Lisa Scottoline (; born July 1, 1955) is an American author of
legal thrillers
The legal thriller genre is a type of crime fiction genre that focuses on the proceedings of the investigation, with particular reference to the impacts on courtroom proceedings and the lives of characters.
The courtroom proceedings and legal a ...
.
Life
Born in the
Lower Moyamensing neighborhood of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
, Scottoline attended
Lower Merion High School
Lower Merion High School is a public high school in Ardmore, a community in Philadelphia's Main Line suburbs. It is one of two high schools in the Lower Merion School District; the other one is Harriton High School. Lower Merion serves both Lo ...
and then went on to earn a B.A. in English magna cum laude (in three years) from the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
, then graduated cum laude from the
University of Pennsylvania Law School
The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most selective and oldes ...
.
She clerked for judges at the state and federal appellate courts and later became a litigator at
Dechert
Dechert LLP () is an American multinational law firm of more than 900 lawyers with practices in corporate and securities, complex litigation, finance and real estate, financial services, asset management, and private equity. In 2021, the firm ra ...
in Philadelphia.
After the birth of her daughter, she left the law firm and started writing.
''Final Appeal'' received an Edgar Award, for excellence in crime fiction. She has since written 30 bestselling novels, including ''Look Again'' and ''Don't Go'', both which reached number two on
''The New York Times'' Best Seller list.
She has served as President of the Mystery Writers of America and won many other honors. Her novels have been translated into 30 languages and she has 30 million copies in print.
Since March 2007, Scottoline and her daughter Francesca Serritella have been writing the "Chick Wit" column for ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pen ...
''. A collection of those humorous nonfiction columns has been published in a series of bestselling books co-written with her daughter Francesca Serritella, the first of which is entitled ''Why My Third Husband Will Be A Dog: The Amazing Adventures of an Ordinary Woman'' and published on November 24, 2009.
Books
Rosato & Associates
#''Everywhere That Mary Went'' (1993)
#''Legal Tender'' (1996)
#''Rough Justice'' (1997)
#''Mistaken Identity'' (1998)
#''Moment of Truth'' (2000) - #10 on
NYT Bestseller list and on the list for six weeks.
#''The Vendetta Defense'' (2001) - #7 on NYT Bestseller list and on the list for five weeks.
#''Courting Trouble'' (2003) - #8 on NYT Bestseller list and on the list for three weeks.
#''Dead Ringer'' (2003) - #5 on NYT Bestseller list and on the list for four weeks.
#''Killer Smile'' (2004) - #14 on NYT Bestseller list and on the list for two weeks.
#''Lady Killer'' (2008) - #4 on NYT Bestseller list and on the list for four weeks.
#''Think Twice'' (2010) - #4 on NYT Bestseller list and on the list for three weeks.
Rosato & DiNunzio Novels
#
#
#
#
#
#
Standalone fiction
*''Final Appeal'' (1994) - Winner of the 1995
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...
for "Best Paperback Original Mystery."
*''Running From the Law'' (1995), winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award 1995.
*''Devil's Corner'' (2005) - #9 on NYT Bestseller list and on the list for two weeks.
*''Dirty Blonde'' (2006) - #5 on NYT Bestseller list and on the list for four weeks.
*''Daddy's Girl'' (2007)- #3 on NYT Bestseller list for two consecutive weeks and on the list for three weeks.
Appeared in the 2007 ''
Reader's Digest Select Editions
The ''Reader's Digest Select Editions'' are a series of hardcover fiction anthology books, published bi-monthly and available by subscription, from ''Reader's Digest''. Each volume consists of four or five current bestselling novels selected by '' ...
'' Volume 294 - #6.
* - #2 on NYT Bestseller list and on the list for three weeks.
* - #7 on NYT Bestseller list and on the list for four weeks.
*''Come Home'' (2012, St. Martin's Press) - #4 on NYT Bestseller list and on the list for three weeks.
* - #2 on NYT Bestseller list and on the list for three weeks.
*''Keep Quiet'' (2014, St. Martin's Press)
*''Every Fifteen Minutes'' (2015, St. Martin's Press)
*''Most Wanted'' (2016, St. Martin's Press)
*''One Perfect Lie'' (2017, St. Martin's Press)
*''After Anna'' (2018, St. Martin's Press)
*''Someone Knows'' (April 9, 2019, G. P. Putnam's Sons)
*''Eternal'' (March 23, 2021, Penguin Publishing Group)
*''What Happened to the Bennetts'' (2022, Penguin Random House)
Serial novels contributed to
* ''
Naked Came the Phoenix
''Naked Came the Phoenix: A Serial Novel'' is a 2001 mystery novel written in serial installments by thirteen popular female authors, including collaboration editor Marcia Talley. The title was intended to evoke 1969's famously-collaborative ''N ...
'' (2001)
* ''Natural Suspect'' (2001) ()
* ''The Chopin Manuscript'' (2008) - The first book of the "Harold Middleton" series. Initial release was as an
audiobook
An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements.
Spoken audio has been available in sc ...
. ()
* ''The Copper Bracelet'' (2010) - The second book of the "Harold Middleton" series. ()
* ''Watchlist'' (2010) is an
omnibus of ''The Chopin Manuscript'' (2008) and ''The Copper Bracelet'' (2010) ()
* ''No Rest for the Dead'' (2011) ()
Nonfiction
*''Why My Third Husband Will Be A Dog: The Amazing Adventures of an Ordinary Woman'' (2009, St. Martin's Press)
*''My Nest Isn't Empty, It Just Has More Closet Space'', with Francesca Serritella (2010, St. Martin's Press)
*''Best Friends, Occasional Enemies: The Lighter Side of Life as a Mother and Daughter'', with Francesca Serritella (2011, St. Martin's Press)
*''Happy and Merry'', with Francesca Serritella (2012, St. Martin's Press)
-book*''Meet Me at Emotional Baggage Claim'', with Francesca Serritella (2012, St. Martin's Press)
*''Have a Nice Guilt Trip'', with Francesca Serritella (2014, St. Martin's Press)
*''Does This Beach Make Me Look Fat?: True Stories and Confessions'', with Francesca Serritella (2015, St. Martin's Press)
*''I've Got Sand In All the Wrong Places'', with Francesca Serritella (2016, St. Martin's Press)
*''I Need a Lifeguard Everywhere But the Pool'', with Francesca Serritella (2017, St. Martin's Press)
*''I See Life Through Rose-Colored Glasses'', with Francesca Serritella (2018, St. Martin's Press)
References
External links
Lisa Scottoline's Web siteReading Guides and title list for Lisa Scottoline's books(official publisher web page)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scottoline, Lisa
1955 births
Living people
20th-century American novelists
21st-century American novelists
American thriller writers
American mystery writers
American women novelists
Edgar Award winners
American writers of Italian descent
Writers from Philadelphia
University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni
Women mystery writers
Lawyers from Philadelphia
Litigators
American women lawyers
20th-century American women writers
21st-century American women writers
Women thriller writers
Novelists from Pennsylvania
American lawyers and judges of Italian descent