lisa scottoline biography

Lisa Scottoline Age, Wiki, Husband, Income, Education Family

Early Life & Biography

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lisa Scottoline (@lisascottoline)

Education , School & College

As a lawyer, as an author.

Lisa and her daughter Francesca also provide a Sunday humor column to the Philadelphia Inquirer called Chick Wit.

Love for Pets

The net worth or net income of Lisa Scottoline is estimated to be between $5 million and 8 million dollars . Her major career as a writer has brought her great fortune.

Interesting Facts about Lisa Scottoline

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Lisa Scottoline Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

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Lisa Scottoline

How to pronounce Lisa Scottoline: scotto-leany

Lisa Scottoline Biography

Lisa Scottoline is a #1 bestselling author, New York Times bestselling author and Edgar award-winning author of 33 novels, including Eternal , her first-ever historical novel. She also writes a weekly column with her daughter Francesca Serritella for the Philadelphia Inquirer titled "Chick Wit" which is a witty and fun take on life from a woman's perspective. These stories, along with many other never-before-published stories, have been collected in a New York Times bestselling series of humorous memoirs including their most recent, I See Life Through Rosé-Colored Glasses , and earlier books, I Need A Lifeguard Everywhere But The Pool ; I've Got Sand in All the Wrong Places ; Does This Beach Make Me Look Fat? ; Have a Nice Guilt Trip ; Meet Me at Emotional Baggage Claim ; Best Friends, Occasional Enemies ; My Nest Isn't Empty, It Just Has More Closet Space ; and Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog , which has been optioned for TV. Lisa reviews popular fiction and non-fiction, and her reviews have appeared in the New York Times , the Washington Post and the Philadelphia Inquirer . Lisa has served as president of Mystery Writers of America and has taught a course she developed, "Justice and Fiction" at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, her alma mater. Lisa is a regular and much-sought-after speaker at library and corporate events. Lisa has over 30 million copies of her books in print and is published in over 35 countries. She lives in the Philadelphia area with an array of disobedient pets, and she wouldn't have it any other way. Lisa's books have solidly landed on all the major bestseller lists including the New York Times , USA Today , the Wall Street Journal , Publishers Weekly , the Washington Post , and the Los Angeles Times , and Look Again was named "One of the Best Novels of the Year" by the Washington Post , and one of the best books in the world as part of World Book Night 2013. Lisa's novels are known for their emotionality and their warm and down-to-earth characters, which resonate with readers and reviewers long after they have finished the books. When writing about Lisa's Rosato & Associates series, Janet Maslin of the New York Times applauds Lisa's books as "punchy, wisecracking thrillers" whose "characters are earthy, fun and self-deprecating" and distinguishes her as having "one of the best-branded franchise styles in current crime writing." Lisa's contributions through her writing has been recognized by organizations throughout the country. She is the recipient of the Edgar Award, the Mystery Writer's of America most prestigious honor, the Fun, Fearless, Fiction Award by Cosmopolitan magazine, and named a PW Innovator by Publishers Weekly . Lisa was honored with AudioFile's Earphones Award and named Voice of the Year for her recording of her non-fiction book, Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog . Each follow up collection, including the most recent, I See Life Through Rosé-Colored Glasses , has garnered both Lisa and her daughter, Francesca, Earphones Awards as well. In addition, she has been honored with a Distinguished Author Award from Scranton University, and a "Paving the Way" award from the University of Pennsylvania, Women in Business.

Lisa Scottoline's website This bio was last updated on 03/10/2022. In a perfect world, we would like to keep all of BookBrowse's biographies up to date, but with many thousands of lives to keep track of it's simply impossible to do. So, if the date of this bio is not recent, you may wish to do an internet search for a more current source, such as the author's website or social media presence. If you are the author or publisher and would like us to update this biography, send the complete text and we will replace the old with the new.

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Lisa Scottoline talks about her latest novel, Save Me , and what she likes about being a writer.

Like Look Again, Save Me is an emotional thriller that examines motherhood and the relationship between mother and child. Why did you return to this theme, and is this a new direction for you? Although I love being a writer, my most important and cherished role in this life is being a mother. It always came naturally to me, even though it wasn’t always easy, especially in the early days, when I was a broke, single mother. (I’m still single but not broke.) Still, I felt I was born to be a mother, and my daughter, Francesca Serritella, and I are best friends and, now, writing partners in our nonfiction books! Being a mother is all about love, and I’m a love monster. Bottom line, if I meet you, I’m hugging you, case closed. Come to a signing and see. And now that I’m an empty nester, I’ve had a lot of time to think about what it means to be a mother. I’ve learned that motherhood has no expiration date. You never stop being a mother, and you’ll do everything you can for your child. I’m fascinated by the lengths to which a mother will go to protect her child, and that’s something I really wanted to explore. And also to turn that on its head and see where sometimes protection can...

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Books by lisa scottoline at bookbrowse.

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Lisa Scottoline on Her Brand-New Novel, Her South Philly Roots, and Growing Up on Nancy Drew

Philly’s most p rolific novelist ever just released her 34th   work of fiction. She spends most o f her life alone on a Chester County h orse farm. And she couldn’t be happier.

Get a compelling long read and must-have lifestyle tips in your inbox every Sunday morning — great with coffee!

Lisa Scottoline, at home on her Chester County horse farm / Photograph by Linette and Kyle Kielinski

Born and raised in South Philly and Delco and on the Main Line (a trifecta!), best-selling author Lisa Scottoline is back with yet another thriller, What Happened to the Bennetts . Here, she explains why she’s in a new prime of her life.

Hi, Lisa. Hi! I’m so excited to be doing this, even though you once gave me a “Worst of Philly” award for my “Chick Wit” column in the Inquirer .

I swear: It wasn’t me. Blame one of my colleagues. I’m pretty sure I know which one. Oh, I know. The funny thing was that when it came out, my dear mother, may she rest in peace, was visiting me. And I used to write about her a lot in my column. So I got a copy of the magazine, and it had its usual snark. I showed it to her, and she said, “Wait, they didn’t mention me?” [l aughs ] After that, I wrote some columns with my daughter, Francesca. So you’re lucky you did it before my daughter got involved, or I would have burned down somebody’s house.

I’m certainly glad that didn’t happen! How are you these days? [ Sighs ] These are dark, dark times, my friend. You have kids, right?

Two teenagers. Right. I can’t imagine being a kid today. So much to worry about. Russia/Ukraine. The virus. And all the other things kids already have to worry about.

What were you worried about as a teenager? Ha! I had braces in high school, and that was the devastation of my life. I was the only one with buck teeth, and I wanted braces. So I got them. And then I was the only one with braces. It was awful.

It’s been a decade since I last interviewed you. What’s changed? Well, Francesca lives in New York now. We went to see The Music Man there over Christmas. I tweeted something about it and was like, “Oh my God, Hugh Jackman retweeted me?! This is what my life is?”

And what is life now? Good? I feel so lucky, so happy. I’m really loving this time in my life. I’m extremely, uh, a cappella, which is basically Italian for celibate. [ laughs ] I feel like now that my daughter is grown, this is my turn. I feel like I have a prime again. You shed the stuff that doesn’t matter and try to get what you want and make yourself happy. And now I can take risks that I would have never taken before.

Like what? Well, last year, after 32 thrillers all set in Philadelphia, I published Eternal , my first piece of historical fiction. It’s set in Rome, and my next one, Sacred , will be set in Sicily, all about the birth of the Mafia in the 1800s. That will be in 2023. There was a lot of risk involved in switching from thrillers to historical fiction. You don’t know if your readers are going to come. And they’ve come, and I’m getting the best online ratings of my career.

Tell me you actually look at those. Oh yeah. I go on Goodreads, Barnes & Noble and all the other sites and read what people say. I’m not going to pretend that I don’t care. I do. I’m real. You’re real, which is why you’re so good at what you do. And it feels real to care. That’s what I love about this city. Philly cares.

I wouldn’t normally go back to a subject like this, but you alluded to it when I interviewed you 10 years ago as well. This celibacy — have you, at age 66, given up on romance? I haven’t, but I’m not doing anything to make it happen. I also fantasize about winning the lottery, but I don’t buy a ticket. It’s the magical thinking I tend to engage in. A lot of women — I’ll include me in that — have put other people first for a long time. And now I’m first. And I like doing things alone. I like going to the opera alone. When the Eagles won the Super Bowl, I really wanted to experience that myself, without interruption. So yeah, I can do anything I want now. I’m not going to listen to anybody, which probably makes women my age insufferable in some cases. We’re out of the crate, man. We’re going to pee all over the house. I probably shouldn’t say that. [ laughs ] But I’m talking to you from my hot pink office. Nobody can tell me I can’t make my office hot pink. I just bought a pink bookshelf for it, too.

Tell me about this house of yours. It’s a big house. A horse farm in Chester County. I have horses and chickens. The cottage is from 1740. The main house is from 1810. It ends up being money pit-y. But I’m working from home. I never, ever go out. Sometimes I write from my pink office, sometimes from my sunroom. And there are two other rooms that I use for writing. There’s a lot of space. And it’s just me.

Sounds like a good place to be if you have to be quarantined. You know, quarantine actually hasn’t been that much different from the way I live. And writing is a solitary act, for the most part. But I do miss the touring, seeing the people at the bookstores. I do get so much energy from that, but you can’t have everything , I guess.

But your brand-new book, What Happened to the Bennetts , just came out. I assume you’re doing a book tour for that, now that the worst seems to be over. I’m not. Everyone is making their own choices. I’m making some conservative ones. So I’ll do virtual events. Last year, I did 60 virtual events in six months for Eternal . That’s a lot of events. And I really do stay in touch with my readers. I answer every email I can. I’m the only person who runs my social media. It’s all me.

It must get to be overwhelming keeping up with all those readers. I mean, 30 million books in print in more than 35 countries. When you get a message from somebody who tells you that they are in chemo and that your book made them laugh or feel better, there’s no substitute for that. It’s the best. And I get those kinds of messages often.

