Review ~ Save Me by Lisa Scottoline

Save Me
Author ~ Lisa Scottoline
Publisher ~ St. Martin's Press
Pages ~ 384
Release date ~ April 12, 2011

About the book ~ 

Rose McKenna volunteers as a lunch mom in her daughter Melly’s school in order to keep an eye on Amanda, a mean girl who’s been bullying her daughter. Her fears come true when the bullying begins, sending Melly to the bathroom in tears. Just as Rose is about to follow after her daughter, a massive explosion goes off in the kitchen, sending the room into chaos. Rose finds herself faced with the horrifying decision of whether or not to run to the bathroom to rescue her daughter or usher Amanda to safety. She believes she has accomplished both, only to discover that Amanda, for an unknown reason, ran back into the school once out of Rose's sight. In an instance, Rose goes from hero to villain as the small community blames Amanda’s injuries on her. In the days that follow, Rose's life starts to fall to pieces, Amanda’s mother decides to sue, her marriage is put to the test, and worse, when her daughter returns to school, the bullying only intensifies. Rose must take matters into her own hands and get down to the truth of what really happened that fateful day in order to save herself, her marriage and her family.

In the way that Look Again had readers questioning everything they thought they knew about family, Save Me will have readers wondering just how far they would go to save the ones they love. Lisa Scottoline is writing about real issues that resonate with real women, and the results are emotional, heartbreaking and honest.

My thoughts ~ 

As a mother, your first instinct is to protect your child – no matter the cost. But what if, in a split second, you are faced with having to make a horrifying choice? Save your child or save three other children. Rose McKenna has to do just that. 

Rose, her husband, Leo, daughter, Melly, and baby son, John, have just moved to Reeseburgh to give Melly a fresh start. Born with a nevus (birth mark) on her face, Melly, a gifted child, was constantly teased by her peers. They were hoping that a new town, new school, and new friends would put an end to all of that. Unfortunately the torment followed them. Melly became the target of Amanda Gigot, the apparent leader of the bully brigade.

Rose wants to see first-hand the anguish her daughter is experiencing at school, so she volunteers to be the “lunch mom.” After a brutal joke is played on Melly, she runs to the bathroom and locks herself in. Rose holds the three girls responsible behind while the other children go out to recess. While trying to explain to them how much their bullying/teasing hurts Melly, an explosion rocks the cafeteria sending them all reeling. When Rose comes to she is faced with a choice no one, never mind a mother, should have to make. Save the three girls she can see or leave them to find their own way out while going to rescue her daughter. Acting on pure adrenaline she leads the girls to the door of the school and races back to save her child.

With the determination of a mother saving her cub, Rose makes her way through the destruction and pulls Melly from the fire. Rose runs out of the building, with an unconscious Melly in her arms, praying she has reached her in time. While there are three fatalities that day, Rose becomes the “Hero Mom”, the mom that raced back into a burning building to save her child. 

The adulations soon turn to harsh accusations when it turns out that one of the bullies, Amanda, is found among the carnage, clinging to life. Rose doesn’t understand what Amanda was doing inside the building. She knows she brought her and the other two girls to the door of the building, hurrying them out with a teacher and her class. So how did Amanda end up trapped back inside? Now no one believes that she helped these girls before her own child. They condemn her for saving her child first. She goes from hero to villain in 2.2 seconds.

The explosion at the school starts a series of events that will permanently alter the lives of everyone involved. Faced with both civil and criminal charges, Rose realizes that the truth won’t be told unless she finds something that proves her version of the events. From the classroom, to an old factory, to the Senate, the road to the truth is a long one. But filled with fierce determination, Rose will stop at nothing to save herself, her reputation, and her family. The raw emotions in Save Me are so intense, so vivid, so palpable, that you’ll be physically aching the same way as everyone involved in this story does. You will find it hard-pressed to put this book down. You’ll find yourself praying that you never find yourself in the position of having to make the choice that Rose is forced to make.

