Final Appeal

Written by Lisa Scottoline

Narrated by Kate Burton

“Scottoline is a master.”—Philadelphia Inquirer

Murder, intrigue, and romance collide in New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline’s clever and fast-paced legal thriller.

Starting over again after her divorce, Philadelphia lawyer Grace Rossi works part time for handsome Judge Armen Gregorian in the federal appeals court. 

Assigned to an explosive death penalty appeal, a long day of work unexpectedly leads to a night of passion with the chief judge. But when Gregorian is found dead the next morning, an apparent suicide, Grace knows she must uncover the truth. 

Suddenly this working mother finds herself investigating a murder, unearthing a secret bank account, and following a trail of bribery and judicial corruption hidden even from the FBI. In no time at all, Grace under fire takes on a whole new meaning. With the help of an undercover federal agent, she will risk everything to see justice done. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Nov 2, 2004
• ISBN: 9780060818104

Lisa Scottoline

Lisa Scottoline is a #1 bestselling and award-winning author of more than thirty-two novels. She also co-authors a bestselling non-fiction humor series with her daughter, Francesca Serritella. There are more than thirty million copies of Lisa's books in print in more than thirty-five countries. She lives in Pennsylvania with an array of disobedient but adorable pets.

Reviews for Final Appeal

[nora57-18806 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I found this one boring and very difficult to keep reading. I had to put the book down way to many times.

[rmarcin-630843 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Grace Rossi is a part-time lawyer/law clerk for a chief judge in Philadelphia. She is also a bit in love with her boss. The other 3 law clerks in the office are an eclectic group. Ben wants to clerk for a Supreme Court justice. Artie is in love with Sarah, and Sarah leads Artie on while she also has a major crush on their boss, the judge. Grace and Armen, the judge, consummate their desire for each other, and Armen states his love for Grace.
Shockingly, the next day, everything changes. Grace must now dig deeply into the judge's life, determine whether he is owned by the mob, and who is the sinister presence in their lives? A solid legal thriller.

[carolee888 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this for the Just For Fun Challenge which encourages reading one book that has been on the TBR shelf for a long time and without doing a review. I still rated this book though and I enjoyed it.

[joannsmithainsworth · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A delightful romp through a normally staid circuit court.

[darla_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Doesn't it just figure? I find a Scottoline that I like pretty well, and it's one her fans in general dislike. At least according to the 19 who rated it on Amazon, anyway. The same thing happened to me with Martha Grimes. Ah, well. It suits my self-image to be out-of-step every once in a while.

Grace Rossi is a lawyer and a single mother, working as an assistant to a judge she's attracted to. It seems the attraction is mutual, and he asks for her help on a death sentence appeal, praising her abilities. Then one night they're working late and act on their attraction.

The next morning, the judge is found dead, and his death is ruled a suicide. Grace is understandably reluctant to believe that, and so she begins investigating on her own, and soon finds herself in over her head.

She's assisted by a variety of characters, including an office manager with a big secret, and a deep-undercover FBI agent. The suspects are similarly varied.

Mostly, it's just an entertaining, twisty whodunit. I didn't quite believe the romance between Grace and the judge, but that was a fairly minor point, and more of a plot device to give her a reason to pursue the case in the face of danger and objections.