Okay, so we got way ahead of ourselves here. Let’s back up and ask the oh-so-Philly question: What parish are you from? [ Laughs ] We were very bad Catholics. For some time, St. Monica’s. At another time, Epiphany. My aunt, Rachel Guglielmo, had Ray’s Luncheonette at 9th and Wolf for decades. I grew up there, with pinball machines and fresh hoagies and cigarette smoke. You cannot ask for a better childhood. You know, in my first novel, I made a rookie mistake and put a pretend church at 9th and Wolf. People in Philly wrote me and were like, “There’s a luncheonette there, and this lady with no teeth came to the door!” I’m like, “That’s my aunt. Back the eff up.”

Lisa and daughter Francesca in 1989 / Courtesy of Lisa Scottoline

You obviously have a great admiration for Philly, but why set all of your thrillers here? I love Philly in novels. It’s the authenticity of it. The grit. The real-dealness of it. This is a city without pretense.

I just recently rewatched Rocky , and I think that’s why that movie was so damn successful. It perfectly captured the grit and authenticity. I just watched it, too! When he runs through the Italian Market, you just die.

Ah, South Philly. But you left. We started life there and moved to Norwood, in Delaware County, when I was six, and then to Bala Cynwyd when I was 10. I’ve lived everywhere around Philly. My accent is earned. I say I don’t have one, but …

Oh, you definitely have one! I’m adorable, Victor. Admit it. If you listen to my audiobooks, you will get a headache in 10 minutes from listening to this voice. You do know I’ve been divorced twice, right? That voice! Put that audiobook on in the car, and you’re done by the second exit of your trip.

You’re funny. Stop!

All right, so you moved around a lot with your family, and unlike so many successful people, you stayed here. You stayed here for college, getting both your undergrad and law degrees from Penn. You stayed here for work, landing a litigation job at Dechert. And you just kept staying. Why? I can’t imagine why anybody would ever leave Philadelphia. It’s the best place ever, and I think we’re getting a lot more respect from other cities than we used to. We won the Super Bowl! We have Gritty! It’s just great!

So why did you want to be a lawyer in the first place? Did your parents push you in that direction? I watched Perry Mason on TV when I was a kid, and I knew I wanted to be a lawyer. I did not want to be Della Street, pouring his coffee. My parents never pushed me to do anything. It was perfect, unconditional love. They were worried that I was going to ruin my eyes because I read so much. I would bring home straight A’s, and they would say, “You need to go out and play more.”

Why did you give up on law? I really didn’t do it for long. Five years? Francesca was born in ’86. I got divorced right after that. And I fell in love with this kid. Lawyer hours are really tough. They were telling women to “dress for success” and wear ties, and it felt like what I was supposed to be was a mom. So I just quit.

Sounds like you weren’t averse to taking risks back then, either. I was broke. My back was against the wall, financially. And I started writing. Went five years with no health insurance. Nothing. But I got a break and got into paperback. For my first book, I was nominated for an award and lost. Second book, nominated and won, which led to hardcover. I had so much debt on credit cards.

Can you tell me what your first book deal was for? Thirty-two thousand dollars. I’ve never told anybody that. I owed $29,000 in credit card debt, because I had been supporting myself on Visa at 21 percent. You can get money from the mob cheaper — and don’t ask me how I know that. [ laughs ] And I just kept writing, saying, “God, I hope this works.” One book a year. Then two. Then three. Wanna be a writer? Great. Write 24/7.

How did you land on mystery as your niche? Was it influenced by what you read as a child? I started life on Nancy Drew. I know it sounds silly, but that was seminal for me. Let’s be real now. When I was a kid, there weren’t a lot of heroines. We all liked Nancy, in part because there wasn’t a lot else to like, but she also drove a roadster. She drove it. This girl, driving her little ass around, solving crimes. I really think it spoke to me. I collect those books with their blue covers to this day. There’s freedom and boldness and adventure and risk-taking.

Scottoline, right, with her late mother, Mary, and daughter Francesca, plus dogs Pip and Little Tony, in 2013. / Courtesy of Lisa Scottoline

Do you write daily? At least 2,000 words in a day. The most important thing in the world is Dunkin’ Donuts coffee, extra cream, extra sugar. If I have that in the morning, I can write epics, man. What time is it now, four o’clock? I’m still going strong and will be until six, at least. It gives you superpower. And I just get writing. I don’t outline. I don’t know what the story is going to be until I get it down on paper. At the end, hopefully, I see I have a story. And then I’m the happiest person on the planet.

Is there some common theme in all your books, including the historical fiction? Yes. In Hemingway, it’s hunting, fishing and shooting. For me, it’s family, justice and love. Soul. If you want to know me , read my novels. Setting, place and time are just silly things that don’t matter. Look for the soul.

It sounds like you’re back on the one-or-two-books-a-year path after you didn’t publish a thing in 2020, which was very unusual. What happened there? I needed more time to work on Eternal . In the end, I could have done it in the regular amount of time, but it took me six months of being nervous, and I finally said: Be not afraid. I just had to go for it. Sheryl Sandberg, who everybody hates now — her book Lean In was important to me. She said women aren’t socialized to take risks. Women won’t say they’re scared. They’ll say they aren’t ready. And that’s what I was saying: I’m not scared to write this book; I’m just not ready. But then I realized what I was doing to myself. You need to get out of your own way. It’s like that Mindy Kaling book: At some point, why not me?

What has changed in your crime thrillers over the years? The politics and changes in the administration of justice mean you have to be fresh and current, and your writing, even though it is fiction, has to be cognizant of that. Was it an accident that when Americans lost faith in the government after Watergate, the most popular fiction was The Godfather ? There are these up-and-down ideas of crime and punishment. We’re rooting for Michael Corleone, this anti-hero. And something is happening now . I can tell you as a lady who writes books in the suburbs of Philadelphia, you cannot write the old story where Perry Mason law leads to justice and everybody behaves the way you’re supposed to. The ideas of law and justice in fiction have to mirror the culture back to itself in a way that’s realistic. It’s hard. We’ve lost confidence in these institutions that administer justice — the FBI, the DOJ, the court system. It’s stressful times. People are not sure justice gets done anymore. That’s bad for human beings. Human beings need to believe there’s a right and a wrong and that right will win. MLK said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,” suggesting that in the end, the good guys will win. Eventually. But we’re less sure of that today than we used to be. Sorry, I’m very caffeinated.

No, I love it. My wife says to me all the time, well, you’re not boring. And you, Lisa, are certainly not that. And boring is the last thing you want in the person you’re interviewing, believe me. Thank you.

So you write prolifically. You ride horses majestically. I try.

But are there any talents we don’t know about? Secret stuff? In my fantasy, you’re a tournament-level Scrabble player. I’m not bad at Scrabble, but I love, love needlepoint. I could show you lots of pictures of my needlepointed pillows. Lots. The pandemic left lots of time for needlepoint. And I grow vegetables, like every other Italian on the planet.

Your publicist at Penguin probably wants me to get something in here about What Happened to the Bennetts . [ Laughs ]

Without spoilers, what is it we need to know? I haven’t talked to anybody about it yet. A suburban family in Chester County are victims of a botched carjacking. They find themselves in witness protection. And it all goes horribly, horribly wrong.

Sounds dark. Good enough for me. I love dark crime shit. Me too! Have you seen Gomorrah on HBO? So good!

I will add it to the list. You’ll love it.

Speaking of TV, why isn’t there a Netflix series based on your books? I do get approached, but nothing has come to fruition. I will say this: With my books, I have control. I have full cover approval. I even pick the typeface. So I’m not sure I would have much of a hand in the screen version. It’s too much. I like the fact that when I get off this call with you, I can putter around downstairs, make some pasta with broccoli rabe, and fart around with the dogs.

Sounds perfect. It is.

Published as “On the Record: Lisa Scottoline” in the April 2022 issue of  Philadelphia  magazine.

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Lisa Scottoline uses her experience in the legal world for her fictional creations. Her second novel, Final Appeal , won the Edgar Allan Poe Award in 1994.

Native Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, mystery writer Lisa Scottoline was born in 1956. After earning a BA in English at the University of Pennsylvania, she went on to law school and then practiced law. During the late 1980s, she began writing stories and eventually published her first mystery novel, Everywhere That Mary Went (1993) . Since then, her novels have been bestsellers sold and she earned an Edgar Award for Final Appeal (1994). At the time of this writing, Scottoline lives and writes in Philadelphia.

Lisa Scottoline was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1956. She grew up in the suburb of Bala Cynwyd, receiving an excellent education in the process. Scottoline was so accomplished that she matriculated at the University of Pennsylvania, finishing her B.A. in English in just three years and graduating magna cum laude. During her time at Penn, she was fortunate to study the contemporary American novel with Philip Roth, a highly-acclaimed author. Following graduation, she went to Penn's Law School, graduating in 1981. She is divorced and has one child, a daughter named Francesca whom she now co-writes with.

Her early professional career was entirely legal in nature. Scottoline became a clerk to Pennsylvania Superior Court Presiding Judge Edmund B. Spaeth. This experience provided her the opportunity to join the large Philadelphia law firm Dechert, Price & Rhoads as an associate. In 1986, however, she left the firm to raise her daughter and began a part-time career writing legal fiction. In 1994, she returned to the legal profession full-time as an administrative law clerk to a United States Court of Appeals judge.

In 1994, Scottoline completed her first novel, Everywhere That Mary Went, and sold it to HarperCollins Publishers. The book achieved success and she was nominated for an Edgar Award for Excellence in Mystery Writing. It also sold well, which was particularly rewarding given the financial privations Scottoline and her daughter underwent during its composition. The Mystery Writers of America presented the Edgar Award to Scottoline's second book, Final Appeal . Since that point, she has written twenty best-selling mystery novels, all of which are set in Philadelphia. She averages a book per year.Many of them revolve around the various partners of the all-female law firm of Rosato and Associates. All of her novels are known for having characters that readers can connect with. Janet Maslin, a New York Times reviewer, argues that Scottoline's books are "punchy, wise cracking thrillers," successfully incorporating "characters who are earthy, fun, and self-deprecating." Ultimately, Maslin credits Scottoline with having created "one of the best branded franchises in current crime writing."

