"The Two Lila Bennetts", by Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke

Two Lilas, by two sisters

As a fellow lawyer who lives with regret, I really related to a lot of this book's themes.

Lila is a highly-regarded criminal defense lawyer who bathes in regret every day. There comes a day in her life when the reader is presented with 2 paths for Lila's life: 1) the path toward moral redemption; and 2) the path toward moral punishment. It's a neat idea for a book, and I agree with the other reviewers that said this was reminiscent of a choose-your-own-adventure book. (On that topic, I can't recommend Big Night Out, a REAL choose-your-own-adventure book for adults enough).

Anyway, back to my review.

Lila has the unenviable position of defending the indefensible: murderers and the like. She also has a struggling marriage and a wandering eye. Henceforth, we have Lila, the morally compromised lawyer who can barely stomach the sight of herself anymore.

Here's what I didn't think worked in the book: 1) The reader is supposed to assume that Lila is less than ethical as a lawyer, YET, the reader is constantly reminded that Lila would never represent a guilty person if she knew them to be guilty. So, which is it, because the two are mutually exclusive. If you would never represent a guilty person, you're going above and beyond the ethical requirements of the profession. She doesn't sound that bad to me.

2) The big decision Lila makes with her career, that she claims will cost her her bar license is in fact an ethical, and REQUIRED course of action for all lawyers. We have a duty to turn over our discovery materials to the other side. This plot point didn't further the underlying theme of the book. As a lawyer, I cringed at that part. It's not factually or procedurally accurate.

3) What led to the two paths doesn't exactly make sense. The same mistakes preceded each path. Lila's actions weren't drastically different in each scenario. I get the subtle nuances of each scenario, but for me, it wasn't quite enough to explain the different turns her life took. Furthermore, the paths weren't all that different when you actually think about it. No spoilers here, but I will say that fate is fate for Lila.

A lot worked in this book, so I still give it 4 stars. But I think some more careful editing of the actual scenarios would have done this book justice. If it's made it into a movie or mini-series, these things need to be altered.

Fun news: this book is available on Kindle Unlimited!