After Anna by Lisa Scottoline is a well written novel with an intriguing plot. When the story begins we see Dr Noah Alderman sitting in court waiting for the jury to return with their verdict in his murder trial. He has been accused of killing his wife's daughter. The book describes his life in prison for a crime he did not commit in painful detail. I honestly could not wait to finish the book and stopped myself from reading the ending first.

I was granted this ARC by NeGalley and St. Martin’s Press. One of the things I enjoy most about a thriller is that it is exactly what it says it is. After Anna is undoubtedly a thriller packed with unrelenting suspense. This was my first Lisa Scottoline and now I know it will not be my last. I requested this Advanced Readers Copy because the blurb intrigued me. I was expecting a slow paced, family drama with a bit of suspense and I was pleasantly surprised it provided more than I expected.
The story is set in Philadelphia and is follows Maggie, a happily married to Dr. Noah Alderman and a step-mother to ten-year-old, Caleb. Maggie lost custody of her infant daughter Anna who is now seventeen. Wanting to reconnect with her mother, Anna moves to Philadelphia. While Maggie and Anna attempt to bond, Noah feels something isn’t right about Anna. This causes friction in their marriage and lies begin to unravel. When Anna is found dead under suspicious circumstances, Noah becomes a prime suspect.
The story is told in two different points of view showing the before and the after Anna. Noah must prove his innocence as he is on trial for the murder of his step-daughter.
As the story progresses you don’t know what to believe. The pace of the book is unbelievably fast and does not let go! The last few pages were so intense I was biting my nails and my heart was going crazy! It is such a refreshing and unique story that makes this a very difficult book to put down. You will be sucked in from the first page and will leave you feeling like you just ran a marathon!

After seventeen long years, Maggie has heard from her estranged daughter, Anna. Anna was taken from her Mom, when she was an infant due to postpartum psychosis.
Anna wants to come home and leave the private boarding school her father had put her in while he travelled the world. Her father is also now dead.
Maggie is happily remarried to a wonderful man, Noah, who is a Pediatrician and has a ten year old boy, Celeb who Maggie loves dearly.
All Maggie can think about, is being reunited with her daughter, and pleasing her.
Through the many twists and turns of this novel, and there are so many- Maggie will choose Anna and forfeit her life as she has known it.
*I disliked and still dislike Maggie*.
I enjoyed this book and it really has an amazing plot.
I never was able to figure out the end until the very last chapter, and at that point I was just shocked!

I love Lisa scottoline! Her books never cease to amaze and keep you guessing.

Scottoline does it again with so many twists & turns and bombshell of an ending. She truly never disappoints.

Maggie hasn't seen her daughter Anna since she gave up custody after a bout of postpartum psychosis when Anna was just an infant. Now 17, Anna reconnects with Maggie after the death of Anna's father and comes to live with Maggie, her second husband Noah,and Noah's son Caleb. Everything is great at first, but then Anna claims that Noah has sexually abused her and turns everyone's life upside down. Soon after, Anna is murdered and Noah is arrested and put on trial.
Moving between the past, present and the trial, this is a page turner which kept me guessing. The twist at the end was something I did not see coming! A great story with memorable characters!

Parts of this mystery/thriller will very well done. The story is told both Before Anna and After Anna. Anna is Maggie’s daughter who she lost custody of after battling postpartum psychosis, a more serious illness than postpartum depression. That was seventeen years ago, when Anna was just six months old. After Anna’s father dies in a plane crash, she seeks out Maggie, who is thrilled to take Anna from the boarding school she hates and have her move in with Maggie, her husband of two years, Noah, and her ten-year-old stepson.

The parts where Noah is on trial and we don’t yet know what his sentence was or what his involvement with her death might be were stressfully taut. There were a few places that were less successful, however. The ending had lots of twists and turns, but from what I know of the law and the prison system, things suddenly work incredibly fast in a system that to my knowledge, does not move swiftly like that. Also, the dialogue between Maggie and her girlfriend Karen did not ring true to me at all.

This is a decent thriller, but not Scottoline’s best. Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to review this novel. RELEASE APRIL 10, 2018.

