I had difficulty with this story and would rate it 3.5 stars if possible.

I enjoyed the way the courtroom scenes told Noah's story in reverse and how Maggie's part of the story was told straightforwardly. It held my interest and I found myself wishing Maggie's part would quickly finish so I could get back to Noah's.

What I found difficult was the way that everything Anna said about her father being killed in a plane crash and pretty much whatever else was just taken at face value by Maggie. I understand being thrilled to see your child again after so many years, but there was no checking on anything and it was all done in a rush. Even after Anna moved in, Maggie took her word as gospel and put no limits on her. It was crazy and made me continually wonder what parent would just accept some of the bizarre stories without checking. Maybe it was just me?

Either way, this was an interesting story with an unexpected plot twist. There were again, some things that just made no sense near the end, especially with the police action. What happened would not have been allowed, but again maybe it's just me that thinks that.

I do think this was a good story and encourage people to read it yourselves to see how you feel about it. I appreciate that I was given an ARC by the publishers, the author and Netgalley. Thank you.

Another fabulous book by Lisa Scottoline. I read this book in 24 hours. It drew me in and didn't let go. Dr. Noah Alderman (a widower with a young son) and his wife Maggie (a divorcee), have a good life and happy marriage. When Maggie's daughter who she hasn't seen in 17 years calls out of the blue, Maggie is over the moon. Anna moves in and life as they knew it changed forever. Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and the Author for allowing me to read and review this book. Deserves more than 5 stars.

One of my all time favourite authors. Ms. Scottoline writes another phenomenal novel. As pen is to pencil, so is this book to exhilarating.
Noah and Maggie are in for the ride of their lives. Maggie has just been invited to lunch with her estranged daughter, Anna. She is over the moon with anticipation. Then the bombshell....Anna wants to come live with them! The family couldn't be happier. Now Maggie can put the past of being labeled an unfit mother behind her. Everything is going great, until Dr. Noah starts putting the moves on his step-daughter. Before too long he finds himself in prison. With only his smarts and planning to keep him alive. Who is set on destroying his family, and why. Hang into your seats!! It's a WILD ride.
5 STARS

I love Lisa Scottoline but this just didn't hit the mark for me. The pace was slow and just didn't satisfy the mystery reader in me.

AFTER ANNA is Scottoline at her best. Moving backward and forward in time, she tells the story of Noah and Maggie and Caleb, a happy melded family until Maggie's long lost daughter, Anna, comes to live with them. Anna is a poor little rich girl, seemingly abandoned and innocent but a conniving and deceptive underbelly she keeps hidden from everyone but Noah. When Anna is murdered and Noah is arrested, the tale grow more twisted with an ending impossible to imagine. Really intriguing plot, although a bit far fetched at times. Kept me up late!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2273882736

I am a huge LS fan, since I live in Chester County, her books are always such thrill ride. She describes our area beautifully and shines light on some very scary situations that we may not know about. I find her to be one of the most devoted authors to her fans. Thank you NG for allowing me to read this book before it comes out.

This is the story of a woman who lost her infant child, Anna, in a divorce. Anna contacted her when she was 17. Her father had died and she wanted to reconnect with her mom. She immediately moved in with her mom, step-dad and step-brother. The story starts with the step-dad on trial for murdering Anna and alternates between the time of the trial and the events that led up to the murder.

This book caught my attention from the beginning, enough that I read it all in one day. However, the ending was good, but there was one part that I thought was implausible.

SPOILER ALERT. I doubt that anyone would kill her before she got her inheiratence even if they thought she was getting too big for her britches. They then lost the possibility of sharing any of the money. Also, the release from prison happened in lightning time. That doesn’t seem likely when I read about real cases in the news.

This was a good book and I recommend it. It had a good plot twist and is very readable.

A fast paced mystery novel around the murder of Anna. We move forward in time with mom Maggie starting from the time her daughter calls to establish a relationship her. Theyve been apart since Anna was 6 months old. At the same time we move backwards through the trail of husband and stepdad Noah, charged with Anna's murder. 

I enjoyed the book, though the ending felt a bit forced and the epilogue seemed very rushed.

