Save Me

I have become a recent fan of Lisa Scottoline's stand alone mysteries. Save Me came out this spring, and even though I am supposed to know better than to judge a book by it's cover, the cover alone had me wanting to read it.

Rose is a lunch helper at her daughter Melly's school and happens to be in the lunchroom the day of a huge explosion in the kitchen. Rose, Melly, and two other students are in the lunchroom area during the explosion leaving Rose to make a huge decision: which child should she save? There is a great deal of publicity about this tragic event, and while Rose is first lauded as a hero, she eventually takes a great deal of criticism for how she handled things. While Rose is hurt and angered by others reactions she can understand the anger the other parents feel. Yet, she also thinks there is more to the explosion than what investigators are willing to look for. In order to find out what really happened that day, Rose decides to hunt for the truth herself, bringing her into a great deal of danger as she works to clear her name.

I started reading this one last night and finished it off early this morning. This is a fast paced story, and even though I felt at times that some of it was predictable and the characters responses to Rose were a bit over the top, I wanted to keep reading. Scottoline did a great job of explaining the aspects of the law in terms of criminal versus civil suits. Rose's husband, Leo, is a lawyer and one of my favorite parts of Save Me is the way in which Leo and Rose's lawyers are able to develop the strategies of their case. While the ending is a bit trite as well, I wasn't disappointed with Save Me. This was a fun, suspenseful story that provided me with plenty of entertainment.