I've been reading Lisa Scottoline for many years since discovering her while searching for a subway read in a drugstore. Her book are suspenseful and well-written and I always look forward to a new title from this author.

This was a fast-paced, interesting read, that I found I did not want to put down! Great, multi-faceted characters. Vivid descriptions. Kept me captivated from the first page to the last. An excellent read!

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.

A delightful escape into a world where love and ambition collide, and the line between rivalry and romance blurs.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review the advance copy of this book.

Lisa Scottoline’s After Anna is a fast-paced novel alternating between characters’ POV. While I love a fast-paced novel, sometimes the pacing can lose a little something if not told slower. When Anna returns to her mother’s, Maggie, care after the death of her father, the family welcomes her with open arms. However, Noah’s POV is told from bits and pieces of a trial where he is tried for the murder of Anna. The last few chapters will hook you in and not let go. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and cannot wait to read more by the author!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Nefgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm going to be very upfront about this book. It annoyed me. I don't want to go into much detail because I feel it will spoil the book. I just feel like some of the choices made by a specific character irked me. I get it this is a book. I just wish a certain character was smarter and actually thought things out. I also didn't get how another character was fine with everything that happened. The ending had me just screaming. Even though I had a lot of negative thoughts on the book it did keep my attention. So that says something at least. I might check out another book by this author.

I could suspend disbelief up to about 33% when I just got so frustrated that I had to put this down and walk away. Nothing about this book is realistic. Nothing. There is no reality in which even the court case against Maggie when Anna was 6mo old would result in complete no contact with a mother. The idea that a mother with a diagnosed mental health issue completely lost custody is just another of the unrealistic situations in this book. Fast forward to present - everything just moves too fast to be realistic, and all the dialog seems utterly contrived. Maggie is a doormat for "Anna" - oh let's let her do whatever she wants because... I don't even know. Noah comes off as very likable at times, and then very unlikable at others, and I couldn't really decide which way to feel about him. He gets pissy about the oddest things - changing the lawyer, etc, No therapist worth their credentials would a) meet someone after hours, and b) advise a parent who hasn't seen their child in 17 years that it's just fine for them to uproot the kid and move them into the family home.

Maggie's insistence on equality for both kids is laughable - first and foremost, as a parent in a blended family, there is always bias toward your own biological child - get used to it! Second, the notion that Anna should just come home and fit right in with everyone and everything should be normal is absurd. She put Noah in so many uncomfortable, inappropriate situations in just the part of the book that I was able to get through, it's absurd.

I just can't with this.

Lisa Scottoline weaves a wonderful tale about a family. A long-lost daughter returns to her mother, but when she is murdered, and her step-brother is accused of the crime, what will happen to the bonds of a family?

AFTER ANNA - Lisa Scottoline

UNBEARABLE SUSPENSE - 4 stars

Plot - 4 stars - Anna, Maggie's long-lost daughter, reenters her life as a teenager, and for some unknown reason, big problems start happening in their formerly happy and contented family.

Writing - 4.5 stars - Scottoline is a master storyteller, creating suspense and building it at a painfully perfect rate. At times I found myself having to take a break from this book because the emotions became so intense. It's easy to become embroiled in the story because the characters seem so real and relatable.

Characters - 4 stars - Maggie is open and seemingly naïve because she lets it all hang out there and expects everyone else to do the same. She's friendly and warm and wants nothing more than to be a mother, but her past shame (or imagined shame) has always held her back. Now that she has what she thinks of as a second chance, she's not going to allow it to be ruined. Since we also can see Noah's point of view, we can see that he is warm and loving and another victim in this unbelievable situation. But it's out of his control, and we can feel for him as he faces a murder trial.

Format - 5 stars - The format of starting at both ends of the story and working back to the middle was clever and fascinating. It definitely added to the suspense since the reader doesn't really know what's going on or even what happened, except in broad terms. I loved this format, finding it unique and compelling.

Title - 4 stars - Until I began reading the story, I didn't understand the title. But eventually, as I understood the format of reading parts of the book about before Anna arrived and then after (and the aftermath), the title makes a lot of sense and I found it very clever.

Cover - 3 stars - I'm not totally sure about the cover. The line in the middle seems like a feather to me, but I decided that it's just supposed to be a line dividing their lives to before and after Anna appeared. A bit confusing, but the color is bright and attractive, definitely drawing the eye.

