"D" is for Door, and Finally, A Lawyer you can Cheer for... in "Killer Smile"
The ANNOTICO Report

A doctor told his patient that she had only six months to live.
"Isn't there anything I can do?" pleaded the patient. 
"Marry a lawyer," the doctor advised.
"It will be the longest six months of your life."

It's a national pastime to poke fun at lawyers, but here's a lawyer you can cheer for.

"D" stands for Door?

Mary DiNunzio is born-and-bred South Philly, where "everybody owned a screen door displaying a scrollwork initial. On Mercer Street, the scrollwork initial was usually D.

When Mary was young, she thought the D stood for Door, then her family got one and she realized it stood for DiNunzio, D'Orazio, DiTizio, D'Agostino, DeMarco, DiAngeli, D'Amato, DeCecco, Della Cava, and finally, Dunphy. Whose wife was a DaTuno." :)

This is the 11th book in Scottoline's best-selling series, and the one that may hit closest to home for the author. A lawyer from Philadelphia herself, she is the granddaughter of Italian immigrants, Giuseppe and Mary Scottoline, who had to register as enemies of America in 1942, even though they had lived exemplary lives in Philadelphia for 30 years.

She includes photos of their alien registration cards at the end of the book.

Scottoline also gives some interesting (and nonjudgmental) background on internment camps for Italian-Americans; a major one was right here in Tennessee - Camp Forrest at Tullahoma.

Mary DiNunzio is a delightful mix of girl-next-door stubbornness, and self-effacing humor. Some readers will find Mary too wimpy, and Rosato fans will miss the more assertive law partners; they appear but this is Mary's show. But don't be too quick to skip "Killer Smile." The well-wrought mystery, fascinating history, and outright funny dialog all add up to an entertaining read.

By Jan Smith
Page Turners
Commercial Appeal
Memphis, Tennessee
June 27, 2004

A doctor told his patient that she had only six months to live.
"Isn't there anything I can do?" pleaded the patient. 
"Marry a lawyer," the doctor advised.
"It will be the longest six months of your life."

It's a national pastime to poke fun at lawyers, but here's a lawyer you can cheer for.

"D" stands for Door?

Mary DiNunzio is born-and-bred South Philly, where "everybody owned a screen door displaying a scrollwork initial. On Mercer Street, the scrollwork initial was usually D.

When Mary was young, she thought the D stood for Door, then her family got one and she realized it stood for DiNunzio, D'Orazio, DiTizio, D'Agostino, DeMarco, DiAngeli, D'Amato, DeCecco, Della Cava, and finally, Dunphy. Whose wife was a DaTuno." :)

An associate at Rosato & Associates, an all-female law firm in Philadelphia, Mary has been hired by the estate of Tony Brandolini, whose father committed suicide while imprisoned in a U.S. internment camp during World War II.

The father, Amadeo, emigrated from Italy to Philadelphia as a child, started a family, and owned a small fishing business.

Arrested by the FBI as an enemy alien at the outbreak of the war, he was shipped off to Fort Missoula, Mont.

While he was "detained," Amadeo's wife suffered a fatal fall. His business was seized by the government; he hung himself in despair.

The estate of his son Tony, recently deceased, is suing for reparations. The fact that Mary thinks Amadeo is a ringer for movie idol George Clooney, and that she, a young widow, is trying to duck farcical blind dates arranged by well-meaning friends, is enough to turn her cold case into a quest.

Swept along by a sentimental streak and strong sense of injustice for her long-dead client, Mary delves deeper into archives, old photos, and Amadeo's personal papers.

Then her office is ransacked, the evidence stolen. Someone driving a black Escalade begins to tail her. Mary starts to wonder if Amadeo's death was really a murder.

When her boss, Bennie (Benedetta) Rosato, urges her to leave town, she goes to Montana to dig for more clues.

Montana is an epiphany for this city girl. Mary's beliefs about life and love become clear, and so do the motives for Amadeo's demise. From a wise older widow, she learns the Cowgirl Code: If you can't be brave, be determined and you'll end up in the same place.

Mary, newly determined, goes back home to avenge Amadeo.

This is the 11th book in Scottoline's best-selling series, and the one that may hit closest to home for the author.

A lawyer from Philadelphia herself, she is the granddaughter of Italian immigrants, Giuseppe and Mary Scottoline, who had to register as enemies of America in 1942, even though they had lived exemplary lives in Philadelphia for 30 years.

She includes photos of their alien registration cards at the end of the book.

Scottoline also gives some interesting (and nonjudgmental) background on internment camps for Italian-Americans; a major one was right here in Tennessee - Camp Forrest at Tullahoma.

Mary DiNunzio is a delightful mix of girl-next-door stubbornness, and self-effacing humor. Some readers will find Mary too wimpy, and Rosato fans will miss the more assertive law partners; they appear but this is Mary's show.

And if you enjoy courtroom drama, I'd recommend reading a different book in the series. But don't be too quick to skip "Killer Smile." The well-wrought mystery, fascinating history, and outright funny dialog all add up to an entertaining read.

- Jan Smith, The Commercial Appeal News Library

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