Review and Q&A: Keep Quiet by Lisa Scottoline

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Happy Pub Day to Lisa!!!!

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Happy Book Birthday to KEEP QUIET!!!!

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New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award winning author Lisa Scottoline is loved by millions of readers for her suspenseful novels about family and justice. Scottoline delivers once again with Keep Quiet,an emotionally gripping and complex story about one man’s split-second decision to protect his son - and the devastating consequences that follow.Jake Buckman’s relationship with his sixteen-year-old son Ryan is not an easy one, so at the urging of his loving wife, Pam, Jake goes alone to pick up Ryan at their suburban movie theater.　 On the way home, Ryan asks to drive on a deserted road, and Jake sees it as a chance to make a connection. However, what starts as a father-son bonding opportunity instantly turns into a nightmare. Tragedy strikes, and with Ryan’s entire future hanging in the balance, Jake is forced to make a split-second decision that plunges them both into a world of guilt and lies. Without ever meaning to, Jake and Ryan find themselves living under the crushing weight of their secret, which threatens to tear their family to shreds and ruin them all. Powerful and dramatic, Keep Quiet will have readers and book clubs debating what it means to be a parent and how far you can, and should, go to protect those you love.

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What lengths would you go to in order to protect those you love?  How far would you then go to protect your secret and to keep quiet?  These are just a few of the interesting questions posed in Scottoline's new novel KEEP QUIET.  This novel was a twisty turny journey that started with a hit and run on a dark road that then lead you on an emotionally driven ride through hidden secrets, moral dilemmas and ultimately truth and justice!!!  What an amazingly nerve wracking book, which I recommend and rate 4 stars!!!

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BIOGRAPHY

Education

Lisa Scottoline graduated magna cum laude in three years from the University of Pennsylvania, in 1976. Her B.A. degree was in English with a concentration in the Contemporary American Novel, and she was taught by professors such as National Book Award Winner Philip Roth. Lisa then graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1981, where she served as an Associate Editor, University of Pennsylvania Law Review.

Legal Career

Lisa began her legal career with a clerkship for President Judge Edmund B. Spaeth, Jr. of the Pennsylvania Superior Court. When the clerkship ended, she joined Dechert, Price & Rhoads in Philadelphia as an associate. In 1986, she left the firm to raise her newborn daughter and began writing legal fiction part-time. In 1994, Scottoline re-entered the legal world as an administrative law clerk to Chief Judge Dolores K. Sloviter of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, while beginning a new career as a fiction author, with the publication of her first novel.

Writing Career and Novels

Lisa's writing career began with her first novel, Everywhere That Mary Went, published in 1994 by HarperCollins Publishers. The novel became a bestseller and was nominated for the Edgar Award, the most prestigious award given in crime fiction, awarded by the Mystery Writers of America. Lisa's second novel, Final Appeal, was also nominated for and received an Edgar Award. Since then she has written eleven more legal suspense novels, all of which have appeared on bestseller lists, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly, and Publisher's Weekly. Scottoline presently has nine million copies in print in the United States, not including audio, e-book and various large print editions. Internationally, Lisa is published in 23 countries. A list of her novels in chronological order is: Everywhere That Mary Went (1994);Final Appeal (1995); Running From the Law (1996); Legal Tender (1997); Rough Justice (1998); Mistaken Identity (1999); Moment of Truth (2000); The Vendetta Defense (2001); Courting Trouble (2002); Dead Ringer (2003); Killer Smile (2004); Devil's Corner (2005); Dirty Blonde (2006), Daddy's Girl (2007), Look Again (2009), Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog (2009), Think Twice (2010), My Nest Isn't Empty, It Just Has More Closet Space (2010), Save Me (2011), Best Friends, Occasional Enemies (2011), Come Home(2012), Meet Me at Emotional Baggage Claim (2012), Don't Go (2013), Accused (2013), and Keep Quiet(2014).

Lisa has also joined the faculty as a visiting professor at The University of Pennsylvania Law School to teach a course she created entitled "Justice and Fiction."

Additional Short Publications

Murder is my Racquet, Mysterious Press (June, 2005)

A Century of Great Suspense Stories, Berkley Prime Crime (2001).