About the author ~

Lisa Scottoline is the New York Times bestselling author and Edgar award-winning author of 18 novels, including her latest, SAVE ME, and she is President of Mystery Writers of America. She 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. The columns have been collected in, Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog, which has been optioned for TV, and My Nest Isn't Empty, It Just Has More Closet Space." Lisa reviews popular fiction and non-fiction, and her reviews have appeared in New York Times, The Washington Post and The Philadelphia Inquirer. In her spare time, she teaches 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 25 million copies of her books in print and is published in over 32 countries. She lives in the Philadelphia area with an array of disobedient pets, and she wouldn't have it any other way. 

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Email Lisa ~ Lisa AT scottoline DOT com.

Click HERE to read the first chapter of Save Me

Her other books ~ 

FTC Full Disclosure ~ I received this book in exchange for my honest review.

Review ~ Absolutely Positively by Heather Webber

Absolutely, Positively: A Lucy Valentine Novel
Author - Heather Webber
Publishers - St. Martin's Press
Publication date - February 1, 2011

From Amazon ~

“Exposed” by a Boston Herald reporter, Lucy is suddenly the talk of the town. Long back-story short: Even though the rest of her Valentine ancestors were blessed by Cupid with psychic abilities, Lucy’s only special power lies in her ability to find things. This skill has proven quite a blessing for those who come to her matchmaking agency in search of finding their long-lost loves. Now that Lucy’s secret is out, she has more new clients than she knows what to do with. But soon a certain man of mystery steals Lucy’s spotlight…

No, it’s not Sean Donahue, the sexy fireman-turned-private-eye who’s stolen Lucy’s heart. It’s a masked man in a cowboy hat, dubbed “The Lone Ranger,” who’s been throwing handfuls of cash across the Common. Now all of Beantown’s abuzz. Can Lucy unmask the mysterious money man, track down all her clients’ old flames, and turn up the heat on her love life? Absolutely, positively…

My thoughts ~ 

Who is that masked man? That’s the question on everyone’s mind around Boston Common when a mysterious stranger, dubbed The Lone Ranger, starts throwing twenty-dollar bills around. And what, if anything, does he have to do with everything else going on in Lucy’s life? A life that has left Lucy with a lot on her plate these days. She has Meaghan, the new client, who is looking for her foster brother, Tristan, convinced that he is the one true love of her life. Unfortunately it’s been years since she’s seen him and wouldn’t even know what direction to send Lucy in. When she finds out what he’s been up, to will Meaghan still think he’s her knight in shining armor? Next is Mac Gladstone, an old friend of Dovie’s who has gone missing. Mac went out to walk his beloved dog Rufus one day and never came back, even though Rufus did. Anyone who knew Mac knows he would never just leave his dog behind. Was he the victim of foul play or something more heartbreaking? Preston is right there, front and center, as usual. She has done an excellent job of worming her way into the Valentine family. Will they be able to keep their big secret from her, or will she use her journalistic skills to figure out the real reason for the Valentine’s immense success? And just what does the FBI want Lucy to stay out of?????

Since this is all about matchmaking and finding lost loves, let’s not forget about all of the love in the air these days. There is no doubt Lucy loves Sean and wants to spend the rest of her life with him. She knows that he is holding things back from her, and on some level it bothers her (considering he knows ALL of the Valentine’s secrets), but she loves him enough to wait until he’s ready to let her in. Unfortunately she can’t let go of the dreaded Cupid’s Curse; no Valentine has every found true, everlasting love. Can she break the Curse once and for all? Can true love conquer all? Then we’ve got Lucy’s parents. When you find out who they’re dating, well, you’ll just plutz! Raphael is moving in with Maggie – YAY, but who will take care of Lucy’s dad now? Next is Aiden (friendly state trooper) and Em (BFF). Everyone knows they are made for each other, except the two of them. C’mon people, let’s get together now. Finally we have Lucy’s new-found brother Cutter. He’s such the ladies man that he has not one, but two women lusting after him – Marisol and Preston. Which one will he choose?

