Pulse: 60-Second Critic: Thriller: Lady Killer

A perfect, cozy three-night read for a chilly winter weekend

Devotees will laud the return of Mary DiNunzio, Scottoline’s lovable Catholic schoolgirl nerd-turned-attorney at Bennie Rosato’s practice (for wayward female lawyers). Now a widow, she defends an old high-school “bad girl” in trouble with the mob, is both loved and hated by her South Philly neighborhood throughout the book, and snags a too-good-to-be-true boyfriend simply by showing up at her parents’ house. With angst and Catholic guilt from the past, pasta and gravy, best friend Judy with the colorful clogs, lots of authentic Philly settings, and one big shocker in the plot, this is a perfect, cozy three-night read for a chilly winter weekend. A