Naked Came the Phoenix, St. Martin's Press, a mystery anthology to support Breast Cancer Awareness (2001)

Legal Briefs, Ballantine Books, a legal anthology to support The Nature Conservancy (1998)

"Civil Rights Attorneys' Fees in Cases Resolved on State Pendent and Federal Statutory Grounds," 130 U.Pa.L.Rev. 488 (1981)

In the Shadow of The Master, (2008); Lisa wrote a chapter of this anthology tribute to Edgar Allan Poe, proceeds to benefit the Mystery Writers of America

The Chopin Manuscript (Winner, Audiobook of the Year); Lisa wrote a chapter of this serial novel, proceeds to benefit the International Thriller Writers Association

The Copper Bracelet (forthcoming 2009), Lisa wrote a chapter of this serial novel, proceeds to benefit the International Thriller Writers Association

Film

All nine Rosato and Associates books have been purchased by Fox TV Studio for development into a TV series. 

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Where did the idea for Keep Quiet        come from?

The idea for this novel was a classic what-if, which occurred to me as I was driving down a street similar to the one in the book, which is near my house. Every time I round the curve of this particular street, which has a dangerous blind curve, I think, what if somebody was here and I hit them? What if my kid were driving and my kid hit them? What would I do? What should I do? What I love about this novel is that it concerns a decision that a parent could make at any time, which raises a predicament that they never would have anticipated.

There is a big theme of choices throughout the book, why did you feel it was important to choose to take on such a moral topic of right & wrong?

I love to write about choices, because I feel that every day life contains so many of them, which turned out to be no-win. This novel’s a perfect example of that, because Jake has to make an emergency decision and he is damned if he doing damned if he doesn't.  The choice he makes can be looked at in so many ways, from a moral, legal, or ethical point of view, and that's what makes this book and so many of my standalones perfect for book clubs, because those are the choices and topics that engender the most discussion and there are no right answers.

Which character do you relate to the most in this book? Why?

I relate to all of the characters, and I think every novelist has to be able to channel each of the characters to make their position believable. That is particularly true in this novel, because Jake's position is diametrically opposed to his wife's position. The son has a different perspective, as well. This novel is really the anatomy of a decision and its aftereffects, in addition to being a family story and a crime thriller.

Were there aspects of the story that were inspired by real news stories or personal stories?

Except for the experience above, no. I never base any of my novels on news stories were actual facts, because I think that is so derivative, and like to be original.

Do you have any special rituals or traditions when you begin writing a new novel?

I have tons of rituals most of which unfortunately concern food, which is why am on a perpetual diet areas I'm always nibbling on something while I write, when there is something supposedly good for me like pistachios and almonds, where the stuff I really love, like M&Ms.  I must have Dunkin' Donuts coffee every day, extra large, and I keep the TV on all day in my office, so I have a steady stream of Hoda & Kathy Lee, the View, the Chew, Dr. Oz, Queen Latifah, and my favorite of all time, Dr. Phil.

As far as writing rituals per se, I write 2000 words a day, and I think this is really important to stick to. I like it because it gives me a goal every day, but the best thing about it is that also gives me a limit. When I hit 2000 words I get to stop working, ride a pony, or walk the dogs. Writers, like everybody else, need a way to turn work off and for some reason, I need help to give myself permission to do that, so the word count really works. I am writing two novels in year, and the 3rd book every year, which is a memoir I write with my daughter Francesa Serritella, and I have to be very disciplined to keep up that pace. But it's important to say that I don't regard this as a bad thing, or onerous in the least. On the contrary, I'm living my life’s dream. I've been writing whatever stories both fictional and nonfiction, I want to tell for the past 20 some years, and all of them are bestsellers. How lucky am I?

What advice do you have for other writers?

I have a lot of advice for writers, like any blowhard, and much of it is on my website in little videos that I made. But the bottom line is that they should just do it. I stole that from Nike and it's really true. I find that there is a behavioral way to finish a novel and that begins with routine, a word count, and a set time that you work. Even if you still work a day job, as I did for several years when I was 1st published, a new writer needs to set time aside each day to write, even if it's only 15 min.

But my real advice is softer and gentler, and it has to do with not getting in your way own way. I would tell new writers to just give it a shot and not doubt themselves, particularly women.  There are no right answers in writing, as in life, and you really just have to give it a go and keep going, and not stop until you finish the novel and they publish it. Take time to nurture yourself and your dreams. I believe they really can come true, because that is the story of my life.

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