Seriously, what’s not to love about Lucy and this series? She has psychic abilities, is whimsical, smart, beautiful, and head-over-heels in love with the scrumptious PI, Sean Donahue. This series has the perfect mix of cozy mystery elements – it’s a fun read, stars a woman as an amateur sleuth, her significant other has his hands in law enforcement, it is light on the gore, it focuses on the characters and plot, and is filled with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing page after page. The book can certainly be read as a stand-alone book, but in order to fully understand Lucy and her quirky cast of characters, you should read the first two books in the series, Truly, Madly and Deeply, Desperately. You Absolutely, Positively do not want to miss this book.

FTC Full Disclosure: I received this book form the publisher in the hopes I would review it.

Book Spotlight & Giveaway ~ The Murderer's Daughters by Randy Susan Meyers

The Murderer's Daughters
Author ~ Randy Susan Meyers
Publisher ~ St. Martin's Press
Publication date ~ January 19, 2011

A beautifully written, compulsively readable debut that deals with the aftermath of a shocking act of violence that leaves two young sisters with nothing but each other—in the tradition of White Oleander, this haunting novel is a testament to the power of family and the ties that bind us together, even as they threaten to tear us apart

Mama was “no macaroni-necklace-wearing kind of mother.” She was a lipstick and perfume-wearing mother, a flirt whose estranged husband still hungered for her. After Mama threw him out, she warned the girls to never let Daddy in the house, an admonition that tears at ten-year-old Lulu whenever she thinks about the day she opened the door for her drunken father, and watched as he killed her mother, stabbed her five-year-old sister Merry and tried to take his own life.

Effectively orphaned by their mother’s death and father’s imprisonment, Lulu and Merry, unwanted by family members and abandoned to a terrifying group home, spend their young lives carrying more than just the visible scars from the tragedy. Even as their plan to be taken in by a well-to-do foster family succeeds, they come to learn they’ll never really belong anywhere or to anyone—that all they have to hold onto is each other.

As they grow into women, Lulu holds fast to her anger, denies her father’s existence and forces Merry into a web of lies about his death that eventually ensnares her own husband and daughters. Merry, certain their safety rests on placating her needy father, dutifully visits him, seeking his approval and love at the expense of her own relationships. As they strive to carve lives of their own, thespecter of their father, unrepentant and manipulative even from behind bars, haunts them. And when they learn he’s about to be paroled, the house of cards they’ve built their lives on teeters on the brink of collapse.

About the author ~

The dark drama of Randy Susan Meyers' debut novel is informed by her years of work with batterers, domestic violence victims, and at-risk youth impacted by family violence.
Randy Susan Meyers’ short stories have been published in the Fog City Review, Perigee: Publication for the Arts, and the Grub Street Free Press.

In Brooklyn, where Randy was born and raised, her local library was close enough to visit daily and she walked there from the time she figured out the route. In many ways, she was raised by books, each adding to her sense of who she could be in this world. Some marked her for horror. Reading In Cold Blood at too tender an age assured that she’d never stay alone in a country house. Others, like Heidi by Johanna Spyri, made her worship her grandfather even more.
Some taught her faith in the future.         
                                                      
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith was the only bible Randy ever owned, her personal talisman of hopefulness. Each time she read it, she was struck anew by how this author knew so much and dared to write it.

Randy now lives in Boston with her husband and is the mother of two grown daughters. She teaches writing seminars at the Grub Street Writers’ Center in Boston.

Find Randy here ~ 

Website

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Email ~ randy AT randysusanmeyers DOT com

In celebration of the release of this book, the publisher is providing me with two (2) copies of The Murderer's Daughters to give away.

GIVEAWAY Rules for entering:

* This contest is open to residents of US and Canada only

* Please complete the form below - do not leave information in the comments - it will not count.

* The contest will end on February 14th at 11:59PM EST; 2 winners will be selected and contacted thereafter.

* Once the winners are contacted, they will have 48 hours to respond to my email or another winner will be chosen (make sure to check your spam filters!).

* Book will be shipped directly from the publisher.