We all have defining moments in our lives by which we measure time. Some are good… some not so much. Before marriage, after marriage; before children, after children; before a divorce, after a divorce; before the child you have not seen in almost 17 years returns to your life and after.

Maggie, Anna’s Mother, is estatic when Anna contacts her. She has not seen Anna since she was six months old. Not since she had a breakdown and was hospitalized; during which her husband returned to France with Anna. French courts, lies and her ex-husbands wealth kept Maggie from seeing Anna or even receiving a photograph all this time. After the death of Anna’s father, step-mother and step-brothers in a plane crash, she wanted to reconnect with her mother and soon moves in with her.

Soon, Maggie’s idyllic life with her husband, Noah, and 10-year-old step son Caleb begins to fall apart. Anna, now a multi-millionaire, spends lots of money without asking and stays out late without calling to let anyone know where she is. When no adults are watching, she mistreats Caleb. Soon, she begins to accuse Noah of inappropriate behavior and even files a Protection from Abuse against him.

But who do you believe? Who do you trust? Your husband of two years or your new found 17-year-old daughter? And where do you turn when that daughter turns up dead on the porch of your husband’s new rental house and all evidence points to him as the killer?

Lisa Scottoline’s novels are always, well-written, fast-paced and full of twists. “After Anna” was no exception.

Publication Date: April 10, 2018
Genre: Suspense, Thriller, Mystery
Cover: Great
Rating: 4 stars
Source: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to read this great book!
#AfterAnna #NetGalley

I love the ride that Ms Scottoline takes us on in her books. This book had more twist and turns than a country road. Just when I think I have figured things out we take a hairpin turn. The characters are so believable that you think you are in the middle of the story with them. One thing I like about her books is she educates the reader about apraxia, postpartum psychosis and human trafficking. She weaves these topics effortlessly into the story. You won't be disappointed if you read this book. The only problem you will have is that you can't put it down.

Every second of this book is sheer brilliance. Evocative, gut wrenching, nail biting suspense. I have always loved Lisa Scottoline's books but this one is by FAR the best. The trial on both sides was easy to follow with the back story filtering in as needed. Every character has a key part to play from Anna, to Maggie, to Noah and all the others on the periphery. I never saw the twists coming and they were brilliant. I highly recommend this book.

This novel was part legal thriller, part heartbreaking family/contemporary fiction. I heard very little about this novel prior to starting it because lets be honest - Lisa Scottoline could write the same word over and over for 100 pages and I would read it. I was happy to see that the novel was partially set in a court room because I love to see Lisa from the legal angle.

This novel was a few stories coming together: a story of a Mother and Daughter reunion - Maggie who has guilt from being a mother who lost her daughter at a young age and Anna - a lonely teen girl who is lost in may parts of her life. Secondly is the story of Maggie and Noah. Noah is Maggie's second chance. He is a doting husband and perfect. But how much of that is a façade and what happens when perfection is truly on the face value. Pasts and mistrusts that were in affect prior to the marriage come to light when Maggie has to question Noah. Theres the story of friendship and sisterhood. And the main story of Anna's Murder.

I read this novel over the course of a few days and felt myself sneaking pages at work and waking up early to get some reading in beforehand. I didn't want it to end.

Now, I have read everything Lisa has previously written. One criticism Ive had of her previous novels is that her endings tend to be OVER THE TOP. sometimes they cheapen the wonderful writing that was the rest of the novel. And while I loved those other novels I was PLEASANTLY surprised that this ending was tame. It added to the novel instead of taking away

FAR AND AWAY Lisa's best yet

Perhaps my favourite of Scottoline's yet, this had a pacy ending and I enjoyed how this wasn't completely solvable from the beginning.

I seem to keep picking up Scottoline books and feeling really excited and then starting them and remembering "Oh, you're that author." She's solid. She's very solid. I'm never completely blown away. This was a classic case.

The first half of this was slow. Perhaps it was because I was reading this cocnurrently with a different, more engrossing book, but it didn't have a lot of suspense and didn't feel particularly solvable, or like it was going anywhere.

The second half was super pacy and I read quickly to figure out how it would play out. But the second half also was pretty unbelievable. I know, I know, books would be boring if they were always about believable things, but not enough clues had been placed to set up the plethora of events that happened.