Her 2009 book, Look Again , was named a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post . Scottoline continues to receive many awards and honors for her best-selling books. She won the Fun, Fearless, Fiction Award by Cosmopolitan Magazine and Publisher's Weekly named her a PW Innovator. Additionally, Scottoline won AudioFile's Earphones Awards for both of her recent non-fiction works, Why My Third Husband Will Be A Dog and My Nest Isn't Empty, It Just Has More Closet Space . For the former, Scottoline also was named Voice of the Year for her recording of it. Furthermore, Scranton University has honored her with the Distinguished Author Award and WOmen in Business at the University of Pennsylvania have awarded her a "Paving the Way" award.

Scottoline is currently President of Mystery Writers of America. She is also the author of a weekly column for the Philadelphia Enquirer, entitled Chick Wit, which she co-writes with her daughter Francesca. She also currently reviews popular fiction and non-fiction for various newspapers, including The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer , and The New York Times . She also teaches a course called "Justice and Fiction" at the University of Pennsylvania, her alma mater. She continues to write, averaging a book per year. She currently resides in the Philadelphia area with her dogs.

• Everywhere That Mary Went . New York: HarperPaperbacks, 1993.
• Final Appeal . New York: HarperPaperbacks, 1994.
• Running from the Law . New York: HarperCollins, 1996.
• Legal Tender . New York: HarperCollins, 1996.
• Rough Justice . New York: HarperCollins, 1997.
• Mistaken Identity . New York: HarperCollins, 1999.
• Moment of Truth . New York: HarperCollins, 2000.
• The Vendetta Defense . New York: HarperCollins, 2001.
• Dead Ringer . New York: HarperCollins, 2003.
• Killer Smile . New York: HarperCollins, 2004.
• Devil's Corner . New York: HarperCollins, 2005.
• Dirty Blonde . New York: HarperCollins, 2006.
• Daddy's Girl . New York: HarperCollins, 2007.
• Lady Killer . New York: HarperCollins, 2008.
• Look Again . New York: St. Martin's Press, 2009.
• Think Twice . New York: St. Martin's Press, 2010.
• Save Me . New York: St. Martin's Press, 2011.
• Why My Third Husband Will Be A Dog . New York: St. Martin's Press, 2009.
• My Nest Isn't Empty, It Just Has More Closet Space . New York: St. Martin's Press, 2010.
• "Interviews — Talking Pigeons With Lisa Scottoline." The Mystery Magazine Online . 21 July 2005. < >http://overmydeadbody.com/lscottonline.htm>
• "Lisa Scottoline." The Gale Literary Database: Contemporary Authors Online . 26 May 2011. 27 Sept. 2011.
• "All About Lisa." Scottoline.com . 2011. 27 Sept. 2011. < >http://scottoline.com/> .
• "The Edgars and Other MWA Awards." Mystery Writers of America . 2005. 21 July 2005.

Photo Credit: " Photograph of Lisa Scottoline. " Photograph. Cropped to 4x3. Source: Online Resource.

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• Q&A: Best-Selling Author Lisa Scottoline

Q&A: Best-Selling Author Lisa Scottoline

L isa Scottoline is a lawyer-turned-thriller writer, with 25 million books in print in the U.S. But with her new nonfiction book, Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog (St. Martin’s), Scottoline may well find herself compared to Nora Ephron. Scottoline’s collection of essays from her popular Philadelphia Inquirer column, “Chick Wit,” explores the female condition with a lively, original sensibility, which includes calling her former husbands Thing One and Thing Two. TIME senior reporter Andrea Sachs reached Scottoline at her “girl farm” in Pennsylvania, where she lives with four dogs, two horses and two cats.

You’ve been called the female John Grisham. How do you feel about that? It makes me feel like I’m cross-dressing. I’ve actually met him; he’s a very nice guy. But the truth is, more so than ever before, I have my own voice, and it’s not a girl version of a man. By the way, do you ever see any man called [that]? You never see that kind of a description. You’ll never see, “He’s a guy version of Lisa Scottoline.” I resist that as much as I take it as a compliment. The truth is that every writer, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, is trying to write something truly original and that’s what I think I’m doing.

(See the top 10 airplane books.)

So let’s get down to the business of your new book. What are Spanx? You know what? Spanx are a sham. Spanx are an evil hoax perpetrated upon womanhood. It happened to me when I was in a store. I don’t have time to shop so I grabbed a pair of tights and figured I would try them on at home. I put them on and I can’t get them on. I try to put these on and it’s like a tourniquet … So I thought, what is this garment? I started to do the research. It is in fact body-shaping underwear and it says things on the website like, “It’s power panties.” The only thing I could think, truly, is that if women had power, they wouldn’t need Spanx. Aren’t I right? So I threw them away.

What’s a fish pedicure? I didn’t have one. I just saw that there was a store near me. It didn’t actually ever open up, so maybe the FDA or the food and game commission got to them. Apparently you plunge your feet into water and certain kinds of fish — I think they were called surgeon fish, which sounds disgusting enough — come and eat your disgusting calluses off. Any middle-aged woman knows that our feet are not for the faint of heart, especially in midwinter. I wear clogs, so it’s actually like my feet are wooden now. I think they would defeat any fish.

What’s a Guilt-O-Meter? I noticed that I tend to run on guilt. Around the holidays, there is so much to do. I had so much guilt, it was like a guilt traffic jam … I said, you’ve just got to take this guilt and make it work for you, so sort your tasks by which you feel guiltiest about not doing and then the Guilt-O-Meter was invented.

What’s an UnResolution? The whole idea of a resolution is things that you’ve been doing that you want to try to do better, and I thought especially now, there’s so much going on in the world and it’s difficult, and people are struggling. And wouldn’t we be better off if every New Year’s, we thought about the things we did right and we resolved to keep doing them, no matter how wacky they were. For example, sometimes, I admit this even for TIME.com, that I sleep in my clothes. I did last night. It’s easier. I’m wearing sweatpants, so it’s great because I wake up and I’m already dressed and I’m warm at night. So, my UnResolution is to keep sleeping in my clothes. Or kissing my dog on the lips. That’s a fun thing to do and I’m going to keep doing and all through the New Year it will be an UnResolution that I can keep.

You say interrupting gets a bad rap. Why is that? This might be something that is gender related, but at this point since there are so few men in my life I don’t know, I forget. My girlfriends and I interrupt each other all the time and we never take it as an insult. We’re just excited. My best friend, whose name is Franca, we’ll be talking at dinner sometimes at the same time. We think its great. I never think, “That’s so rude.” I think it would be rude if she sat there in silence while I spoke. I’m hoping I’m sparking things in her and she’s sparking things in me and pretty soon we are off and running. I love it.

Last question. Tell me about your Starbucks venti iced green-tea latte, breve, no melon syrup, light ice. What does that represent to you? Yummy! I am really, I think, truly an easygoing, positive, fun person. How’s that for my singles ad? But it wasn’t until I started going to Starbucks that I [realized] I am really picky! This is how I like this drink, it’s absolutely delicious. It probably has tons of saturated fat, but it’s worth every heart attack you’ll ever get from it, and it gives me a little bit of a buzz. But if somebody puts melon syrup on it, I am going to throw it away, like a big baby. It’s terrible.

The truth is that the book is about that. The book is about that there are little things; you can’t have everything in this life. There are lots of things that I don’t have, like dates, but the truth is I really take the time and I want people to take the time to celebrate the small little things that they love, like the really perfect drink. Life is short otherwise.

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Lisa Scottoline

Age, biography and wiki.

Lisa Scottoline is an American lawyer and author. She was born on July 1, 1955 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1978 and began her career as a lawyer. She is best known for her legal thrillers, which have been adapted into television movies. Scottoline has written over 30 novels, including the Rosato & DiNunzio series, the Bennie Rosato series, and the standalone novels. She has also written several non-fiction books, including a memoir, Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog, and a collection of humorous essays, Have a Nice Guilt Trip. Scottoline has won numerous awards for her writing, including the Edgar Award, the Mary Higgins Clark Award, and the Thriller Master Award. She is also a New York Times bestselling author. Scottoline is married to her third husband, a former lawyer, and has two children. She currently lives in the Philadelphia area.

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 1 July. She is a member of famous Lawyer with the age 69 years old group.

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She is currently single. She is not dating anyone. We don't have much information about She's past relationship and any previous engaged. According to our Database, She has no children.

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Her net worth has been growing significantly in 2022-2023. So, how much is Lisa Scottoline worth at the age of 69 years old? Lisa Scottoline’s income source is mostly from being a successful Lawyer. She is from United States. We have estimated Lisa Scottoline's net worth , money, salary, income, and assets.

Lisa Scottoline Social Network

Since March 2007, Scottoline and her daughter Francesca Serritella have been writing the "Chick Wit" column for The Philadelphia Inquirer. A collection of those humorous nonfiction columns has been published in a series of bestselling books co-written with her daughter Francesca Serritella, the first of which is entitled Why My Third Husband Will Be A Dog: The Amazing Adventures of an Ordinary Woman and published on November 24, 2009.

Lisa Scottoline (/ˌ s k ɒ t ə ˈ l iː n i / ; born July 1, 1955) is an American author of legal thrillers.

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Lisa Scottoline is a #1 Bestselling Author,  The New York Times  bestselling author and Edgar award-winning author of 33 novels, including her latest work,  Eternal,  her first-ever historical novel.

