devlin & Devlin, while TJ is just the investigator. On the night of their father's birthday, TJ's brother John pulls him aside saying he just killed someone, the accountant of one of their clients. TJ goes into investigator mode trying to protect his brother, but unfortunately for him the spiral of crimes and secrets is out of control.

I think what really kept me reading was TJ. He's a great character and you really feel for him as the black sheep, and when people throw him under the bus, you get mad for him. TJ is trying to turn his life around after he did something terrible. I was rooting for him the whole time!

This is a fast-paced domestic thriller with great characters.

I have read many books by the extremely talented Lisa Scottoline and she never disappoints. “The Truth about the Devlins” is no exception. In this thriller we learn what appears to be is not always what truly is there. TJ is the black sheep of the family, but unexpectedly finds himself helping other members more than they could have ever anticipated. We get to follow along with TJ as many family secrets and hidden dangers, some even deadly, are uncovered. Just when you think you know what is going to happen you realize you definitely do not. This book is a thrilling ride, and I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen next. I highly recommend “The Truth about the Devlins” as well as the authors other books. You will not be disappointed!

This was a typical Lisa Scottoline book- twisty, short chapters that have you saying "just one more" for like 14 chapters in a row... I knew something was fishy in the very beginning, but the ending was still a surprise to me. I was really rooting for the main character, TJ, throughout this novel, and did feel sad about one of his choices. Finished this one in less than 24 hours! Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for the eARC of this novel.

Definitely enjoyed this one more than her last. I think I DNFed Loyalty. The Devlins are a messy family and I do love family drama. Also, I am a lawyer so legal thrillers are novels that I connect with.

In true Lisa fashion this book knocks it out of the park. Lisa weaves a great story about a family with issues of alcohol and gambling addiction all while keeping you in suspense with a murder mystery.
I was so grateful to be an ARC reader for this book. Thank you Lisa Scottoline, Net Galley and Putnam Books. Allison opinions and thoughts are my own.