• Accused

  • Rosato & DiNunzio, Book 1
  • By: Lisa Scottoline
  • Narrated by: January LaVoy
  • Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (2,280 ratings)

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Accused  By  cover art

Accused

By: Lisa Scottoline
Narrated by: January LaVoy
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Publisher's summary

New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-winning author Lisa Scottoline revolutionized crime fiction when she introduced her Philadelphia-based all-female law firm of Rosato & Associates, thrilling listeners with her twisty, fast-paced plots and capturing their hearts with her cast of strong and relatable female characters.

Now Bennie Rosato, Mary DiNunzio, Judy Carrier, and Anne Murphy are back with all cylinders firing in Accused.

Mary Dinuzio has just been promoted to partner and is about to take on her most unusual case yet, brought to the firm by a thirteen-year-old genius with a penchant for beekeeping. Allegra Gardner's sister Fiona was murdered six years ago, and it seemed like an open-and-shut case: the accused, Lonnie Stall, was seen fleeing the scene; his blood was on Fiona and her blood was on him; most damningly, Lonnie Stall pleaded guilty. But Allegra believes Lonnie is innocent and has been wrongly imprisoned. The Gardner family is one of the most powerful in the country and Allegra's parents don't believe in reopening the case, so taking it on is risky. But the Rosato & Associates firm can never resist an underdog. Was justice really served all those years ago? It will take a team of unstoppable female lawyers, plus one thirteen-year-old genius, to find out.

©2013 Smart Blond, LLC (P)2013 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“January LaVoy's narration is a fine match for Lisa Scottoline's prose.” —AudioFile

“Fans of the series will enjoy this light but intriguing mystery.” —Booklist

What listeners say about Accused

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
    93
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Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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    973
  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A "chick" legal thriller

Considering the degree to which Accused deals with relationships most people would likely believe women are the audience, a "chick" book. Despite being male, I enjoyed the book. The plot is about a lawyer attempting to free an innocent man convicted of murder. The relationships between the characters are thoroughly explored and are quite interesting. There are two interesting twists near the end that add to the story. RECOMMENDED!

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35 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Narrator was poor!

I have enjoyed the Rosato and Associates series and was pleased to see a new edition out. Mary is made partner and has accepted Anthony's wedding proposal. This is one book that I think I would have enjoyed more if I had read it rather than listened to it. Although there was always humor in the series, the women were professionals and acted accordingly. This narrator has such a juvenile, excited voice for women that I was continually having to ignore her voice to get any enjoyment out of the story. The women sounded like little girls rather than the professionals they are. I come from an enthic family where half of the family is deaf so everyone speaks loudly to be heard over everyone else. However, the author shouting with two of the older Italian characters, one Mary's father and the other a long-time neighbor, I found very difficult and demeaning to them as loving, colorful individuals. Being hard of hearing myself and from a family with hearing problems, I know our voices may be louder than a soft-spoken person but we do not yell. My advise to catch up on what is happening in the Rosato law firm is to read the book rather than listen to the audible version. Audible, please find another narrator for series.

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28 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Getting old

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A better story. This is far fetched. The author should keep to things that actually happen in a law practice. The premise is flawed. The characters get annoying after awhile. Murder is okay. Investigation is okay. The child who is the center of this is really a fantasy. The Italian background is okay, but the yelling and screaming, etc has no place. That might be what Italians do, but this is a mystery and is over played and irritating.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Not Scottoline. I just downloaded Michael Connelly.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of January LaVoy?

Her voice is grating especially when she goes Italian

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Emesis

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Yet another great Philadelphia tale with women

If you could sum up Accused in three words, what would they be?

A very fun as well as intriguing mystery with the author's usual sense of place and fine Philly touches. Nice to have a mystery with strong women and not wimpets.

What other book might you compare Accused to and why?

Probably a Deborah Crombie mystery set in London. I don't much care for comparisons.

What about January LaVoy’s performance did you like?

I liked her okay, but thought the voices of the three Tony's was over acted and the sound volume was annoying. I wish she had read it mostly straight and not as if she was on a Vaudeville stage - especially the south Philly scenes.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Pigeon Tony unloaded the bees.

Any additional comments?

A splendid read and an unexpected outcome. I would have enjoyed it more if the reader had not annoyed me at times. Still, a solid story and wonderful characterizations. Nice to be back with the lawyer women.

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

narration annoying in part, but a decent story

Where does Accused rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The story is average and simply not that memorable.

What did you like best about this story?

I like that the reoccurring characters continue to mature and change.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The performance gets a mixed review. The narrator is good except for when she shouts in an attempt to portray Mary's hard of hearing father. Unless you can do a voice well when reading aloud it is best to read in your normal voice. I was tempted to forgo listening when she was shouting, totally unpleasant to listen to. In addition the narrator's attempt to sound like the young girl involved failed to be pleasing as well. It was just lacking authenticity. The narrator's normal voice was okay on the ears and hopefully she will improve.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No. I found the book really fell flat midway through and from then on the story was contrived and rather boring.

