With her sequence of novels about the Philadelphia law firm headed by defence lawyer Bennie Rosato, Lisa Scottoline has distinguished herself with suspenseful, violent action and sharp, intelligent courtroom scenes. Mistaken Idenitity sets the seal on that reputation. Bennie has always known that there was some mystery about her father--of whom she knows nothing but his name--and her dying mother is unable to tell her anything. That is until she takes the case of her life.
Summoned to prison by a woman on a capital charge of murder, Bennie discovers that she has a twin sister, Alice Connolly. Unless she can outwit a powerful conspiracy among police and prosecution, her sister will be found guilty and executed. What's more, Bennie isn't entirely convinced that she's her sister or that she's innocent of (among other things) murdering her policeman lover. If that isn't enough, killers draw in on both sisters. Scottoline evokes the moral dilemmas of the defence lawyer, the hothouse violence of a women's prison and the intellectual excitement of putting together a defence from scratch. --Roz Kaveney