The Vendetta Defense audiobook

A very interesting premise. What makes a person guilty of murder? Does the act of killing someone automatically make one a murder? Does the motive and reasoning behind the act make a difference? And should it? Ms Scottoline poses these questions in a very entertaining story.

BEWARE. I DON'T FLAG SPOILERS. BUT I DON'T PUT MY REVIEWS OUT ON ANY FEED, EITHER.Disclaimer - my "reviews" are not truly that. Rather than a critical analysis, each "review" is mostly my quick summary of the plot -- so I can refresh my unreliable memory. Also, I find that once I journal a book, it's easier for me to give it away. That's important, as our house is getting "overgrown" with books.---One of my favorite Scottoline titles. It delves into atty. Judy at the Rosato all-female law firm. She's one of the tall heroines (With Scottoline, they're all either tall or small).Tony Lucia, Judy's elderly client -- up for murder -- is the true hero. The book traces his personal losses from Fascist '40s Italy (a rival suitor kills Tony's young wife) to America, where he located w. his motherless toddler son after the war. In America decades later, he loses his now-grown son to an apparent traffic accident - driver error on a winter-slippery road.Novel begins on the day that Tony killed his rival.Tony and that old rival -- who also emigrated and settles in the same Italian neighborhood in Philly -- come to blows in a back room at the pigeon-racing club they both belong to. Both men are senior citizens; the rival ends up falling in the brawl, hitting his head, dying. The case looks open-closed -- with Pigeon Tony guilty -- until Judy (who btw falls in love w. Tony Lucia's brawny contractor grandson) and the grandson find evidence to prove Tony attacked the rival only after said rival bragged he'd killed Tony's son some months before (which everyone including police had thought was a simple accident.)Solving the heretofor-unrecognized crime turns on learning that the son's VW pickup was a diesel, so that the abundant gasoline traces found on the totaled vehicle point to a gasoline-based explosive. (Along w. extremely tall or short heroines, Scottoline also likes VW's - Judy drives a Bug, the female character who's a fed prosecutor has a Cabriolet convertible, there's another novel where there's talk of Jettas. i.e. a lawyer's Jetta is demoted to "railroad station car" for commuting after he/shoe moves fr. public service to better-paying private sector, and buys some hot, expensive car model).In the end, Pigeon Tony's jurors go for jury nullification (finding defendant innocent despite the law and evidence, because of belief in a higher principle - namely that Tony's rage was natural when his son's murderer taunted him for getting away w. the crime. Also, that he couldn't have foreseen that the physical fight - no weapons but fists -- could drop a man dead). Verdict seemed right to me, too.

#6 in the Rosato & Associates series.Rosato & Associates series - The star here is the somewhat manic Judy Carrier, who has played supporting roles in the past. The story, however, revolves around Anthony "Pigeon Tony" Lucia, a lovable septuagenarian who killed his longtime rival, Angelo Coluzzi, who murdered Lucia's wife in their native Italy 60 years ago. Coluzzi, the wealthy, mob-connected owner of a big construction firm, always seems to get the upper hand until Pigeon Tony breaks his neck during a showdown at the pigeon-racing club where they're both members. Pigeon Tony freely admits he killed Coluzzi, but maintains he was justified because of the long-standing Italian tradition of vendetta; Carrier knows it will be a big stretch to make that argument fly before a 21st-century American jury. Aided, however, by Tony's many friends in South Philly's Italian neighborhoods, Carrier mounts a sparkling defense while dodging innumerable attempts on her life from Coluzzi's gang and trying to keep in check her amorous feelings for Pigeon Tony's ruggedly handsome grandson, Frank.

I do love a legal drama. Is Pigeon Tony guilty or not? Judy does her best to defend him as his lawyer. However, they are nearly killed and bombed. Destruction happens at Judy's place. The vendetta goes back to Italy, years ago and there is murder and more murder. The action intriques and absorbs the reader. There's a very subtle romance between Judy and Pigeon Tony's grandson. Scottoline rates as one of my favorite authors. Keep at it Lisa.

The sixth book featuring Bennie Rosato's law firm, this time with Judy Carrier, one of Bennie's attorneys, defending Pigeon Tony, who admits that he killed Angelo Coluzzi, but insists it wasn't murder but justice. The basis of this was very intriguing. I mean what really does make a person guilty of murder? I really liked this one as well. Another hit for Scottoline!

I liked the writing. I HATED the actual legal defense - The Vendetta Defense. I understood it intellectually, but kept thinking this would be horrible if a jury bought it.