She also writes a weekly column with her daughter  Francesca Serritella  for the  Philadelphia Inquirer  titled “Chick Wit” which is a witty and fun take on life from a woman’s perspective. These stories, along with many other never-before-published stories, have been collected in a  New York Times  bestselling series of humorous memoirs including their most recent,  I See Life Through Rosé-Colored Glasses , and earlier books,  I Need A Lifeguard Everywhere But The Pool ;  I’ve Got Sand in All the Wrong Places;   Does This Beach Make Me Look Fat?; Have a Nice Guilt Trip ;  Meet Me at Emotional Baggage Claim ;  Best Friends, Occasional Enemies ;  My Nest Isn’t Empty, It Just Has More Closet Space ; and  Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog , which has been optioned for TV.

Her latest novel, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BENNETTS will be published on March 29, 2022.

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[00:00:00.190] – Alan Petersen You are listening to Meet the Thriller Author, the podcast where I interview writers of mysteries, thrillers and suspense books. I’m your host, Alan Petersen, and this is episode number 182. We’re back with an amazing interview with best selling author Lisa Scottoline.

[00:00:24.410] Lisa is a New York Times bestselling and Edward Award winning author of more than 30 novels. She has 30 million copies of her books in print in the United States and has been published in 35 countries. Her latest novel, What Happened to the Bennetts, will be published on March 29. Before we get to the interview with Lisa, a quick update. I will no longer be posting weekly interviews, but you can still expect some amazing author interviews coming up. It’s just going to be on a bi monthly schedule. So show notes, archives and subscribe to my Thrilling Reads newsletter. Please check out ThrillingReads.com/links. And don’t forget to rate and review this podcast on your favorite podcasting app. All right, here is my interview with .Lisa Scottoline.

[00:01:18.010] Welcome to the podcast, Lisa.

[00:01:19.720] – Lisa Scottoline Thank you so much for having me on, and I really appreciate it.

[00:01:22.640] – Alan Petersen Oh, thank you. I’m so excited to have you on the line here and talk to you about your new books and your writing and all that good stuff. So can you tell us a little bit about your background? Before you started writing and publishing these novels.

[00:01:32.960] – Lisa Scottoline There was a log cabin involved. Now I’m so old, I’m trying to see if I should go to my first divorce or my second. That’s not a sentence you want to hear yourself saying when you’re trying to impress this new podcaster. I think I used to be a lawyer. Also a bad thing to go to, but when you get people to like, you never want to lead with that lawyer thing. But in short, I always loved books, and I loved Nancy Drew. And after my first divorce, I said, I want to stay home with my daughter because she was born about the exact same time. That’s really excellent timing. And so I said, well, you know what? Why don’t you try to write a novel? Because I was an English major, and of course everybody thinks they can. And the truth is, everybody can write a novel. I mean, that is the God’s honest truth. If I can, anybody can. And the truth is, I just started, and that was five years of terrible rejection. My favorite rejection letter, I still remember it was, we don’t have time for any more clients. And if we did, we wouldn’t take you.

[00:02:30.250] – Alan Petersen Ouch.

[00:02:31.990] – Lisa Scottoline What a jerk. And you know that I saw that guy, like, ten years ago, book Expo, where I was at Keynote, and he’s like, at least I’m like, dude, I don’t have time to talk to anybody. And if I did, I would not talk to you. That’s how petty I am. Really.

[00:02:47.710] – Alan Petersen I don’t blame you.

[00:02:51.470] – Lisa Scottoline So that was like, 30 something years ago and 30 something novels ago. And God bless my readers, who basically have built my career, they’ve stayed with me book to book, and I’ve changed genres. I write historical fiction now. I write humor. I just write whatever I want to write and try to make it really as good as I possibly can. And then I get to talk to you. So that’s pretty much the update.

[00:03:16.130] – Alan Petersen I noticed that your last book, Eternal, was a historical fiction. And what happened to the Bennetts is like a psychological suspense novel. Is there a lot of difference between when you’re writing the two? Is it the different approaches or how does that work?

[00:03:30.870] – Lisa Scottoline You know what? It’s so funny because I’d always written, like, I don’t believe in any of these genres of skin shit. And now I know I proved to myself because I always wrote, whether they’re domestic thrillers or legal thrillers or fast moving novels, I just think of them as fast moving novels. And then I secretly always wanted to write this novel Eternal about this basically a love triangle set during Mussolini’s reign in Italy and then the Nazi occupation. And then I’m like, you know what? That’s historical fiction. You’re not allowed other people do that smarter than you. You know, all those insecurities that come up. And then I was like, just do it. And then I did it. And it kind of worked out. God bless my readers who came and were like, because I read the online reviews, they’re like, I don’t really read historical fiction, but I love this. And I go, well, that’s wonderful. And so when I started the writing Journal, what happened to the Bennett, which is a thriller in theory, I was like, you know what this is? No, I’m just going to tell you, Allen, from the inside out.

[00:04:29.000] It’s no different. It is the same. I’ve always been interested in these three themes, love and justice and family. There’s a through line through everything I’ve written, which I didn’t start out that way. I just started writing books. And then I realized that I’m writing about the same things and in different iterations and permutations and other long words. But the bottom line is that’s what I’m writing. And so when you write what happens to the Bennett, you go, well, this is the same issue. It’s a family. An injustice happens to a family and they have to survive it. And that’s exactly what happened to an Eternal, although one set of Mussolise, Italy and one set in modern day Delaware. And what I’ve taught myself in answer to your question is that this distinction of setting and place and time is form over substance. The thematically, they are identical. They feel similar. And I hope they have a kind of rewarding, not only a surprise ending, but kind of a rewarding arc of these characters lives. So to answer the question, oddly, it’s not different. It’s the same

[00:05:37.250] – Alan Petersen Can you tell us a little bit about the plot of what happened to the Bennett and what inspired you to write it? How the idea came to you?

[00:05:44.270] – Lisa Scottoline It’s funny. The idea came to me. It’s not impressive, but I don’t like tailgaters. I live alone. I drive along the car. I got the dogs in the back. Only one has a seat belt. The favorite one. But I only have one of those things. You can’t hook them all into the seat. But anyway, it’s not a big deal. I was like, what if I were carjacked right now? What if this tailgater carjacked me? And when I went home, I said that’s the book basically what happens and what happened to the bandits is that families driving along from a soccer match one night and someone is tailgating them and they’re carjacked and the carjacking goes horribly, terribly wrong and they find themselves by the morning in the witness protection program in federal protection. And boom, that was the idea. People say, do you know how it ends? I don’t even know how it middles. I don’t know anything. It’s not impressive, but I kind of sit there and go, what would happen next? And that becomes the way that you construct the novel. I hope people who listen to your show want to write because if they do, I’ll tell them that they can do it and you just kind of start and then keep going.

[00:06:57.240] – Alan Petersen Yeah, we do have a mixture of readers and writers, inspiring writers that listen to the podcast.

[00:07:02.410] – Lisa Scottoline That’s great. That was my understanding on that.

[00:07:04.000] – Alan Petersen Yeah. I love the stuff that kind of insight from someone like you. Obviously, you don’t outline or anything. You get the story going and you start writing.

[00:07:13.510] – Lisa Scottoline Right? I don’t outline because I think, well, I can’t I just constitutionally would be impatient with it. But I also think here’s the two things I think of my defense, because there’s people who outline, people who don’t. If I outlined it, I got to say that I really think that writing it would be like filling in the blanks. Like would be kind of like. I think that would be like literary mad Libs. Like she does this and you go, wait a minute, I know what she does. And the other secret thing that I think happens is that when you write a novel where you don’t really know what’s going to happen next, I secretly think that your state of anxiety is what creates the suspense. Like if you’re a master of suspense, it’s probably because you’re a freaked out writer. I just thought of that. But I think it’s a little truth that you don’t really know. It ended up becoming a lot like life. You look at all the curveballs we’ve gotten that are awful, the pandemic now a war. It’s just horrible. And you can’t even make this up. And what you kind of do. And especially with something like what happens at Bennett because you’re talking about a thriller that set as a law enforcement angle. Well, you can’t write a modern thriller in which, let’s see everybody’s good all the time. The police are always good. Look at what our views of the Supreme Court right now. I’ve been writing novels for 35 years. I can tell you that 20 years ago, nobody even could name one person in the Supreme Court. Well, now we have views about who should be on and who should be off. And we have views about the FBI that we did not have before. We have views about policing that we did not have before. And when law and justice is in so much flux and conceptions of law and justice are in so much flux, you have to write a thriller that deals with those issues. It just can’t be, oh, here’s the good guys and they’re on the cavalry. It’s just not how it works. We know now that’s not how it works. And so that’s what the backdrop of this book as well.

[00:09:11.510] – Alan Petersen Before you started writing professionally, do you enjoy these type of genres? Do you enjoy reading thrillers?

[00:09:17.630] – Lisa Scottoline Well, I think I grew up with Nancy Drew, so that’s part of the problem. You get very used to a girl driving around in a car, having adventures, and you’re like, I want to be that. And I want to do that. And it’s really good, except when you get a little older and you realize that. Well, honestly, in my part, I started writing in 1990s, and a lot of the characters are men. They’re all man made characters. And I was like, give me a break. At some point, I was just so tired of seeing, especially when I became a female lawyer, like, why aren’t there women lawyers stories? Like, I can do this. And as an English major, I thought you should try to give it a try instead of bitching about it. Sorry. But I mean, for some period of time, I had to eat myself alive, which is kind of my method, until I finally actually do something about it. And so I think that’s sort of what got me to where I am. I think I just kept trying to do it and try to get better and try to refine the craft a little and pull in live in the world. So all of the world is there. For example, like in this novel, he has to really think about himself as a man and a father. And at some point, I started writing male main characters as well. I was close to my dad. Obviously, I’ve met in my life, not as many as I would like, but that’s another manner. And I go, well, what is a hero? These what is a father? What is a hero? My dad, I was really close to him, and I loved his personality and that he was heroic but didn’t really understand that about himself. And we’re a society. But I just got back from the new I love superhero movies. I saw the new Superman, not just one Superman, three Superman, Spiderman. We love superheroes. And what is happening with this? Well, partly it’s the ideas we put on men. You must be rich, you must be a tin of industry. You must be thin, you must be handsome. You must drive a great car. What are the things we do to men? Why do we tell them their personal power is and what do we do to women? What he is a modern hero. Because that’s the problem with this character. That’s his issue. He doesn’t view himself as a hero. In a way, he is. But when this horrible thing happens to his family, he’s got to figure out how to get them out of this. And at some point, I think I had him say, I’m not giving away, just go, like, maybe hero is just a guy who solves a problem for his family. And that’s not a bad definition.