I'm knocking a star off though mainly because I felt quite uncomfortable with a large segment of how prison was depicted in this--it was just really, very random, and completely unnecessary for the story as a whole.

Many thanks to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this story as I have any book I've read by Ms. Scottoline. This one has lots of suspense and surprises that keeps the pages turning. It is told in two alternating voices, Maggie and her husband Noah.

Maggie and Noah have a wonderful marriage. Noah has a young son, Caleb who lived with Maggie and Noah. Maggie has a teenage daughter, Anna who Maggie has not seen since Anna was only 6 months old. When out of the blue Maggie is contacted by Anna, she jumps at the opportunity to have Anna back in her life. She makes preparations to bring her home and merge Anna into their cozy family unit. The plot starts to thicken and the twists and turns begin as Anna tries to fit into the family.

The story takes a turn I couldn't have guessed at. I did feel that the ending was quite rushed. The reader would have been more fulfilled after all the drama and build up if the story didn't end so abruptly. It all wraps up in only a few pages.

I really liked the characters Noah, Caleb, Tom and Kathy. I wasn't thrilled with Maggie, I kept thinking I wonder if she'll get a second chance with Noah and I didn't take to Anna since I never knew where she was coming from.

All in all a great book. I really enjoyed it. Keep up the great writing Ms. Scottoline!

Lisa is one of the sweetest people and she writes fantastic books. I loved this book. This book gets you in the heart and I could not stop reading because I wanted to see how it ended. I love all of her books

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of AFTER ANNA is exchange for my honest review.***

Unputdownable.

For Maggie, finally reunited with her daughter Anna, seventeen years after she was forced to give up custody, her life is finally complete. Eighteen days later, Maggie’s husband Noah stands accused of Anna’s murder.

AFTER ANNA is Lisa Scottoline’s best work yet. Admittedly, I’ve enjoyed some of her novels more than others. While the name Scottoline always guarantees a well constructed novel, I’m not always as enthralled as AFTER ANNA grabbed me and didn’t let go.

Noah and Maggie, whose third person points of view alternated chapters, were both complex and flawed characters. Noah’s cockiness and impulse reactivity do him no favors, while Maggie’s hopeful naïveté is her downfall, and responsible for much of the drama than unfolds.

I hesitate to say too much about the plot of AFTER ANNA, for fear of spoiling one word. I wasn’t in love with the timeline, telling the trial from day ten backwards to the first day. Switching time frames, once fresh and innovative, almost feels gimmicky now. Still Scottoline’s magnetic writing is engaging, page-turning, crisp and near perfection.

AFTER ANNA felt predictable until the verdict and jaw dropping fallout.

AFTER ANNA is a guaranteed best seller, will be a book club favorite and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s optioned into a big screen blockbuster. It’s that good. Be among the first to read AFTER ANNA so you don’t miss any of the discussion.

I read this book in one day. The reader is taken into the courtroom and I think that was a very innovative way for the author to tell the reader the story. There is a big twist at the end of the book. The author also makes us aware of current social issues that we should be aware of.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC of this book. First of all, i love this author's books, but i was a little disappointed with this one. I wasn't too thrilled with the portrayal of Maggie's character. I found her to be weak in wanting to please her daughter, Anna, at any cost. She appeared to be a little too quick to acquiesce to Anna's demands. The court room drama was full of suspense. I did like how the book went back and forth with the timelines. I did not like the ending. It just felt like the author was in a hurry to end the book and wrap things up; especially the very last chapter. There are definitely unexpected twists to this story and although i would still recommend it, it wasn't one of my favorite books.

DIsclosure: I'm writing this review after slogging through 2/3 of the book. I'm not sure I can go on. This is so unlike Lisa Scottoline. I just finished reading One Perfect Lie, and that was a page-turner. Loved it! But, After Anna is simply depressing--how can one teenager do so much damage to a marriage and an individual (her step-father) in a few weeks' time, and how can her mother not see through it? Now, maybe there's some sort of surprise ending in this book that will make it all better in my mind, but if so, it might be wasted on me if I give up before I get there. I'm just not sure how much more I can take of reading about how one person gets railroaded into ruining his life. Every time I open the book to read a few chapters, it seems to get worse. And, seems like I already know the outcome, so why continue?