The Barnes & Noble Review
An oddly affecting combination love story, legal thriller, and ethnic screwball comedy, Lisa Scottoline's The Vendetta Defense offers a solidly entertaining account of murder and revenge, and examines the workings of the criminal justice system from a startlingly different perspective. As its plot unfolds, the novel raises provocative ethical questions and never settles for glib or easy answers. At the same time, it successfully dramatizes the collision of two radically different cultures and brings a colorful, autonomous community -- the Italian-American neighborhoods of South Philadelphia -- vibrantly to life.

The Vendetta Defense features gutsy, likable Philadelphia lawyer Judy Carrier, last seen in a supporting role in Moment of Truth. Judy is a legal scholar employed by Rosato and Associates, an all-female law firm run by long-term Scottoline heroine Benadetta "Bennie" Rosato (Legal Tender, Mistaken Identity). As the novel opens, Judy is at work on a dry, academic brief when she learns that Tony Lucia -- family friend of another Scottoline heroine, Mary DiNunzio -- has just been arrested for murder. Tony -- known throughout his South Philadelphia neighborhood as Pigeon Tony -- is a 79-year-old Italian immigrant who has spent most of his life breeding prize-winning racing pigeons. When he inexplicably murders a fellow immigrant -- 83-year-old Angelo Coluzzi -- Judy comes to his defense.

Tony's case is complicated by a single, irrefutable fact: He is technically guilty. Tony, as he immediately admits, killed Coluzzi in a fit of rage, thus concluding a vendetta begun more than 50 years before. In Tony's version of events, a jealous Angelo Coluzzi murdered Sylvana Lucia, Tony's wife, in the early days of World War II, when Angelo served as the local Fascist leader of their small Italian town. The blood feud continued across the generations, culminating in the murder of Tony's son and daughter-in-law and in Tony's act of belated retaliation. Given the peculiar circumstances of the case, Judy finds herself facing an uphill legal battle. Saddled with a client who insists on acknowledging his role in Coluzzi's death, she must somehow convince a skeptical jury that Tony's history of loss and suffering justifies his actions.

Scottoline handles this unique scenario with intelligence, sympathy, and characteristic wit. Her narrative ranges gracefully back and forth from Fascist Italy to contemporary America, gradually illuminating the personal and historical forces that turned a decent, good-hearted man into a killer. The result is a novel that entertains and enlightens in equal measure. (Bill Sheehan)

Bill Sheehan reviews horror, suspense, and science fiction for Cemetery Dance, The New York Review of Science Fiction, and other publications. His book-length critical study of the fiction of Peter Straub, At the Foot of the Story Tree, has been published by Subterranean Press (www.subterraneanpress.com).

Scottoline makes us remember why legal thrillers became so popular — and so entertaining.

The Vendeatta Defense is a thriller that's fun to hear.

Scottoline writes with ... genuine snap, producing smartly structured mystery thrillers.

You'll lap up Scottoline's latest.

[Scottoline's] books translate well to audio because her writing is rich in dialogue, and Scottoline effortlessly writes the way people talk.

[a] wonderful tarantella of a tale.

Charming'swift and suspenseful enough to hold you in an airline center seat for almost endless hours... The trial preparation and courtroom stuff is what gives the book its greatest strength. Scottoline knows the biz.

Is it murder or simply eye-for-an-eye justice if you kill someone who has killed members of your family? That moral conundrum lies at the heart of Scottoline's (Moment of Truth; Mistaken Identity) latest legal yarn, which gives top billing to yet another lawyer from the all-female Philadelphia firm of Rosato & Associates. The star here is the somewhat manic Judy Carrier, who has played supporting roles in the past. The story, however, revolves around Anthony "Pigeon Tony" Lucia, a lovable septuagenarian who killed his longtime rival, Angelo Coluzzi, who murdered Lucia's wife in their native Italy 60 years ago. Coluzzi, the wealthy, mob-connected owner of a big construction firm, always seems to get the upper hand until Pigeon Tony breaks his neck during a showdown at the pigeon-racing club where they're both members. Pigeon Tony freely admits he killed Coluzzi, but maintains he was justified because of the long-standing Italian tradition of vendetta; Carrier knows it will be a big stretch to make that argument fly before a 21st-century American jury. Aided, however, by Tony's many friends in South Philly's Italian neighborhoods, Carrier mounts a sparkling defense while dodging innumerable attempts on her life from Coluzzi's gang and trying to keep in check her amorous feelings for Pigeon Tony's ruggedly handsome grandson, Frank. Scottoline shows once again her knack for building a highly entertaining plot around an intriguingly simple legal issue and a cast of likable eccentrics. Her touch is light, and her satisfying mix of mischief, sex appeal, action and legal analysis justifies her wide following. (Feb. 27) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Like previous Scottoline books, this novel revolves around the fictional all-women Philadelphia law firm of Rosato and Associates, showcasing a prior supporting character, lawyer Judy Carrier. When asked by her best friend's father to defend an 83-year-old Italian immigrant on a murder charge, Judy agrees to take the case. The result is a very entertaining and thought-provoking story with a fast-paced and interesting plot and an exploration of law vs. justice. The Vendetta Defense is also about pigeon racing, the criminal justice system, Fascist Italy, and South Philly. Both major and minor characters, thanks to Barbara Rosenblat's performance, are engaging and real; she does a very effective job with all of the accents. Highly recommended. Christine Valentine, Davenport Univ. Lib., Kalamazoo, MI Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Philadelphia contains a special law firm, Rosato and Associates, that consists exclusively of women, who have each had at least one case where someone shot them or otherwise injured them. Mary DiNunzio is on sabbatical recovering from wounds received while defending a client. Her friend and co-worker Judy Carrier, misses Mary, but the latter feels safe working civil suits and preparing briefs.That changes when Judy agrees to defend "Pigeon Tony" Lucia against a murder charge. The DA accuses Pigeon Tony of killing Angelo Coluzzi, a person he has known for six decades. Tony believes that Angelo killed his wife, son. and daughter-in-law. Consequently, he snapped the neck of Angelo. The Coluzzi family is well connected in South Philly and goes to extraordinary lengths to silence Tony and his lawyer, but the intrepid Judy refuses to stop representing her client. She wants justice, not the law served.The law and justice do not always match as the theme of The Vendetta Defense indicates. This leads to important distinctions and even more important issues that hold the audience in thrall as they anxiously wait to see Lisa Scottoline's position on justice vs. the law. Judy's legal strategy is brilliant and remains on the right side of the law although she doubts justice will be served for her client. Tony has stolen a piece of Judy's heart with his grief and likewise does this to the reader also even with the knowledge that he killed a man. Lisa Scottoline has written a clever, intelligent legal procedural that sub-genre fans will relish as the story line focuses on the essence of the justice system.