A well-wrought mystery with a surprise twist after a fast-paced narrative, this latest standalone
by best-selling novelist Lisa Scottolini begins with the reappearance of the daughter Maggie Aderman lost when she was committed to a sanitation with post partum psychosis after Anna was born. Now a senior at a boarding school in Maine, Anna reaches out to Maggie after her father dies in a plane crash, and Maggie is over the moon - at last, a chance to make up for all the years they missed. She can't wait to welcome her into the family she's made with her husband, a pediatrician, and his young son Caleb. But two weeks after Anna moves in, she's murdered, and Maggie's husband Noah is arrested for strangling her.
The mystery thickens after Noah' s conviction, when the murdered girl turns out to be quite a mystery herself.
This is a hard book to put down until the last page. Fans of Harlan Cohen will warm to its suburban family vibe and care about the Aldermans the same way they do about his similarly likeable characters.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. The book had an engaging storyline, but at times seemed too far-fetched to be believable.

I received this book "After Anna" from Netgalley for my honest review.
Maggie and Noah were happy but their life has changed because Noah has been arrested for the murder of Maggie's long lost daughter Anna. Anna came back into Maggie's life after 17 years of being kept away from her by her ex-husband. I feel that Maggie seemed like all she cared about was Anna. Whatever Anna wanted or said was ok. Anna wanted Noah out of the house and she got her wish. But did Noah do it, did he kill Anna? The courtroom part was good because Noah would reflect on his life. I enjoyed the book until the end because some of the scenes were a bit unbelievable. The police scenes especially were totally exaggerated. There is no way that it would happen like that. Also the end seemed kinda rushed and then ended...

Maggie and Noah are happily married. He was a widower with a young son with learning problems they are successfully handling. Maggie was a divorcee who had, because of post partum psychosis, lost custody of her infant daughter, Anna, to her ex-husband. Maggie receives a call from Anna, who is now 17, asking if they can meet. She agrees and researches her ex to learn that he and his new family have all died in a plane crash and left an estate of 50 million dollars. Maggie and Anna meet and agree that Anna can come and live with them in Pennsylvania and bring the girl home. The novel is written in a chapter for each person. Maggie’s tell the story of what happens during the time Anna lived with them. Noah’s tell the story of his trial for Anna’s murder. Both are fascinating and lead the reader to making his/her own conclusions. The ending was unexpected but well done. This is a stand alone for the author and not part of her previous series and is of the same quality as her other novels. Thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin Press for an ARC for an honest review.

I have read every book that I have found by Lisa Scottoline.
I need to search for 2 more that I have not been able to find yet.

Beginning with the AFTER= 7 months in jail waiting for trial, now that trial has been 10 days long
switch to BEFORE where they are a happy family of three
This story switches between BEFORE/AFTER

Maggie has severe guilt over Anna- after her birth, Maggie had extreme form of postpartum depression- postpartum psychosis and being admitted to hospital, her ex divorced her and took custody of Anna.
Now, Anna has reconnected - Maggie is overjoyed with this opportunity.
So much so that she becomes blind to signs around her.
Anna moves in and everything is before and after Anna
She disrupts and manipulates everything around them.

You go between Before & After deeper & deeper more & more is revealed.
You will not want to stop reading until the entire story is revealed.

I highly recommend this thriller of a read by Lisa Scottoline

The book started out slow but finally caught up with action. I never saw the imposter angle or the trafficking coming. Maggie lost custody of her daughter, Anna, after a bitter divorce. Anna’s father is killed in an airplane crash and Anna is left alone. She never really knew her mother but decided to get in contact with her mother. Maggie was excited to have her daughter move in with her, her husband, and son. But Maggie’s husband became disenchanted quickly. What was Anna trying to do to him? Must read to find out.

There's no denying that Lisa Scottoline writes a compelling, easy-to-read story. She is a storyteller - her style and voice(s) are strong and clear and crisp and very engaging. I really liked the format - the back-and-forth in time (separated into "before" and "after" segments for each narrative character) and setting was an interesting way to set the stage, and I liked that one story/narration ran backwards in time while the other ran forwards, it made for clever imagery as the secrets unfolded.

That's what I liked.