I have chosen to grab this off the library shelf to see what Scottoline can do with a mix of Italian experiences and a Philadelphia venue. It is not the first book in this series, so I was playing catchup with Judy Carrier and the Rosato law firm she works for.Judy and her best friend, Mary DeNunzio are associates with the Rosato law firm in Philadelphia. They handle a wide variety of cases, but Judy is headed for her first case of criminal defense work. Her friendship with the DeNunzio family gets her a call in the middle of the night asking her to see what she can do for a “South Philly neighbor,” an octogenarian pigeon club member. Okay, maybe I am going too fast.Scottoline writes about her home town, Philadelphia in a series of courtroom procedurals/thrillers. This one is a little more personal and cozy than the others I have read. Judy Carrier is a young, smart, and aggressive lawyer who is “all about her work.” She also is a talented painter (canvas not walls/ceilings). A bit more about Judy:"Judy used to like bad boys that looked like him, but she was happily over that phase, having learned the obvious: that bad boys were simply childish men.""The landscape inspired the painter in her, but a lawyer was in the driver’s seat."“Pigeon Tony” is her client and he admits to her that “he killed Angelo Coluzzi” his antagonist for many decades.“Judy mulled it over. Angelo Coluzzi and Pigeon Tony were two men, contemporaries, both immigrants from the same country. According to Frank they had grown up not ten miles apart. They both raced homing pigeons. They liked the same tattoos. They loved the same woman. They had more in common than most friends; yet they were enemies. Two little old men, and one had killed the other.”Judy (and many readers) have to compare and contrast their way of life with that many in South Philly know best, having emigrated from rural Italian villages. Is what constitutes “murder” consistent from one to the other?"Judy had grown up in an American family, as patriotic as a military family could be, and she had been trained in law, a code of rights and responsibilities. In her view, Frank had a right to know how his parents had died; it was a truth that shouldn’t be hidden from him. And why did Pigeon Tony think it was okay to hide one truth—the way they died—and not the other—the way Angelo Coluzzi died?"Scottoline is channeling some of her experiences of growing up in this neighborhood (or close to it). I am sure that is why we get a more cozy atmosphere:"Mr. DiNunzio set a fresh cup of coffee before her, on a mismatched saucer, and Mrs. DiNunzio brought her silverware and a plate heavy with green peppers, sliced potatoes, sweet onions, and scrambled eggs, all fried and mixed together. The first time Judy saw this combo, she thought a dog had thrown up on the plate. Now she loved it. Presentation was highly overrated."…and…"Mary smiled. “Don’t worry, Judy. He cries when the Phillies lose. He likes to cry. He’s not happy unless he’s crying.” She turned to her father. “Pop, get a grip. You’re upsetting Judy. She’s not used to people like us. She’s normal.”"….and…"“I get the impression that everybody in South Philly knows everybody else. Is that right?” “Yes, it’s like a small town down here. Everybody knows everybody else’s habits, their cars, their kids, their problems. True, South Philly’s only an eight- or ten-block square. It used to be all Italian, but now it’s Italian plus Vietnamese, Korean,"Threats are made, bombs are planted, shots are fired and Judy needs to take care of her own health and safety while figuring out how to defend this case: "So why couldn’t there be shades of gray in a murder defense? She was painter and lawyer both; art and a defense were both her creations. So she could take responsibility for the colors in her cases. She liked the notion."Definitely a guns and romance legal cozy in my estimation. 3.5*

As is usual with Lisa Scottoline's books, this is great, full of memorable and usually likeable characters and plenty of plot.Alas, she makes one gross error, double alas, one made by too, too many writers, including those propagandists and ignorami at "Law and Order": Jury nullification is NOT the correct term to apply to a jury's voting "not guilty" because they don't like the prosecutors and/or the prosecution case, and do like the defendant. "News" people and, as I said, too many writers constantly mis-use the term "jury nullification," sometimes because of abysmal ignorance, and sometimes because of willful and intentional distortion."Jury nullification" is voting because the jury members oppose a law.For example, a defendant accused of the heinous crime of selling, or even just growing, marijuana might be voted "not guilty" because the jurors recognize the immorality and/or stupidity of The Insane War on Some Drugs.Jury Nullification is, in truth, part of the American tradition, part of our heritage.It goes back to the John Peter Zenger trial.And even further back to very courageous jurors in England defying the persecutorial government and even risking their own lives to try to prevent a legal wrong.Fully Informed Jury Association is available to give us the facts. It's headquartered in Montana, but accessible via the Internet. Too bad that so many people, even lawyers and judges, don't know the truth, the history, and even the law: There are states, though not very many, that require judges to inform jurors that they, those jurors, are judges not only of the facts of a case, but of the law.THAT, gentle reader, is "Jury Nullification." If you ever get conscripted for a jury, don't let a judge or prosecutor tell you any different. That judge or prosecutor might not be lying: He might actually believe his nonsense. But he is still wrong.

I read this book a few years ago, so it's not fresh in my mind, but I still remember the characters and the basic plot after all this time and many other books in between. That's saying something for how intriguing it was, because there have been many other books that I don't remember at all! Pigeon Tony is so loveable, he's who comes to mind the most out of anything else about this book. The writing was a bit confusing to me at times, I remember that I had to read and re-read many parts because the description wasn't clear to me about what was going on. I actually disliked the writing enough at first, that I almost put the book down before even finishing the first chapter. I'm glad that I stuck with it, though, as I grew to love the main characters and the story.

I am a [Author: Lisa Scottoline] fan. This is my 18th book. Although I have read the more recent “Rosato & DiNunzio’ novels, I missed this earlier one ~ actually it was back when the series was called “Rosato & Associates” . I also like Barbara Rosenblat. Her performance of “Pigeon Tony” is GREAT!!! My Dad is Italian and from South Philly so I am sure we have relatives in common. Love “Pigeon Tony” “Tony ~ Two Feet” and, of course, Tony from Down the Street” Although the language was much rougher than I like~ I did enjoyed this novel!

My favorite Lisa Scottoline book. Something like “A Time to Kill”. The accused killed someone. He thinks it is justified. The law is not on his side and his attorney believes he deserves a good defense. Along the way we learn of other crimes committed by the deceased, his family and business and what a bully he was. There attempts on the life of the accused and his attorney but there is never evidence to bring charges. We also meet “The Tony’s”- the accused friends who support the defense attorney. And the comic relief needed in such a tense storyline. Great book!

In this book, we are going along the path with Judy. Much like the previous books in the series, you will be captivated from page 1. Your heart strings will definitely be plucked by the main character of this story. You will find yourself, Not only rooting for this wonderful little old man, but you will also find yourself craving just a little bit of Italian. Judy, also finds a new love interest. I found myself rooting for her as well. This series is so good, I will be rolling right into the next book.