Look Again, a stand-alone novel by Lisa Scottoline (rhymes with fettuccine), is a departure for this prolific New York Times bestseller. She’s built a formidable career penning legal dramas, notably the Rosato & Associates series.

But in Look Again, the protagonist is not an attorney but an ordinary working mom, Ellen Gleeson, who balances her dual roles as a feature reporter and single-mother. Two years before, Ellen embraced single parenthood willingly when, in the course of doing a feature story about NICU nurses, she fell in love with a sick baby boy abandoned by his parents. After adopting him and naming him Will, she brought him home, where life continued happily – until a Have-you-seen-this-child postcard catches Ellen eye. The featured child looks exactly like Will, and though she tries to banish questions about her son’s identity, her reporter’s curiosity won’t let her. Not even when the answers risk everything she holds dear.

From this novel’s first line, I knew I was onto something good. Its opening pages hooked me, its concluding ones satisfied, and everything in between captured my complete attention: the taut pacing, superlative writing, page-turning twists, and complex, real-life issues. In this novel, Scottoline proves her reputation as a best-seller by writing a novel that rises above the usual mainstream fare. What can I say? I really liked this book. Look Again is a story to be savored.