[00:11:41.910] – Alan Petersen Yeah, I think that’s what great aboyt this novel, too, because it’s like regular people versus a super cop.

[00:11:47.460] – Lisa Scottoline Yeah, right. Or an expert. The crime bloggers are a good example of that. And part of what I’m talking about, like this democratization of everything, which is so great. 20 years ago, there were people wrote True crime, Anne Rule and a bunch of other authors. And you read those books. Well, now there’s people who blog about true crimes and try to solve them, and they crowd source it and they get the documents and they talk to witnesses and they do all the things that they can do that law enforcement would do or if it had the time and the budgets and God bless these people, they solve crimes. Well, I was like, well, I’ve got to deal with that in this novel. And that would be this situation we write for, because what I learned from Wit Sack was there’s a program designed to hide criminals, not normal, law abiding families with 3 million connections to the community is that you go that night and you don’t say goodbye so nobody knows where you were? I mean, Alan, where would you be? All of a sudden you and your family disappear. People are going to go, Wait, what? Wait, Where’s the cat? Wait, he was just on Facebook. Wait a minute. I just sent him a message on Instagram. He didn’t answer it. That’s weird. And so that’s all the stuff that happens to a modern family. And what happens to this family. And the program is because they’re normal, they make great witnesses, but because they’re normal, they’ll flounder in WITSEC. They could go under in wit SEC. And so this father has to find it in himself to save his family against really hard odds.

[00:13:15.550] – Alan Petersen Yeah. So it’s so fascinating, too. It would be hard enough, I would imagine, 30, 40 years ago, to go into a witness protection. But now, like you said, it was social media and Twitter and Facebook.

[00:13:25.730] – Lisa Scottoline Yeah, right. You’ve got to assume luckily most criminals my research was and I have great sourcing on this because I spoke to somebody who helped run one of the WITSEC programs, and he was like, most criminals, when you put them in the program, they’re happy. They lost part of their life, but you’re saving their life. They know that you’re saving their life. And to a certain extent, they get a little fight Bund and they get put up somewhere. And that isn’t true in this case, you’re saving their lives, but you’re also ruining it at the same time. And that’s a really tough stuff. It’s no win. And that’s what Jason Bennett has to figure out how to save his family and how to win in a no win situation.

[00:14:15.110] – Alan Petersen You mentioned about the research. How much research do you put in before you actually start writing, or do you do it at the same time?

[00:14:22.150] – Lisa Scottoline I do it at the same time because like I said, I’m impatient, I can’t be bothered. And also, I think you find out what you need when you do it. I had to talk to the FBI guy up front. I go, what’s the first move? Where did he go? And that’s when I got my first surprise because I live in Pennsylvania. And I said, so if someone gets close, to WITSEC, where do they go? Like, you put them in, like Arizona or Minnesota or San Francisco, right? And he’s like, no, they go to Delaware. I was like, wait, what? Like Delaware is 20 minutes from me. It’s not far. And I was like, this isn’t what I thought. He said, well, that’s kind of what we do because there’s an interim period where you have to basically be trained and oriented and accepted into the program. You’re called applicants and the application process is really arduous. And I’m like, who knew this? It’s like College or something. And it’s like the College you never want to get into with that. I just thought of that, but it’s kind of true. And so I dealt with that research. And I think also that it was kind of cool to research setting because this character setting has to reinforce people who are writing out there. I want them to know that everything matters. Everything matters in a novel, particularly in a thriller, because you have to have an economy of space. We don’t want to hear your exposition. We’re not interested in what the Sunshine looks like. It’s just not the book for that. And so I sent him, I said, well, if he goes to Delaware, there’s parts of Delaware. If you imagine that he was a farmer, he grew up in Hershey, Pennsylvania, which is a lot like where I live. I actually live on a farm and I’m a Terra firma kind of girl. I plant I grow alfalfalfa, I have a garden, I have tomatoes. I got a lot of crap. And he’s that kind of guy. Well, if you send them to certain parts of Delaware, there’s a salt Mark. And it’s actually a good place to send somebody in Whitsake because it’s a beach town that’s deserted in the winter. Perfect. Okay. But the problem is, and great for the novel is that there’s tidal Saltmarsh that basically kills the trees. And so there’s things called the ghost forest, which is incredible to see. And I described it in the book, and I thought, actually videos of it are going to be on the website. People can see them as a companion to the book. And he’s basically in a place where there’s no more terrifying. In fact, the tides shift beneath his feet. I’m like, well, that’s a pretty good metaphor. Even I can figure that one out. And I like it because I think it emphasizes his and his family’s dislocation that they are out of place and they don’t belong here, and they have to find a way to acclimate to survive.

[00:16:54.420] – Alan Petersen Yeah, I love the metaphor. That’s pretty cool. When that idea comes to your head, do you, like, get excited when you’re writing? And you’re like.

[00:17:00.120] – Lisa Scottoline Actually. I kind of do. Isn’t that weird? I live alone. I write alone. You’re like, oh, my God, look at that, look at that. That’s a good idea. You get excited, you dance around and you’re like, oh, baby. Like all your little things that you tell yourself, I sing a little song, I have a little thing I do. And I go, and then you start getting singing all these connections, and we see a ghost forest. And you go, this is sort of interesting because that’s the term given to that’s what ecologists call it when all the climate change happens and it kills the trees at the root, the trees don’t fall over. They just turn white. And it’s kind of horrifying. And I went there at night, and it looks like there’s bones in the sky. You’re like, oh, God, I can’t even make up stuff as good. And then you start to think, well, let’s say, for example, and it happens in the book that they have to leave everybody they know. And I go, well, they kind of ghost. They kind of ghost everybody they know, okay, that’s pretty good, too. And then also they’ve lost. They have lost. And so they’re living in a house, essentially, with ghosts. And you go, okay, baby, maybe this is having developing some resonant layers. Look, Alan, I can’t tell you if anybody picks this stuff up, I don’t know. But I will tell you that I have faith in readers that they do, and I have faith in their consciousness that it works on them. Like, it works on me. They start to make these connections, and it all becomes real for them in a way it wouldn’t if you had it on this pavement in Chicago, that’s just going to be a different book and have a different feel.

[00:18:31.970] – Alan Petersen What’s your writing day like when you’re working on a project? Do you have a set hours? Do you give yourself word count goals?

[00:18:38.970] – Lisa Scottoline I do the word count goals. I’m a big fan of that. And I would encourage anyone listening. Any way you do it is right because it’s very individual. But I work every day like, it’s up to date like this. So I’m having fun talking to you. And I do 2000 words a day. Now I start at nine and I don’t stop till I have 2000 words. A lot of times that will take me till 06:00 at night, a lot of times that will take me until 09:00. I just break up. I go around 02:00. I’ll eat something. Maybe I’ll walk the dogs. Sometimes when I look away and people should take your heart when you look away, sometimes the answer will come to you. Because in first draft, especially, you’re not fussing over verbs. You’re trying to figure out what actually happened, like, what are they going to do? And so that’s hard thinking. Like, your brain will hurt at the end of the day, that money Python. My brain hurts, my brain hurts. And then I always do the first draft. Second draft technique, which is the first draft, is like Hemingway says, Write drunk, edit sober drink. But I mean, you get it down. You don’t worry about how it sounds. You just have to tell the story to yourself. And then by the time you’re done, you’re like, oh, my God, this ended. Like, the surprise ending is a surprise to you. You’re like, oh, my God, look at this. This kind of works. And then you’re in pig heaven. Because to me, that’s my happiest day, because I go now all I have to do is make it better. Now I know I have a story. So now I get to worry about taking out the sentences that I don’t need, especially for a thriller. You want it to be fleet. So you have to take out stuff. You never tell the reader something twice, because a lot of people, God bless them, or read a thriller in one sitting. So if you tell them something on page 30, they’re going to remember on page 65, you don’t need to hit them over the head or bore them. You can’t not allowed. So you take it out. And Elmore Leonard says, I take out the parts people skip.

[00:20:35.840] – Alan Petersen I love that.

[00:20:36.400] – Lisa Scottoline And that’s such a great quote. And I always thought that was kind of funny. And then yesterday I was writing and I was like, you know what? I finally can 30 years it has taken me, but I said, oh, my God, I am not going to write that paragraph because people will skip it and I will later delete it. No one cares. No one cares. No one cares. No one cares. And particularly at the end of the book, you know, at the beginning, you’re establishing setting and things like that. You get to tell a little more details so people can picture it. As Stephen King says, imagine the scene and then reproduce it for the reader. That is the most essential, most brilliant, most succinct explanation of writing I’ve ever heard. And anybody can do it. Imagine the scene and then reproduce it for the reader. And so you learn that by the end of the book, they don’t need to hear the great description of the office again. They know what this office looks like. They know what this swamp looks like. They just want to see what happens and how it ends. It’s really a remarkable thing. And I feel very lucky to be engaged in this profession. I love books, and I’m just thrilled to write them and read them. Really.

[00:21:41.410] – Alan Petersen Yeah. I’m curious, too, because you have over 30 novels does the process. I know I’ve talked to a lot of authors, and they say that it never gets easier. How about for you?

