KEEP QUIET by Lisa Scottoline

Finished We 4/11/18

I picked this hardback up at The Prairie Archives on Th 3/15/18 for two bucks.

An easy and enjoyable read and this author would be great for the book club. I'm sure that many of the members are familiar with Scottoline.

Set in the Delaware Valley- probably near Philadelphia, PA; Upscale suburban community.

Ryan Buckman- son, high school junior, basketball star, on the fast-track to a bright collegiate future.

Pam Buckman- mother and local judge; she's up for a federal appointment. An interesting section of the novel dealt with the extensive background checks that are involved when one is selected to be a federal judge. Not only her, but friends, family, and neighbors. You must have a spotless record. Clearly it's easier to become president.

Jake Buckman- father and CEO of Gardenia Investments. Before he started his own company he had been out of work for many months and this had a detrimental effect on his entire outlook. Instead of 'captain of the ship', he saw himself more of a 'stowaway'. The experience was a confidence killer.

The setup to the novel is that Jake has been spending too much time getting his new company going, and he's not very involved in Ryan's life. Pam suggests that he pick up Ryan from the movies and share some 'bonding time'. On that evening Jake lets Ryan drive part of the way home even though he knows that his son's permit is no good after 11pm. On a desolate road they hit and kill a teenage jogger. This girl goes to Ryan's high school. With just a moment to decide what to do, Jake decides that since the girl is dead, it would be foolish to toss away his son's bright future. They decide to clam up. "I've got this".

The irony is that their bonding time becomes a cover-up. "It's not the crime, it's the cover-up that gets ya every time".

Checking the Pennsylvania law Jake learns that they both could face jail time.

Pam is having an affair and it's later revealed that this man actually killed the girl and placed her on the road.  And, he also killed the man that was blackmailing the Buckman's.

This was  a real page-turner and I plan to get more by this author.
Scottoline is a native of the Philadelphia area and writes a column with her adult daughter.