Overall - 4 stars - If the progression of events were clearly laid out from beginning to end, it would be easy to see that what started out as simple quickly turned into something diabolical. A seemingly perfect family suddenly tumbled out of control, and things that seemed sure suddenly became unsure. The characters are well built and likable, and we are led to believe that Anna is the instigator of all that has happened. I was definitely kept on the edge of my seat throughout the entire book. But I had to give the book 4 stars out of 5 because the ending was a bit of a letdown. The twist was interesting (certainly not what I was expecting), but there were a couple of things at the end that just didn't sit well with me. For instance, Maggie's attendance at the take-down seemed totally unrealistic, making it seem like a contrived way to allow the reader to participate in something they wouldn't otherwise have been able to see. And Noah's rescue also was unsatisfying because the timing was too perfect. I'd give a 5-star rating to 90% of the book, with the ending being a bit of a disappointment. I'm still a huge Scottoline fan, in any case, and will continue to read everything she releases.

This is a tense mystery about the mysterious reunion between a mother and the daughter she lost to the child’s father after the mother, Maggie, suffered post-partum psychosis. Now happily married to Noah with a ten-year old stepson, Caleb, Maggie is thrilled to find her daughter alive and well and wanting to be reunited.

Things go rapidly downhill from there. Anna, the daughter, accuses Maggie’s husband of unwanted sexual advances. Eventually he is framed for her murder. The book is so filled with red herrings that I wanted to get out the sour cream and pickle and eat them for lunch. Every possible crime against young women plays a role in this ludicrous book. I was extremely disappointed and would not recommend it to anyone.

I received this book a few years ago from the publisher and NetGalley.

After Anna is a mix of crime, court room tellings, family drama, and the power of a mother. Told in two alternating timelines: before and after Anna, this was a book that had kept me on my toes. Not so much a thriller as a drama, but was definitely keeping me on my toes.

I "couldn't put it down"! I had it all figured out, right? And holy moly, what a twist!
I listened to the audiobook which had a great cast!

Love Lisa Scottoline and this is an awesome book. She is a brilliant writer. Highly recommend. Anxious to read more of hers.

After reading a few books by Lisa Scottoline and enjoying them I was ready to read here newest book. Within a chapter or two I was irritated. First, I could see the end of the plot almost from the beginning. That's because it has the same tired trope of an adolescent, beautiful girl who wrecks marriages and hunt fathers or father figures down with claims of sexual abuse. It's tedious. I could understand how the mother would be so clueless given the circumstances but that's merely besides the point. What is the point is that we see adolescent girls being homewreckers/sexual predators and it doesn't feel fresh or original, not in this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to review this book for an honest opinion
Karen

I'm a fan of Lisa Scottoline and she didn't disappoint with this book! Hard to put down because I wanted to know what was next!

Loved this book. it had many plot twists that I didn't see coming and had me reading long past bedtime. Good character development.

Lisa Scottoline is one of the authors I trust to give me a well-plotted thriller. After Anna was no exception!

I loved this book. I am a fan of Lisa Scottoline and once again she did not disappoint. This book kept you rooting for two different characters and you didn't know how it could end to satisfy both but it did!! Be prepared to not want to put the book down.

Lisa Scottoline is my favorite author. I love mysteries and usually, because I read/watch so many, I can figure it out about halfway through.....except for Scottoline's. She has me guessing from the first chapter right up until the last. It's like a mental roller coaster - you think you know what's really going on, and then there's a twist. Oh....so that's what's happening. Then, nope, there's a spiral twist. And it continues right up until you finish.

The story goes back and forth between past and present. Noah is sentenced for the murder of his step-daughter who recently moved in with his family. Anna's mother will do anything and everything to try to make up for not being in Anna's life (through no fault of her own). Once again, as soon as I had decided what happened, there's a twist and I just knew I had it solved. But nope, there's a couple more unexpected turns.

Of course, I will highly recommend this book (and everything by Scottoline!!) if you want a good page turner to read!

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in 2018, in exchange for an honest review, but have not had a chance to read review this until now.

This was the first book I have read from Lisa Scottoline, and I know she is known for Suspense, but I wasn't sure what to expect beyond that. The majority of this book is presented from 2 perspectives - that of Anna's mother Maggie "Before Anna" and of her stepfather Noah as he is on trial for her murder "After Anna." Maggie has been separated from her daughter for most of her daughter's life, and she is finally given an opportunity to connect with and mother her daughter. Obviously, you know fairly early on that Anna's short time with her mother ends in her murder. I feel that this took away some of the suspense for me. I was also left wondering how Maggie felt during the trial, and I think that this might have helped me connect a bit more with this book. I actually felt the most uncomfortable with the suspense when Noah is facing a difficult situation while in prison...I wish I could have felt that same level of suspense throughout the rest of the book.

There is (of course) a twist, which I am not going to reveal here. The twist seemed pretty sudden, unrealistic, and I wish there was a bit more depth into the development of the twist and the aftermath. Overall, this was a solid book, with good writing - I was just hoping for a little bit more.

Lisa Scottoline has done it again! After Anna is an engrossing tale of lies and deceit. That much is clear, but it isn’t until the end that the reader discovers who the liar actually is. While their may be a few loose threads, it is a satisfying read.