[00:21:52.220] – Lisa Scottoline No, it never gets easier. I will say this, though. I do think you get a little more confident. Not much, but you get a little more like it’s really important for people listening that when you make a decision in a story. I need the sentence. I don’t need the sentence or I’m going to turn this verb. This verb should be darted instead of bolted. It should be whatever. It should be raced instead of ran. I think a lot of verbs, as you can tell, because verbs can really do a lot, in a sense, and you pay attention and especially in thrillers. And so now I’ve learned a little bit my decision was right. I used to dither. And what’s so weird is when you’re right, you’ll find that when you go back and you read your draft, you go, oh, I remember when I thought that should be darted, and I changed it to boldly. You actually remember. And finally I’ve stopped going. Still second guess it. Just go with it. You are right. You’re always right the first time. If I had listened to that, I would not be divorced twice. I’m just telling you that right now. And it’s really a true thing. Your gut is always really your gut is telling you something and you bring it with you when you sit down at the computer.

[00:23:05.150] – Alan Petersen I noticed when I was checking on your website that you write a column with your daughter. How’s that collaboration with working with your daughter like that?

[00:23:11.830] – Lisa Scottoline It’s really fun. So I write a humor column which has been published in the Philadelphia Inquire for the past twelve years, every Sunday. But for people who aren’t in the area, they can read it on my Facebook page. I post it on all of my social media every Sunday morning at nine. And it’s kind of a little inspired by Irma Bombach, who kind of just wrote about life as a woman. I mean, I’m kind of a woman on my own. It made it into not memoirs. And the first one was called Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog. It was not man bashing. I’m just telling it was dog loving because there’s so many women, you don’t really know where your life is going to lead you. I mean, it’s lovely. You’re a lovely guy and it’s lovely to be able to talk to you. And I never thought, wow, you have all these books and you wrote them, and how did that happen? But I also never thought that I would be so completely single. I’m in a room now with three dogs. I’m very happy about that. They’re very quiet right now, which is excellent. And you don’t really know where your life will lead you. And I just wanted to write about that because I know that there are a lot of women who are widowed or divorced or just on their own and men, too. And I just wanted to give them a voice that maybe they weren’t getting. And also just laugh when you’re right enough about murders and heavy things and fascism. Sometimes you just want to crack a joke and it’s not going to work in the novel you’re working on. But it’s really fun to just once a week write 800 words. And I must tell you, it helps me get to the point you would not know it from this interview. But all writing builds and feeds all writing. So never feel bad if something you wrote wasn’t published. I mean, that’s happened to me. I have an unpublished book sitting around and I lost it. When you write a short piece, it will help your long pieces be better. And that’s what happened to me. So every week I’m writing something that’s 700 words. So when I sit down to write 120,000, I know it will be better. And it is.

[00:25:02.090] – Alan Petersen So you write every day?

[00:25:03.520] – Lisa Scottoline Absolutely seven days a week. I’m lucky. I consider myself very lucky. Now, the first draft, if you do the multiplication, probably takes you about a month to get 2000 words and tell you don’t always make it or you screw up or you have something you probably come out with. You’d come out with like 60,000 words a month if you multiply. That right. Which never really happens. Sometimes you’re lucky to get like $40,000 a book is $95,000. And then once you have a draft down and it used to take me, I used to be able to do one in four months. I’m getting back to that. And you’re immersed. It’s not like a pressure. It’s great. This is what I wanted in my whole life. I can’t believe I get to do it. And you’re so preoccupied. Somebody once, I think Jake hasn’t some great filmmaker said being a writer is like having homework every night of your life. And that’s true. But the word count goal is good because you also know when you can quit. Like if you get 2000 words by 03:00. Wow. You make a cup of tea and go watch some doping on Netflix’s or go for a walk and listen to an audiobook. I mean, that’s kind of like my life.

[00:26:09.030] – Alan Petersen Do you use Word to write your books?

[00:26:11.190] – Lisa Scottoline Absolutely. And sometimes I use Dictation software, too. When I have a really hard part, emotionally, it’s hard. I get upset with the characters. There are parts in this, and I think these characters are going through a really hard thing. And I’m sitting there weeping in my own keyboard, which is kind of weird, but I go, how can you get this and just say it? Just say it. And sometimes I’ll just say it. And I know I have something that I can work with and then make a lot better. But I love all this technology. I use all of it, and I think it’s terrific.

[00:26:42.530] – Alan Petersen So what happens to the benefits will be out on March 29. What are you working on next? Can you tell us?

[00:26:48.080] – Lisa Scottoline I can’t. Sure. I’m excited, too. I just finished it. I just finished. I’m closing in on it, man. I thought I was going to finish it this weekend. It’s called Sacred and it’s historical fiction, and it’s the rise of the Mafia in 1800 Sicily. It’s how the Mafia came to be through the eyes of a family.

[00:27:04.110] – Alan Petersen Awesome.

[00:27:05.040] – Lisa Scottoline I know. I just pitched you Alan.

[00:27:08.850] – Alan Petersen Yeah, I love it.

[00:27:10.710] – Lisa Scottoline You know, as much as my editor at this point.

[00:27:13.420] – Alan Petersen All right. Wow. I like it because there’s a lot of books about the Mafia and all that. But nothing on the history of it like that, so that’s really cool.

[00:27:24.230] – Lisa Scottoline You’re very kind to say that. I appreciate it. I would have been devastated. Well, that’s a real stupid idea.

[00:27:38.530] – Alan Petersen All right, Lisa. Well, thank you so much for being on the podcast. Really good talking to you. And for our listeners, scottoline.com Is probably the best place to find you.

[00:27:46.990] – Lisa Scottoline Well, thank you so much on social media. Alan. I really appreciate this. Thank you so very much.

Alan Petersen

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Lisa Scottoline

Lisa Scottoline is a #1 bestselling author, the New York Times bestselling author and Edgar Award-winning author of 36 novels, including her latest work, THE TRUTH ABOUT THE DEVLINS.

She also writes a weekly column with her daughter Francesca Serritella for the Philadelphia Inquirer titled “Chick Wit,” which is a witty and fun take on life from a woman’s perspective. After running in the Philadelphia Inquirer for 15 years, Chick Wit is now available online . These stories, along with many other never-before-published stories, have been collected in a New York Times bestselling series of humorous memoirs, including their most recent, I SEE LIFE THROUGH ROSÉ-COLORED GLASSES.

Lisa reviews popular fiction and nonfiction, and her reviews have appeared in The New York Times , The Washington Post and The Philadelphia Inquirer . Lisa has served as president of Mystery Writers of America and has taught a course she developed, “Justice and Fiction,” at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, her alma mater. Lisa is a regular and much-sought-after speaker at library and corporate events. Lisa has over 30 million copies of her books in print and is published in over 35 countries. She lives in the Philadelphia area with an array of disobedient pets, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Books by Lisa Scottoline

Lisa Scottoline Books In Order

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Publication Order of Rosato & Associates Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Rosato & DiNunzio Books

Publication Order of We Could Be Heroes Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of The Amazing Adventures of an Ordinary Woman Books

Publication Order of Harold Middleton Books

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of The MatchUp Collection Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Lisa Scottoline Biography:

Lisa Scottoline was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the 1st of July 1955. She then grew up in Bala Cynwyd, a suburb just not far from the city. She graduated first in her class, earning a degree in literature at the University of Pennsylvania in 1976. The focus of her studies was contemporary American short stories. Philip Roth, the famous writer, was one of her professors, a man who played a key role in the development of Lisa’s passion for writing. Following her insatiable curiosity, she carried on with her studies and she also earned a law degree at the Pennsylvania Law School in the year 1981. As a lawyer, she soon became an authoritative figure and she kept on working until her daughter Francesca was born. This life changing event pushed her to give up her career in the law firm and become a fulltime writer, a choice that will shape her life and open new horizons.

A New Career

Her career as a writer started in the year 1994 with Everywhere That Mary Went. The book became a bestseller and was awarded by the Mystery Writers of America. Since then, Lisa has written 11 legal suspense novels, all of which made the lists of bestselling books published by New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly and Publisher’s Weekly. Thanks to the novel Final Appeal she won, in 1995, the Edgar Allan Poe prize, while Moment of Truth, published in 1999, was ranked 5th in the New York Times bestsellers list. Look Again, published in the year 2009, received a nomination as best book of the year by the Washington Post. Truly, quite an exceptional career.

Generally speaking, the author has sold over nine millions of copies in the United States and her work has been published in 23 countries all over the world. Furthermore, Lisa Scottoline is now the president of the Mystery Writers of America. She also writes, together with her daughter Francesca, a weekly column on the Philadelphia Enquirer titled: Chick Wit. Lisa finds the time to publish on average one book per year and still lives in Philadelphia, the city she loves, with her beloved dogs.

The Beginning

Her first published novel, Everywhere That Mary Went, talks about the adventures of Mary diNunzio. The author uses her experience as a layer and decides to use a prestigious law firm in Philadelphia, where she did a apprenticeship, as background for an incredibly thrilling story. Mary works precisely for that same law firm but her life is suddenly interrupted by a series of phone calls, which become more and more sinister as the story unfolds. The telephone rings in the exact instant when she gets to work and in the precise moment when she steps back into her apartment. Someone knows her habits, then; someone sees what she is doing during the day. Slowly these doubts turn into reality and the worst fears come knocking at Mary’s door. Now, the battle is not legal anymore: it is a matter of survival. Throughout the novel, Lisa enters the intricate world of human emotions, presenting a well-designed series of characters, stepping into legal labyrinths, without ever losing her sparkling writing style.