What I didn't like, and didn't altogether buy, was the actual plot and storyline. Parts of it were alright - a mother who lost her daughter and then got her back, only to lose her again; the difficulties in blended families; the secrets and lies that piled up one upon the next. But those concepts, while all interesting and suitable to the genre/mood, somehow felt a bit cobbled together, like piecework. There was never a moment when the book felt unreadable - I just occasionally found myself rolling my eyes after some new revelation required yet another suspension of disbelief, but I did it while still turning pages. That's a testament to Scottoline's skill as a best-seller writer. But come on - this was an incredibly detailed retelling/rehashing of multiple perspectives, and you just KNEW a Big Twisty Something was coming (because that's the type of book this is), but I suddenly realized the book was at 89% (I read it on kindle) and that BTS hadn't come yet. That's when I eye rolled in a big way, because I knew one of two things would happen (both of which I hate): either it would turn out to be a book where the revelation comes on the last page and you have to read the sequel to find out how your story ended OR it would rush-rush-rush through the end in a flurry of actions and explanations and impossible timeframes and no details that felt like somebody called "Pencils Down!" and the author had no choice but to scribble out the end, exam-speed-writing-style. This was the latter - and I was very disappointed by it, perhaps more so because I actually liked the idea and if it had been written in the same pacing and level of detail as the rest of the book, would probably have determined it to be a solid courtroom/family drama thriller combo... Instead the ending felt rushed, which made the book even more uneven, and resulted in three stars.

Takeaway: it's an easy book to read, there's a lot of juicy stuff going on, and the characters and action-level are, for the most part, exactly what you'd expect to find here. But I think the ending short-shafted the book as a whole...

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC. A well written mystery where you can’t decide who is innocent and who is guilty. For me, I was sucked right into the story, but it hit a big lull in the middle. The final third of the book was like a rollercoaster with a surprising reveal.

6/5 stars
Another suspense filled thriller by Lisa Scottoline that I couldn't put down until I finished it!
Dr. Noah Alderman, his son Caleb, and wife Maggie Ippoliti are living life in harmony when Maggie gets a call from the daughter, Anna Desroches, she was forced to give up seventeen years before.
Anna manipulates everyone driving a wedge between Noah & Maggie with her lies.
The story is revealed in short chapters alternating between "Noah, After" and "Maggie, Before" each ending on a cliff hanger.
Maggie and her BFF Kathy Gallagher go on a search for the truth and the stakes are deadly.
Topics include postpartum psychoses, boarding schools and others I can't list without spoiling the plot.
A spring 2018 must read!!!

This stand alone novel by Lisa Scottoline is a superb domestic thriller. The first chapter grabs your attention and makes you keep turning the pages to see how the story unfolds. The chapters alternate characters, points of view, and points in time. The first chapter essentially starts near the end of the story, casting a dark tone for the novel ahead. From there the chapters alternate in an interesting format that keeps you engaged and guessing. Maggie's point of view tells how she and her daughter, Anna, reunite and how Anna comes to move in with her and Noah, her husband. Noah's point of view starts at the end of his trial and works backwards with each chapter. The dynamic this displays is fascinating as the story progresses.

The chapters flow well and complement each other with continuity and additional information or explanations. Scottoline masterfully weaves the storylines together. The tension is high throughout in this aptly titled book. The courtroom scenes are expertly written and the characters are well developed.

Manipulation and accusations tear the family apart and their lives are forever changed. There are chilling plot twists, but the major one near the end will blow you away.

I would highly recommend this book to fans of mysteries and thrillers. I received this as a free ARC from St. Martin's Press on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book kept me guessing until the end. I like the way the author told the story through two different storylines-before Anna and after Anna. Dr. Noah Alderman is on trial for the murder of Anna, but did he really kill her? A great thriller that will keep you wondering until the end. I don't want to give the plot away. I will just tell you to read it-you will like it if you are a mystery fan!

After Anna is the latest from Lisa Scottoline. The story is about how Maggie is suddenly reunited with her teenage daughter Anna. Of course events take a tragic turn and Anna is murdered. Fans of the author will love it and I found it to be a page turner. My only criticism is about a somewhat abrupt ending. This reader would have like to see an additional chapter to blend and address any lingering trauma..

After Anna by [Scottoline, Lisa]

So on the one hand, it was extremely engaging. On the other hand, the plot, in retrospect, is a bit much.

Review copy provided by publisher.