Save Me

By: Lisa Scottoline

Narrated by: Cynthia Nixon

Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

From the New York Times bestselling author of Think Twice and Look Again comes an emotionally powerful novel about a split-second choice, agonizing consequences, and the need for justice

Rose McKenna volunteers as a lunch mom in her daughter Melly's school in order to keep an eye on Amanda, a mean girl who's been bullying her daughter. Her fears come true when the bullying begins, sending Melly to the bathroom in tears. Just as Rose is about to follow after her daughter, a massive explosion goes off in the kitchen, sending the room into chaos. Rose finds herself faced with the horrifying decision of whether or not to run to the bathroom to rescue her daughter or usher Amanda to safety. She believes she has accomplished both, only to discover that Amanda, for an unknown reason, ran back into the school once out of Rose's sight. In an instance, Rose goes from hero to villain as the small community blames Amanda's injuries on her. In the days that follow, Rose's life starts to fall to pieces, Amanda's mother decides to sue, her marriage is put to the test, and worse, when her daughter returns to school, the bullying only intensifies. Rose must take matters into her own hands and get down to the truth of what really happened that fateful day in order to save herself, her marriage and her family.

In the way that Look Again had listeners questioning everything they thought they knew about family, Save Me will have listeners wondering just how far they would go to save the ones they love. Lisa Scottoline is writing about real issues that resonate with real women, and the results are emotional, heartbreaking and honest.

©2011 Lisa Scottoline (P)2011 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Are you a good mother if you save your child from disaster? What if it means sacrificing another's child? In SAVE ME, Lisa Scottoline walks readers into this charged moral dilemma and then takes them on an intense, breathless ride. You won't be able to put this one down.” —Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of SING YOU HOME and HOUSE RULES

“Heart-pounding! Scottoline provides the perfect combination of explosive action, twisting turns, and genuine emotion in this exciting novel of an ordinary mom going to extraordinary lengths for her daughter. Open up SAVE ME, and save yourself with a great book.” —Lisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling author of Love You More

“At the quick pace of a thriller, Scottoline masterfully fits every detail into a tight plot chock-full of real characters, real issues, and real thrills. A story anchored by the impenetrable power of a mother's love, it begs the question, just how far would you go to save your child?” —Booklist

Not the usual for this author

A thriller is usually a little unrealistic, but this book showed new levels for a totally unbelievable plot. She took some social agendas and created a story to speak against everything from bullying to talking on cell phones while driving. I didn't disagree with any of the positions she took, but it just felt contrived. I had no problem with the narrator, but what was with the child's voice?? Horrible. At first I thought she was supposed to be "hoarse" from the smoke, but if so, she had permanent damage. But for me, it was just a terrible plot that lowered my rating. If it were the first book I'd read by this author, it would also be my last. But knowing otherwise, I'll give her another try on the next one.

Page Turner the Makes You Examine Your Own Values

What I like about Lisa Scottoline is that she takes a question of relevance to contemporary women, and brings it to life in the pages of a book. You may agree. You may disagree. But you will ask yourself the question.

In this book the question is, "If you were a volunteer at your child's school -- and there were an emergency, would you save the children who have tormented your bullied child -- or would you save your own child -- at their expense?"

I found that question and the way that it gets answered by the protagnoist and the reaction as people judge her choice the most interesting part of this book. The mystery sort of lost its way for me in the end -- but I can forgive that as Ms. Scottoline's books never drag. They are page turners that offer the perfect distraction if you just want to loose yourself in the pages of a book.

Not what I expected

The storyline itself is a little boring. Melly is a whiny brat and Rose just doesn’t give up.
However, I love the ending, all the digging around was worth it.
I love the detail in the story, the writer did great in detailing every aspect of the story and bringing it to life! Not to mention the narration is great! Cynthia Nixon did a great job!

Lots of twists and turns.

Very long and winded. please use real actors or volunteers for the girls voices and men voices. don't have women reading for men and vice versus. it's just weird.

Another hit for Ms Scottoline!

I really enjoyed this book! The story was so moving! I was never bored and could not foresee the next turn that the story would take! Also fantastic was Ms. Nixon's narration! I always loved her work but she morphed into the different characters so perfectly and I never even heard Miranda! :-D. I look forward to more from this author!!! Thank you for sharing your gifts, ladies!

great read!

this was a great book by my favorite author that I would recommend to anyone, but especially for mothers in particular!

Better in parts

This book started off great, dragged a bit in the middle and finished up well. It was an interesting storyline. The main character seemed a little immature and undeveloped for the role that was created in the book.

Evangelicals, homosexuality, and in vitro

Wow. Only someone like Jodie Picoult could incorporate all three of these controversial topics into one novel and make it interesting and make you think about both sides. It kept taking different turns, and my interest was held.

Not up to par with Scottoline's older books.

This book took me almost 200 pages to "get into" the story. I was just about to give up when the storyline finally picked up. This was just not the case with any of her older books. And this isn't the only recent book by this author to disappoint. Her other recent book, Keep Quiet, was just ridiculous and I only rated it 1 or 2 stars. The dialogue in this book was immature and too simple. It was if a new, inexperienced author wrote the book, not the accomplished writer that Scottoline has been in the past. It feels like she has lost her zeal for writing and I sincerely hope she gets it back or her writing will continue to go downhill. I know she can write better books then this. I certainly hope she gets inspired to write something great again! A generous 3 stars!

Not what I expected from Scottoline

I expected the fast pace and likable characters I have grown accustomed to in Lisa Scottoline's novels. While the storyline was interesting, I never really cared much about any of the characters.