Look Again

Starred review from February 16, 2009
Bestseller Scottoline (Lady Killer
) scores another bull’s-eye with this terrifying thriller about an adoptive parent’s worst fear—the threat of an undisclosed illegality overturning an adoption. The age-progressed picture of an abducted Florida boy, Timothy Braverman, on a “have you seen this child?” flyer looks alarmingly like Philadelphia journalist Ellen Gleeson’s three-year-old son, Will, whom she adopted after working on a feature about a pediatric cardiac care unit. Ellen, who jeopardizes her newspaper job by secretly researching the Braverman case, becomes suspicious when she discovers the lawyer who handled her adoption of Will has committed suicide. Meanwhile, Will’s supposed birth mother, Amy Martin, dies of a heroin overdose, and Amy’s old boyfriend turns out to look like the man who kidnapped Timothy. Scottoline expertly ratchets up the tension as the desperate Ellen flies to Miami to get DNA samples from Timothy’s biological parents. More shocks await her back home. Author tour.

Starred review from February 15, 2009
Legal and illegal shenanigans take a back seat to mother love and its vicissitudes in Scottoline's barn-burning crossover novel about every adoptive mother's worst nightmare.

Even though the escalating homicide count in Philadelphia includes more and more children and economic clouds portend layoffs at her newspaper, features reporter Ellen Gleeson has her own private store of sunshine: her three-year-old son Will, whom she fell in love with two years ago when a story about pediatric care brought her to his hospital bedside. Because Will had a heart defect and his mother couldn't care for him, she was willing to sign him over to a single mother, a decision Ellen has blessed every day of her life—until the day she sees a circular asking,"HAVE YOU SEEN THIS CHILD?" with the photograph of a boy whose resemblance to Will is uncanny. Timothy Braverman, abducted from his wealthy Florida parents, Carol and Bill, in a carjacking that went horribly wrong, hasn't been seen since. Despite her dread of confirming her fear that Will is Tim, Ellen can't help neglecting her job (with predictably dire professional results) to gather more information about him, partly because of her reporter's nose for a story, but mostly because she wants what's best for her son, no matter the cost. The trail leads her to a garage full of adoption folders, some unwelcome revelations about Will's birth mother and a tense game of hide-and-seek with the Bravermans as she realizes what a hornet's nest her questions have stirred up, and how determined someone is to make sure this is one story she doesn't break. Though the blood-and-thunder climax arrives a mite early, there's one final twist in reserve.

Fans will spot the last twist a mile away, but it doesn't matter. For once Scottoline subordinates the criminal plot to the human-interest story that rides sidesaddle in all her thrillers (Lady Killer, 2008, etc.), and the result is her best book yet.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

Starred review from February 15, 2009
If you received news that threatened your family, would you ignore it or devote yourself to proving it false? Pennsylvania reporter Ellen Gleeson is living an ordinary life with her son and cat until she receives a "Have You Seen This Child?" flyer in the mail. The boy photographed in the flyer bears a striking resemblance to her three-year-old adopted son, Will, and becomes an object of obsession for Ellen, shaking the very foundations of her family and propelling her into an investigation. Is Will really Timothy Braverman, missing since infancy? Ellen finds herself anticipating the worst as her quest for the truth progresses. In typical Scottoline ("Daddy's Girl") fashion, a strong female fights for what she believes in, despite more than her share of obstacles. Scottoline's best novel to date will have faithful fans and new readers singing her praises. Highly recommended to all public libraries.Mary Todd Chesnut, Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Highland Heights

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2009
Ellen Gleeson was balancing life as a single mother and a feature reporter as well as could be expected. She had taken on single parenthood voluntarily, having fallen in love with her adopted son, Will, now three, when he was a very sick infant. A have-you-seen-this-child postcard featuring a child who could be Wills twin catches Ellens attention, and while she should be pursuing her assigned story about the emotional effect of Philadelphias high teenage murder rate, she instead becomes obsessed with the missing child and with pursuing more details aboutWills background. Her questions multiply when she learns that, just three weeks after sheadopted Will, the attorney who handled the proceedings killed herself. Where is the birth mother, and why doesnt her family seem to know that shewas pregnant? The answer only leads to danger, but Ellen, her reporters instincts on high alert, is hell-bent on finding the truth, no matter the cost. Ina departure from her wildly popular Rosato & Associates series, Scottoline still sticksto whatshe knows in this taut stand-alone: female drama, family ties, legal intrigue, and fast-paced action.A sure-fire winner.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)