Review: After Anna by Lisa Scottoline

After Anna by Lisa Scottoline

Published: April 10, 2018

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Format: publisher

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

Nobody cuts deeper than family...

Noah Alderman, a doctor and a widower, has remarried a wonderful woman, Maggie, and for the first time in a long time, he and his son are happy. But their lives are turned upside down when Maggie’s daughter Anna moves in with them. Anna is a gorgeous seventeen-year-old who balks at living under their rules though Maggie, ecstatic to have her daughter back, ignores the red flags that hint at the trouble that is brewing. Events take a deadly turn when Anna is murdered and Noah is accused of the crime. Maggie must face not only the devastation of losing her only daughter but the realization that her daughter's murder was at the hands of a husband she loves. New information sends Maggie searching for the truth, leading her to discover something darker than she could have ever imagined.

My Thoughts

After Anna is a wonderful suspenseful novel told in alternating perspectives, one told during Noah’s court hearing and the other told showing everything that leads up until now. We start with Noah in court fighting for his innocence after being accused of killing his stepdaughter Anna. We also hear that not only is his accused of the murder but also of molesting her and being a downright awful guy. However, in seeing his past behavior we see that this doesn’t sound like the Noah everyone knows. He was always a respectful doctor who was raising his son after his wife died and now is happily married to Maggie who has recently reconnected with her daughter.

Maggie is a happily married woman who loves her stepson Caleb but is secretly sadden because she hasn’t seen her daughter since she was a baby. Maggie had severe postpartum depression and her ex-husband took their baby away from her and she hasn’t seen her since. Until one day her daughter Anna comes back into her life after the death of her father and Maggie is beyond joy. She never thought she would see the day Anna and she were together again. She soon brings her home to live with her and her new family but things don’t happen as she imagined. She is soon pitted against her daughter and her husband who don’t seem to get along. Anna tells her Noah is coming on to her and makes Maggie throw him out and take her side. From this point on things go downhill and things will never be the same for everyone evolved.

I loved that there were two alternating views, I loved them equally and found myself quickly turning the pages because I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. I will admit I was really unhappy with the Maggie character in the middle of the novel. I felt like she wasn’t giving her husband any benefit of the doubt. I know he was accused of some awful things but my gut didn’t believe in what Anna was saying and the fact that Maggie just simply took her side and never asked Noah anything really got to me. However the last part of the book was really amazing, this was the best part and talk about twist and turns! Man, I never saw what happens next, and it was a really great payoff story wise. I really enjoyed this latest Lisa Scottoline novel she gave us another great read with amazing characters and a storyline that grabs you from the very beginning and a jaw-dropping ending that you soon won't forget.