After Anna

Lisa Scottoline

Synopsis: Maggie has always wanted to be a mother. She thought her dream had come true when she had a beautiful baby girl, Anna. Unfortunately, a severe case of postpartum psychosis caused her to lose custody of her daughter, and hasn’t seen her since. 17 years later, Maggie is happily married to Noah, and a proud stepmother to his son, Caleb. But she never stopped longing for the baby she lost. She is overjoyed when it appears she gets her second chance to be a mother to Anna. But things start to unravel quickly, causing severe tension in the family. Maggie’s world is destroyed when Anna is murdered, and her beloved husband, Noah, is arrested for it.

This was my first novel by Lisa Scottoline. I can tell you one thing with absolute certainty: It most definitely will NOT be my last! Wow!

I have to be honest, I misjudged this book at first. The book flashes back and forth from the beginning of the story (when Maggie first hears from her estranged daughter, Anna) moving forward, and then from the end of Noah’s trial (before the verdict is given) and moving backwards. This is where I got thrown. I previously read a book that was written in a similar style. Flashing from beginning to end, to eventually meet in the middle. I wasn’t a huge fan. It felt like a failed attempt to add drama, and completely unnecessary. So, upon seeing this book written similarly, my guard was put up. I almost wrote it off. I could not have been more wrong! The formatting of this book is SPOT. ON.

The courtroom scenes and testimonies give you a perfect foreshadow! It gives you enough detail to understand and follow the story, without giving away exactly what happened, leaving you with just a taste of what’s coming. Even more brilliantly, Scottoline lined up the testimonies with the plot points mentioned, so the story flows incredibly smoothly. And let me just say this: Lisa Scottoline is the Queen of the cliffhanger! This is one of those books that you think, “Oh, I’ll just finish this chapter.” only to curse the author at the end of the chapter because how can you POSSIBLY stop there?!

After Anna had me guessing and questioning things at every turn. It threw me for some serious loops, and I was completely in the dark until everything is revealed at the end. It had an ending that I did NOT see coming.

In case you can’t tell by now, I absolutely loved this book. It was a fairly fast read, and nothing about it was slow. The story keeps moving, and the characters keep you on your toes. Maggie’s love for her family, and her devotion to them is beautifully portrayed, and you feel her joys, and her sorrows right along with her.

I highly recommend checking this one out! It’s a great suspense read. Overall, it’s not a terribly graphic book as far as murder mysteries go, so it’s a little bit “lighter” mystery. Somewhere between a legal drama and mystery suspense. Absolutely fantastic! I can’t wait to check out more of Lisa Scottoline’s books! The only other thing I can say is, once you pick it up, good luck putting it back down!