Final Appeal Mass Market Paperback – September 26, 1994

Grace Rossi, single mom to six-year-old Maddie, is starting over again. Divorced, she no longer works as a trial lawyer. Instead, she works part-time in the appellate court in Philadelphia, for a judge she admires. This aspect of the job probably makes it all worthwhile for her. She is attracted to her boss, but doesn't think anything will happen between them.A death penalty case is up for appeal and time is running out. Grace and her boss, Judge Armen Gregorian, believe his sentence should be reversed. There are plenty of others who do not. The two of them spend long hours one night working on the case; they take their attraction for one another to the next level and have sex; and words of love are uttered by Armen to Grace.Hours later, she learns that he is dead. Shot, presumably a suicide.But Grace does not believe it. Not after their time together...and not after the love note she found in her coat pocket afterwards. Final Appeal  is a little bit convoluted, as we try to sort through the various suspects and motives for a murder. There is no shortage of people who might have reason to kill the Chief Judge, and motives that are numerous.In the end, I was stunned by the reveal. None of the pieces came together in a logical fashion for me. I did enjoy aspects of the story, however, and my favorite parts were the interactions between Grace, her daughter, and her co-workers. An undercover FBI agent was also an intriguing character to add to the mix. 3.5 stars.

I'd give this two and a half stars if I had this option - three being a bit high and two a bit low. It's a perfectly competent and acceptable murder story - but the characters for some reason never grabbed me. It took me several weeks to plow through it. Other things came up that took me away from it and then when I got back to it I had to remember what had happened and who was who. These are signs of a book that doesn't engage, doesn't make the reader stick with it, put other things aside for it.The main reason I remained so disinterested, I think, is that the characters didn't really spring to life and the book also lacked tension. We know the mystery will be revealed and the heroine will triumph since that's the nature of these books - but the author needs to be able to lodge at least a sliver of doubt in the mind of the reader. I never for a second felt any fear for the heroine. I knew that she'd pull through no matter how clueless she seems to be.Grace is a lawyer in the Philadelphia Appeals Court system who at the beginning of the book has an affair with the chief justice. After one night of bliss, he's dead, apparently a suicide but we all know it's a murder. Grace, a single mother, investigates. There are various minor characters and sub-plots - but it all seems so perfunctory. Even when I was reading it, I knew that two months later I would remember nothing. Eventually the killer is unmasked. End of story.

I was mislead by the book title which suggested that it was part of the Lisa Scottoline's superb Rosato & Associates series. There is no reference at all in the book to Rosato and I can't recall Grace Rossi being part of Rosato's all female legal team. This is an early work by Scottoline, which seems to pre-date the successful Rosato series.Grace Rossi is a skilled lawyer who is a single mother trying to make ends meet by working part-time as a legal assistant to the handsome Judge Armen Gregorian in the federal appeals court. Gregorian asks her to help him prepare for an urgent appeal hearing against a death penalty. Because of the tight deadline they both work most of the night on the case - and their at the end of the night their work turns romantic. A few hours later Gregorian is found shot, apparently a suicide.After their recent happy time Grace cannot believe the suicide verdict and suspects that it is a very clever murder. She decides to start a one-person investigation to prove that it is murder. She is helped by a most unusual homeless man who turns out to be a FBI undercover agent who specialises in tracking down corrupt judges. The plot is muddied by a lot of side-tracking through Grace's personal life and the staff who worked for Gregorian.The plot and the action are not up to the pace, interest and page-turning standards of the Rosato series. I didn't dislike the book but couldn't give it more than an OK (a 3 star rating).

I am not one who likes raw language in a novel, and that was what I found in this Scottoline novel. However, I was hooked in the first few pages, and putting it down was the last thing I wanted to do. As the murder plot unfolds I found myself trying to figure out which of the many characters could be the culprit.The victim, Honorable Chief Judge, Armen Gregorian, of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit could have many enemies, simple because of his position and the many people in prison because he held up their guilty verdict. Or, it could be one of the many people who worked with him, after all, judges and their staff are not immune to desperate moves to improve their political status. It could also have something to do with an unhappy marriage.As I said, the story had me hooked, and I had difficulty putting it down as I learned more about the appellate court than I ever thought I’d learn before finally learning whodunit.This was a very satisfying read, though I still warn those who prefer less profanity to find something else. Then again, I’m certain every word was as real as is spoken every day in the real court system.

Enjoyed reading it very much.

ok certainly not the best she has written , but an enjoyable book . A bit of a disapointment really.

easy reading

I have never read one of her books that I didn’t love, so I ordered this one. It just never got that interesting, quit reading it half way through 🙁I will still look for her books though

The first copy I received was missing several pages at the front of the book, and a few throughout. I contacted Amazon, and within a few days, had a brand new, perfect copy in my hands. Cannot say enough good things about the seller. Fantastic. Thank you very much.

Great mystery