Lisa Scottoline - Damaged

Patrick is being brought up by his grandfather Edward. The boy is polite and Edward is rather old fashioned and this can be seen in the boys behaviour. On top of all this the boy is shy and dyslexic and the school system has allowed him to fall by the wayside, and there is no attention being paid to the fact that he cannot read at all and as a result is classified dumb by his classmates and worst of all by the superiors in the school.

On top of it all it now appears that Patrick has an anxiety disorder which results in him vomiting and this has caused distress to both him and to the class mates and even the teacher. On top of that Patrick has been sexually abused and this has only now come to the notice of the lawyer appointed by his grandfather to overlook the case which has been brought against Patrick.

Against overwhelming odds Mary is determined to win a place for Patrick in a better school and at the same time dismiss the case against him. Her opponent lawyer is one who has absolutely no moral scruples and will stoop to the lowest possible tactic to win his case, despite knowing that all what he says is false.

The legal implications and how this case was fought fascinated me. I wonder how true to life the story is and whether there are many Patricks in the system who have no Mary to fight their corner. It is a sad reflection of the times we live in.

As in all Lisa Scottoline's stories, there are unexpected twists, quirky bits and characters which all add dimension to the story.

The story has elements of several genres in it, murder mystery, plus a touch of romance, and of course of much interest to those who like the legal complications of a court room drama.

Sent to me by Netgalley for an unbiased review courtesy of St Martin's Press.