Look Again – Lisa Scottoline

When reporter Ellen Gleeson encountered an abandoned baby while writing a story of neonatal intensive care she fell in love with the infant recovering from open-heart surgery. Now three, Will is fully recovered and legally hers. With the help of babysitter Connie, Will and Ellen have a harmonious and smoothly-running life, and the biggest clouds on the horizon are lay-offs at work and her forbidden attraction to her boss, Marcelo.
That is until Ellen comes home to a flier about a missing child – age progressed, Timothy Braverman looks enough like Will to be his twin. Though she first puts the similarity out of her mind, Ellen’s instincts won’t let her leave it alone, and she finds herself investigating the missing child’s story and his grieving parents, even to the extent of abandoning her current assignment, a dangerous move with more lay-offs scheduled. The more Ellen discovers the more concerned she becomes that Will and Timothy are the same child, though she can’t work out how. If she’s right then her adoption was fraudulent and her beloved son isn’t hers after all. Torn between truth and love, Ellen has some heart-breakingly difficult decisions to make.
Before I move on to content I have to mention the cover. At first glance it looks as though someone spilled oil over half the hardback cover – the title’s blurred and the red background is stained darker. But when you Look Again the silhouette of an adult looking down at a child looking back up becomes visible – nice tie in!
Most of Scottoline’s novels revolve around a group of women lawyers, so this is something of a departure in that sense. The hallmarks of her other books are present her, though, too – the characters are strong, driven and convincing, and the plot is fresh and gripping.
In other hands this would have been a compelling literary novel – I can see Jodi Picoult, for example, focusing on the competing needs, rights and best interests of the child, his natural parents and his adoptive family. Scottoline’s treatment is compelling in a different way – third person but purely from Ellen’s perspective, she combines the moral aspects with a mystery and a hefty dollop of action, and raises new dilemmas. There are several twists, plenty of suspense, and a little romance to finish it off. This was a satisfying and rewarding experience and I look forward to Scottoline’s next foray. - Alex