Rating: 
Summary: The big surprise in this book is that it was published!
Review: Incredible and ridiculous plot, poorly edited (if done at all) author worked hard to make it thrilling instead it was annoying. Did we need to see every dumb move she made? Very flawed, yet a well known agent sold it to a big publisher? I am bewildered.
Rating: 
Summary: Variety is the spice...
Review: Isn't weird how some people love this book and others absolutely despise it? I enjoyed it without thinking about whether it could really happen. If I want to read about reality, I'll go to nonfiction like "A Civil Action." This is pure fun. My only quibble was with the editing. Here is a sentence from my copy (first edition, hardcover, p 265): "Emil pursed his lips, which were full and vividly pink above a frosty gray mustache." I kid you not.
Rating:
Summary: Grade B Movie Quality
Review: Lisa Scottoline is a gifted and witty storyteller. Rough Justice is the sixth book of hers that I have read and the other five range from almost good to very good. Two of her best characters, Mary DiNunzio, a loveable individual, but insecure lawyer, and Bennie Rosato, a very secure hard-nosed and competent lawyer, play major supporting roles in this novel. Despite fast paced action, the book is, especially when measured against the standards of her other work, just awful. If I had read this book before any of her other novels, I would never have started any of the others.As a writer of fiction, Scottoline is entitled to almost unlimited imagination and unexpected twists and turns. But in Rough Justice she exceeds even her broad poetic license. Not a single chapter is credible or plausible and this would be true even if the plot occurred during the spring, summer or fall. Instead all the action takes place during a 100 year blizzard in Philadelphia and although on the pages of the book, the characters struggle with the inclement weather, they still manage to get from place to place with relative ease. Every decision her characters make during course of this novel is not only inane, but each decision also lacks common sense and is usually so clearly unethical and stupid that they would shock a high school student. One might forgive Ms. Scottline if she was writing science fiction, or had set out to write the equivalent of a Grade B movie, but she maintains that her experience as a lawyer and judicial clerk are reflected in her writings and in her acknowledgment she gives credit to other professionals who helped her. None of Ms. Scootline books are what I would call a masterpiece, but they are good summer or evening reading. They too take full advantage of Ms. Scottline's imagination and writing skill; they do not pretend to address the real world or require the reader to consider any social or contemporary problems. Unlike Rough Justice, however, they also do not require the reader to suspend the laws of nature or common sense.
Rating: 
Summary: If you are desperate for a book to read
Review: Lisa Scottoline writes very well, however, I don't think I agree with the critics who say she is the female John Grisham. I don't think she even compares to him. The book is not bad overall, but it is hard to believe that a lawyer could accomplish so much in one night. Definitely a fiction book, with not a trace of reality.
Rating: 
Summary: Utterly implausible, but entertaining
Review: Marta Richter finds out that her client is guilty, as the jury begins its deliberations. She then heads out on an all-night adventure to prove him guilty, not because of a sense of justice, but because she doesn't like any one to pull one over on her. Her associates get pulled into the action, which takes place during a blizzard. Somehow we're supposed to believe that Marta can pull this all-nighter off (during which she drives from Philly to Long Island and back, in the snow), while she suffers from injuries to her head and ribs sustained from one of the defendant's goons. I don't think so. I didn't buy it from the beginning. I think the average defense lawyer, faced with a guilty client, would go get a drink at the nearest bar. Her job is to defend the client, not judge him. And if she felt that used, hey, just cry all the way to the bank. But it's funny, especially the thoughts the associates have about working with Marta. It's fast paced, with a lot going on, even if you do roll your eyes from time to time. Definitely worth a read.
Rating: 
Summary: Totally brilliant and utterly absorbing
Review: Marta Richter is a Philadelphia trial defense attorney, who has
brilliantly defended her client, millionaire Elliot Steere, accused of
killing Heb Darnton. Marta builds a case around self defense, proving that
the victim was shot while coming after her client with a knife. While
waiting for the jury verdict, Elliot cold bloodedly states that he
deliberately murdered Heb. Marta is stunned by his confession and wants to
make things right.