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Loved the old ones...not so this one

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Narrator...too childish

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Story line was good...but made the smart woman seem dumb

What didn’t you like about January LaVoy’s performance?

Should read children's books

Do you think Accused needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Not unless they elevate the intelligence of Judy...a lawyer writing Jr. High notes about the clients...give me a break!

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Vintage Scottoline with narrator issues

Which is to say, you get a pretty-good story with likable if Pollyanna-ish characters, all of it ladled out with a heavy dose of Italian schmaltz. Okay, well, not maybe schmaltz, that's just me talking, but certainly with lots of gravy.

There are few surprises in these books, which is both good and bad. But if you like them, you like them. I like them -- I really read them for the Italian stuff more than the rest of it because the story lines are pretty predictable. But the whole Italian schtick -- oops, there I go again -- makes me see so many similar situations, so many identical dinner tables, so many conversations that were dead ringers for those here. For me, Scottoline's books are nostalgic.

That said, these books may be better read than listened to. This is the second one I've had problems with, narrator-wise, with two different narrators. I'm not a fan of Barbara Rosenblat -- who narrated Scottoline's "The Vendetta Defense" -- but then, Ms Rosenblat's reading style in recent years has become so over-the-top nuts that I no longer buy anything she narrates. Rosenblat is apparently intent on earning an Oscar as she acts out each character to the most absurd lengths, turning the book into a Rosenblat production, not the book the author wrote. That's Rosenblat's problem, but here, narrator January LaVoy makes a different mistake. Although LaVoy does a better job overall than Rosenblat, she still makeds parts of the book literally painful to hear.

Three elderly Italian men play prominent roles in this book: Mary's father, who's hard of hearing, and his two best buds, both named Tony. Being hard of hearing, Mary's father shouts -- a common enough habit for the hearing impaired -- but for whatever reason, LaVoy has the other two Tonys shouting, too. And they don't just shout, but all three of them shout in raspy, grating, sharp-enough-to-cut-glass voices that -- really, seriously -- hurt a listener's ears. In two instances during the book, I skipped ahead, trying to avoid a long scene where the three were shouting at each other -- not in anger, just the way they talk. I figured I could more easily deal with missing something than having to deal with that ridiculous racket shredding my ear drums.

Ms LaVoy, if she's going to read any more of these books, needs to tone down what she apparently thinks is an accurate rendition of these elderly men's voices. It may in fact be accurate -- that doesn't mean it's comfortable to listen to. If I'd been in the same room with these gents, I would have had to leave -- that shrill noise is just unbearable.

Moderation in all things, please. Including replicating the voices of elderly Italian men.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Entertaining

Great to have Lisa Scottoline writing about the Rosato and Associates the Philadelphia all women law firm again. I have missed reading about them; I have read all of the books in the series. These are easy to read legal procedure books with humor and a bit of a “who done it.” Mary DiNunzio has made partner in the firm. Mary and Judy Carrier take on a 13 year old girl Allegra Gardner who is a rich, genius who wants them to find out who killed her older 16 year old sister 6 years ago. This is complicated because a man is in prison who confessed to the killing. Allegra loves bee’s and when she is in the hospital Mary, pigeon Tony along with all the Tony’s and her father pick up the bee’s from the post office and take them to Allegra’s house to put the bee’s in the new hive. Thought the scene of pigeon Tony handling the bees was great. Mary gets engaged to Anthony Rotunno in the story with all the Italian family goings on around it also adds humor. There is no court room drama in this book but lots of suspense because they took on a 13 year old against her family’s wishes. I thought the real killer was established then Scottoline tosses in a twist for the ending. January LaVoy does a good job with the narration. This is a nice easy to read book to relax with.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Annoying

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would limit the time spent with Mary's family. I really got tired of listening to her father screaming at me - yes I get that he has hearing issues and won't wear a hearing aid but it's just not funny and very annoying after the first few minutes.

If you’ve listened to books by Lisa Scottoline before, how does this one compare?

The plot was really good but this one was too focused on her whacky family and it just seemed silly

What didn’t you like about January LaVoy’s performance?

The screaming father was my least favorite thing

Do you think Accused needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

no

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Narrator Ruins Story!

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The story line is good, the characters are well-developed and it's compelling enough to make you care about the outcome. However, January Lavoy does an absolutely wretched job narrating this, particularly with the minor characters. I cannot overstate how horrible the narration is - I had to fast-forward through parts of the story containing the minor characters because the whiny, loud, over-affected voices were worse than fingernails on a chalkboaed.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of January LaVoy?

George Guidall!

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5 people found this helpful