In her second book, Legal Tender, the reader follows the life of Benedetta (Bennie) Rosato, a lawyer and a businesswoman who has everything. Her career and her life, however, suddenly fall apart, turned upside down by an absurd murder: Mark Biscardi, Bennie’s business partner and ex lover, is found dead at his own desk. All the evidence points at Bennie, who had a motive and a shaky alibi. Hours before he was killed, in fact, Mark told her about his decision to dismantle their company and his will to replace her with his new lover. And if this wasn’t enough, the murder weapon is found in Bennie’s apartment, while her last client is accused of placing a bomb under the desk of an important manager. The woman turns into a fugitive, a homeless drunk, but behind these decadent appearances Bennie’s mind is lucid: she is trying to find out who was the real murder; she wants her life back. And even if the circumstances aren’t romantic, the lawyer finds also a new lover. The book leaves you breathless. Evidence and details are planted throughout the plot, allowing the reader to witness a realistic investigation, magnificently described. The characters are well drawn and the city, the background of the story, seems to develop its own personality, playing an active role in shaping what happens to the protagonist.

Short Stories and Beyond

Lisa Scottoline’s work exceeds the boundaries traced by novels and short stories. The author, in fact, published also 4 books that righteously reside in the field of Nonfiction. The first one is titled Why My Third Husband Will Be A Dog: The Amazing Adventures of an Ordinary Woman, and was announced by the author in her popular column on the Philadelphia Inquirer. This is how Lisa Scottoline explains her choice, saying: “ I write short stories, which means that I usually have 100.000 words to tell a story. In a column I have only 700 words. I can barely say Good Moring in 700 words. I am Italian”. So, she decides to bring together her columns, using way more than 700 words, in order to create a beautiful volume shaped by a sharp, witty irony and framed by 70 cartoons. Very funny are the sections titled: A man’s most important body part and Interrupting an art form. The subjects she tackles vary enormously: Lisa talks and jokes about life, love, family, domestic animals and even trousers.

The meeting with the Nonfiction has become an unforgettable ritual repeated year after year: after this first piece of work published in 2009, My Nest Isn’t Empty, It Just Has More Closet Space followed in 2010. Once again, Lisa is funny and witty. Best Friends, Occasional Enemies: The Lighter Side of Life as Mother and Daughter was then printed in the year 2011, clearly inspired by the relationship between the author and her daughter, Francesca. Finally, Meet Me at Emotional Baggage Claim was published by St. Martin’s Press in 2012.

9 Responses to “Lisa Scottoline”

I love finding a good author who has written a lot of books. I start at the top of the list and work my way down. I have really enjoyed Lisa Scottoline’s books that I have read so far. I have read only one of the non-fiction books with her daughter which I thoroughly enjoyed. Laughed all the way through it! Keep writing!

I read a few of your early books. I am looking forward to seeing you in Bristol, Ct on October 19, 2023, which is tomorrow. Thanks for the great books.

Love your books. I have read many of them. I started with the Rosata and Denunzio series then I was off reading your other books and enjoying them. My daughter and I just saw you on April 6th, 2023 at Westminster, MD at the Carroll County Library. You were terrific! I have heard you speak before but my daughter never had so when I learned you were coming to us nearby I just had to get tickets for her, her mother in law and myself. Now they know what I was raving about. Thank you so much for coming please come again and have a Happy Easter 🐇🐣

I just finished reading Dead Ringer. I ordered from Amazon. Loved it. Liked all the twist and turns.

I love your books, especially Rosato and DiNunzio. I miss those but its been a while since I read the first one. I can always start over.

Hello Lisa, I have read many of your books and love each of them! Your writing style is terrific and good humor doesn’t hurt. I havent’t read all of your latest books, but plan to. BTY, good luck getting to the world series!!! Love ya, Sheila

just finished eternal what a great read any other hitorical fiction in the works

Any more Rosato & DiNunzio books coming. Have read them all and really enjoyed them.

hi. am reading your books at present, excellent reads thank you. Judy New Zealand.

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Inside the List

This Best-Selling Author Lives With 4 Dogs, 17 Chickens, 3 Horses, a Pony and a Cat

By Tina Jordan

• April 20, 2018
• Share full article

She has four Cavalier King Charles spaniels, a cranky cat, 17 elderly chickens (“everything on my farm is geriatric, including me”), three horses and a 33-year-old pony, but Lisa Scottoline still manages to write three books a year: one series novel, one stand-alone thriller and one nonfiction collection with her daughter, Francesca Serritella. “How I find the time has everything to do with the glories of middle age,” she explains. “I was a single mother for most of my life, and now that my daughter has grown up, I’m my only daily responsibility, at least in the human being department. So I can devote myself to doing what I love, which is writing books for a living.”

Her latest novel, “After Anna” — which enters the hardcover fiction list at No. 2 — is part legal thriller, part domestic drama, a combination that particularly appeals to Scottoline, a former attorney. “I love writing about family because it matters the most to me and probably to everyone,” she says. “Nothing can bring you more joy, or drive you crazier, than your family. Or your role in your family. For example, what is a good mother? That’s a question that ‘After Anna’ deals with directly. There’s no mother, including me, who doesn’t put her head on the pillow at night and worry that she’s somehow gotten it wrong.”

Scottoline does an enormous amount of research for her novels — she’s “taken boxing lessons, visited a convent, driven up the front steps of the art museum in Philadelphia just to make sure it could be done, stood on the roof of her car in a parking garage to figure out a real-life escape route for one of her characters, and visited junkyards,” as she says on her website . All that research, though, takes place while she’s writing, since she does not plot her books in advance. “I admire writers who outline,” she says, “but for me it would feel like Mad-Libs.” She stands at her treadmill desk every day — “I will buy anything it takes to keep the blood moving to my brain” — and starts typing.

“I plan absolutely nothing,” she says. “It’s not my nature. I write a book in an organic way, asking myself after each chapter what the characters would do next. I never know what the story is until I tell it to myself. Not only don’t I know how it ends, I don’t know how it middles! So I’m nervous the whole entire time, and the only cure is carbohydrates.” Her anxiety, she says, is what fuels her plots. “If I’m on the edge of my seat, how can the reader not be? And the surprise ending always comes as a surprise to me!”

Follow Tina Jordan on Twitter: @TinaJordanNYT

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Lisa Scottoline

About the author.

Lisa Scottoline is a #1 bestselling and Edgar Award-winning author of 33 novels. Lisa's books are book-club favorites, and she and her daughter Francesca Serritella have hosted an annual Big Book Club Party for over a thousand readers at her Pennsylvania farm, for the past twelve years. Lisa has been President of Mystery Writers of America and she reviews fiction and non-fiction for the New York Times, Washington Post, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. She also writes a weekly column with her daughter for The Philadelphia Inquirer entitled Chick Wit, a witty take on life from a woman’s perspective, which have been collected in a bestselling series of humorous memoirs. Lisa graduated magna cum laude in three years from the University of Pennsylvania, with a B.A. degree in English, and cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she taught Justice & Fiction. She has over 30 million copies of her books in print and is published in over 35 countries. She lives with an array of disobedient pets, and wouldn’t have it any other way.

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One of the questions people ask Lisa the most is where she gets her ideas. They laugh when she tells them she prays a lot (although it is the truth), but most times her prayers are answered in the simplest, most unexpected ways. She can get an idea while spotting an interaction between people at the supermarket, reading one line from a magazine, or even from the most insignificant to the most significant of her personal experiences.

Lisa is flexible with many things, but not the accuracy of her books. She does tons of research for her novels, and works hard to make things as correct and realistic as possible. So, whether something is going to enhance her entire plot, or add one descriptive sentence, Lisa is relentless in trying to get it just right. Besides, she knows that she has lots of very careful readers with all sorts of various expertise, and if she makes a mistake they will let her know. Which, by the way, Lisa totally appreciates!

Lisa’s research usually starts with reading books (surprised?), searching the internet, and talking to experts. However, many times, second-hand experiences are just not good enough for her. Lisa likes to see, feel, hear and experience the same things her characters will. That has led her down some very interesting paths. She has taken boxing lessons, visited a convent, driven up the front steps of the Art Museum in Philadelphia (the famous Rocky stairs) just to make sure it could be done, stood on the roof of her car in a parking garage to figure out a real-life escape route for one of her characters, visited junkyards, participated in weekly poker games, but her very favorite research by far would have to be the shoe shopping expeditions for  Courting Trouble . Of course, she doesn’t have to leave home to write about all the animals that appear in her books. They are usually surrounding her for every strike of the keyboard.

Videos on Writing

Lisa scottoline: the writing life.

Where Ideas Come From

Writing From Different Viewpoints

The Importance of Characterization

Sign Up for Lisa's Newsletters!

There are a few ways to stay in touch with Lisa. She sends out several email and print mailings throughout the year with news about book releases, her “Lisa Live” program, her annual virtual book club event, and what she’s working on. Sign up to get it via email, postal mail, or both!

Lisa also sends out a weekly Chick Wit newsletter, which features her latest  Chick Wit essay .

Lisa Scottoline

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While listening to real-life litigations can be a bore, some of the most exciting mystery and crime plots unravel around courtroom proceedings. There's an exciting world of legal thriller audiobooks beyond the biggest names out there waiting to be discovered. Here are the best legal thrillers featuring scenes of courtroom drama and twisty legal plots that will keep you gripped and guessing until the gavel’s rapped.

Best Sellers

The Truth About the Devlins

• By: Lisa Scottoline
• Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Lisa Scottoline
• Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
• Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars 337
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 308
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 308

Lisa Scottoline, the #1 bestselling author of What Happened to the Bennetts , presents another pulse-pounding domestic thriller about family, justice, and the lies that tear us apart....

• 2 out of 5 stars

Disappointed!

• By Cayla Anderson on 07-18-24
• Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini , Lisa Scottoline
• Release date: 03-26-24
• Language: English
• 4.5 out of 5 stars 337 ratings

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What Happened to the Bennetts

• Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
• Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
• Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars 5,275
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 4,718
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 4,677

Jason Bennett is a suburban dad who owns a court-reporting business, but one night, his life takes a horrific turn. He is driving his family home after his daughter’s field hockey game when a pickup truck begins tailgating them, on a dark stretch of road....