While the city is gripped by the worst blizzard on record, Marta tries
to uncover the motive for Elliot killing Heb. She does not care if she
destroys her company and her own reputations as long as justice is served. Her boss, wanting to save her business from a zealot, argues that lawyers
are not hired to make moral judgments about their clients. They are
employed to provide the best legal defense. This does not deter Marta from
making a last ditch effort to see that Elliot is convicted even as she
becomes the target of his henchmen.
ROUGH JUSTICE is an incredible legal thriller that should elate fans
of Grisham and Turlow. The story line is fast paced and action packed
while Marta and her female associates are a great group of characters. The
villain, who is recognized as such on page one, is a top of the line rat
(remember Ben). The moral dilemma of the heroine is intelligently
described without forcing the author's opinion on the reader; thereby
demonstrating that Lisa Scottoline has reached the highest reading court in
the land of legal thrillers. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Written like a 3rd grader.
Review: My first and last book by Ms Scottoline. It was like watching a bad soap opera with everyone overacting. Actually I am only on page 50 but can guess what will happen, always expecting the 'unexpected'. Maybe I should be generous and assume that this is her first attempt. Maybe she will improve with experience.
Rating:
Summary: Justice Fights the Clock
Review: Page-Turner and full of suspense! Millionaire, Steere, confesses his guilt to one of his four attorneys, Marta Richter, while the jury is deciding his innocence. With less than 24 hours, she decides to prove Steere is a murderer. Obstacles soar at every turn for this group of women attorneys, a blizzard and a shooter trying to stop their efforts. Cold, tired and afraid for their own personal saftey these women are relentless in the pursuit for the true ID of the man who was murdered and the conviction for the man whom they have defended
Rating:
Summary: The Law book you'll never forget
Review: Remember the best Law book you've ever read? Burn it. When you put your hands on ROUGH JUSTICE and start reading it, you'll never be able to put it away. Why? Cause you just don't think you're reading a book, but watching the best Law movie you've ever watched. The book is full of twists, action, wonderful characters that seem to be someone from your own family, and Lisa Scottoline goes beyond: she makes you laugh by the way she describe things and put sentences into people's mouth. SHE'S AN AMAZING AUTHOR! Remember the guy who you think is the best author of the genre? Forget him. Buy this book and see why I'm so in love with Lisa's books. Just don't start reading it if you have to work the next day.
Rating:
Summary: Usually Reliable Scottoline Falters With This Weak Attempt
Review: ROUGH JUSTICE finds Lisa Scottoline utilizing characters from previous novels(Mary DiNunzio and Judy Carrier from EVERYWHERE THAT MARY WENT)and Bennie Rosato(from the excellent LEGAL TENDER)and introducing another no-nonsense female protagonist, this time in the form of defense attorney Marta Richter. Richter is a high-profile lawyer retained by a Boston businessman when he's accused of murder during an attempted car-jacking. The crux of the novel is presented right up front--the trial is near-end, with the client likely to walk free thanks to Richter, when he drops a bombshell on her--he did in fact kill the victim, and not in self-defense. Beside herself, Richter sets out to find proof of her client's guilt, with help from local counsel Rosato & Associates, of which DiNunzio and Carrier are both associates. That's when the mess begins. Scottoline manages to introduce new, ultimately peripheral characters in almost every chapter, from ALL twelve jurors to the city mayor's chief of staff. It pretty much goes without saying that we don't care about these characters from word go, and that viewpoint doesn't change, leading to a book that is highly overpopulated and plot-malnourished. And the once likeable Mary DiNunzio is reduced to a senseless nitwit, while Rosato is just plain cold. The book manages to save itself a little in the last third, but those who expect more from the usually reliable Scottoline might not stick around long enough to find that out.
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