• 5 out of 5 stars

Oh my gosh! You have outdone yourself! 💚🍀

• By Kindle Customer on 03-30-22
• Release date: 03-29-22
• 4.5 out of 5 stars 5,275 ratings

Regular price: $20.25 or 1 credit

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• Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Edoardo Ballerini, Lisa Scottoline
• Length: 19 hrs and 7 mins
• Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars 2,287
• Performance 5 out of 5 stars 2,004
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,993

Number one best-selling author Lisa Scottoline offers a sweeping and shattering epic of historical fiction fueled by shocking true events, the tale of a love triangle that unfolds in the heart of Rome...in the creeping shadow of fascism....

Heartfelt Historic Fiction. A wonderful story !

• By Marie C. Hodge on 03-26-21
• Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell , Edoardo Ballerini , Lisa Scottoline
• Release date: 03-23-21
• 4.5 out of 5 stars 2,287 ratings

Courting Trouble

• Narrated by: Kate Burton
• Length: 5 hrs and 19 mins
• Overall 4 out of 5 stars 48
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 33
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 31

Anne Murphy is smart, gorgeous, and young, the red-headed rookie at the Philadelphia law firm of Rosato & Associates....

• By Andrea on 08-10-18
• Release date: 10-13-04
• 4 out of 5 stars 48 ratings

Regular price: $8.18 or 1 credit

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One Perfect Lie

• Narrated by: George Newbern
• Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
• Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars 3,528
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 3,189
• Story 4 out of 5 stars 3,196

On paper, Chris Brennan looks perfect. He's applying for a job as a high school government teacher, and his references are impeccable. But everything about Chris Brennan is a lie....

Perfect Lie

• By PJPackwood on 04-17-17
• Release date: 04-11-17
• 4.5 out of 5 stars 3,528 ratings

Regular price: $14.99 or 1 credit

Sale price: $14.99 or 1 credit

• Narrated by: Mozhan Marno, Jeremy Bobb
• Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
• Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars 4,594
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 4,143
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 4,129

Dr. Noah Alderman, a widower and single father, has remarried a wonderful woman, Maggie Ippolitti, and for the first time in a long time, he and his young son are happy....

• 1 out of 5 stars

So Terrible.......

• By Pam on 06-07-18
• Narrated by: Mozhan Marno , Jeremy Bobb
• Release date: 04-10-18
• 4.5 out of 5 stars 4,594 ratings

Regular price: $20.24 or 1 credit

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Someone Knows

• Narrated by: Ari Fliakos, Brittany Pressley
• Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
• Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars 3,147
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 2,851
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 2,829

Best-selling and award-winning author Lisa Scottoline reaches new heights with this riveting novel about how a single decision can undo a family, how our past can derail our present, and how not guilty doesn't always mean innocent....

Just wretched

• By Ethan on 06-12-19
• Narrated by: Ari Fliakos , Brittany Pressley
• Release date: 04-09-19
• 4.5 out of 5 stars 3,147 ratings

• Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
• Overall 4 out of 5 stars 147
• Performance 4 out of 5 stars 119
• Story 4 out of 5 stars 119

Franco Fiorvanti is a handsome lemon grower toiling on the estate of a baron. He dreams of owning his own grove, but the rigid class system of Sicily thwarts his ambition....

• By Pink Amy on 03-29-23
• Release date: 03-28-23
• 4 out of 5 stars 147 ratings

• A Rosato & DiNunzio Novel
• Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
• Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
• Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,795
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,614
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,613

Ten-year-old Patrick O'Brien is a natural target at school. Shy, dyslexic, and small for his age, he tries to hide his first-grade reading level from everyone....

• 4 out of 5 stars

No humor, no fun, no Mary DiNunzio here.

• By Michele on 08-22-16
• Series: Rosato & DiNunzio , Book 4
• Release date: 08-16-16
• 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,795 ratings

Rough Justice

• Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat
• Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
• Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars 660
• Performance 4 out of 5 stars 580
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 579

Criminal lawyer Marta Richter is hours away from winning an acquittal for her client, millionaire businessman Elliot Steere, on trial for the murder of a homeless man who tried to carjack him....

Could not enjoy due to profanity

• By LizR on 09-27-16
• Series: Rosato & Associates , Book 3
• Release date: 08-02-16
• 4.5 out of 5 stars 660 ratings

Regular price: $24.29 or 1 credit

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My Nest Isn't Empty, It Just Has More Closet Space

• The Amazing Adventures of an Ordinary Woman
• By: Lisa Scottoline, Francesca Scottoline Serritella
• Narrated by: Lisa Scottoline, Francesca Scottoline Serritella
• Length: 4 hrs and 51 mins
• Overall 4 out of 5 stars 94
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 65
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 69

The incomparable Lisa Scottoline, along with daughter Francesca, is back with more wild and wonderful wit and wisdom: My Nest Isn't Empty, It Just Has More Closet Space ....

So touching, funny, wonderful

• By sandra on 01-28-11
• By: Lisa Scottoline , Francesca Scottoline Serritella
• Narrated by: Lisa Scottoline , Francesca Scottoline Serritella
• Series: The Amazing Adventures of an Ordinary Woman
• Release date: 10-26-10
• 4 out of 5 stars 94 ratings

Regular price: $10.39 or 1 credit

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Moment of Truth

• Rosato & Associates, Book 5
• Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
• Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars 546
• Performance 4 out of 5 stars 492
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 491

Attorney Jack Newlin comes home one evening to find his wife dead on the floor....

This is NOT narrated by Kate Burton

• By SC1007 on 05-16-18
• Series: Rosato & Associates , Book 5
• Release date: 03-25-16
• 4.5 out of 5 stars 546 ratings

Mistaken Identity

• Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
• Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,043
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 935
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 927

A stunning tale of mystery and suspense, this classic once again leads listeners down the gritty streets of Philadelphia and into the offices of the law firm of Rosato & Associates....

• By Teyah on 01-03-17
• Series: Rosato & Associates , Book 4
• Release date: 12-06-16
• 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,043 ratings

Regular price: $26.99 or 1 credit

Sale price: $26.99 or 1 credit

• Rosato & DiNunzio Series, Book 6
• Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
• Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,361
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,246
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,238

When three men announce that they are suing the Rosato & DiNunzio law firm for reverse sex discrimination—claiming that they were not hired because they were men—Mary DiNunzio and Bennie Rosato are outraged. To make matters worse, their one male employee, John Foxman, intends to resign, claiming that there is some truth to this case....

Excellent legal thriller in a wonderful series

• By Wayne on 11-09-18
• Series: Rosato & DiNunzio , Book 6
• Release date: 08-14-18
• 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,361 ratings

• Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
• Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars 2,961
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 2,683
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 2,681

Bennie Rosato, the founder of the Rosato & DiNunzio law firm, hides her big heart beneath her tough-as-nails exterior, and she doesn't like to fail....

Great book!

• By Karen B. Jinks on 10-31-15
• Series: Rosato & DiNunzio , Book 3
• Release date: 10-27-15
• 4.5 out of 5 stars 2,961 ratings

I See Life Through Rosé-Colored Glasses

• By: Lisa Scottoline, Francesca Serritella
• Narrated by: Lisa Scottoline, Francesca Serritella
• Length: 6 hrs and 1 min
• Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars 78
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 73
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 72

In I See Life Through Rosé Colored-Glasses , the best-selling mother/daughter pair is back with another hilarious and heartfelt collection of essays about the possibilities and pitfalls of everyday life....

fabulous entertainment

• By Hildy on 02-02-21
• By: Lisa Scottoline , Francesca Serritella
• Narrated by: Lisa Scottoline , Francesca Serritella
• Release date: 07-10-18
• 4.5 out of 5 stars 78 ratings

Most Wanted

• Narrated by: Julia Whelan
• Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins
• Overall 4 out of 5 stars 2,253
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 2,031
• Story 4 out of 5 stars 2,016

Christine Nilsson and her husband, Marcus, are desperate for a baby. Unable to conceive, they find themselves facing a difficult choice they had never anticipated....

• 3 out of 5 stars

Great start, but...

• By Moses on 04-15-16
• Release date: 04-12-16
• 4 out of 5 stars 2,253 ratings

The Vendetta Defense

• Length: 14 hrs and 1 min
• Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars 603
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 473
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 465

Lawyer Judy Carrier takes the case of an elderly pigeon racer, Tony Lucia, who has been arrested for the murder of his lifelong enemy, Angelo Coluzzi....

History and Thriller Combined

• By 'Nathan on 03-03-10
• Series: Rosato & Associates , Book 6
• Release date: 11-18-04
• 4.5 out of 5 stars 603 ratings

Regular price: $25.19 or 1 credit

Sale price: $25.19 or 1 credit

Dead Ringer

• Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
• Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars 524
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 382
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 380

Lately, Bennie Rosato has her eye focused firmly on the bottom line; so she takes a professional risk, charging into a class action lawsuit that could make, or break, her career....

Lisa Scottoline does it again! :)

• By Sheila McGuire on 02-09-05
• Series: Rosato & Associates , Book 8
• Release date: 08-06-04
• 4.5 out of 5 stars 524 ratings

Regular price: $22.49 or 1 credit

Sale price: $22.49 or 1 credit

• Rosato & DiNunzio, Book 1
• Narrated by: January LaVoy
• Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
• Overall 4 out of 5 stars 2,289
• Performance 4 out of 5 stars 2,068
• Story 4 out of 5 stars 2,060

Bennie Rosato, Mary DiNunzio, Judy Carrier, and Anne Murphy are back with all cylinders firing in Accused . Mary Dinuzio has just been promoted to partner and is about to take on her most unusual case yet, brought to the firm by a thirteen-year-old genius with a penchant for beekeeping....

A "chick" legal thriller

• By Wayne on 09-25-15
• Series: Rosato & DiNunzio , Book 1
• Release date: 10-29-13
• 4 out of 5 stars 2,289 ratings

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