Preview

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Save Me

By: Lisa Scottoline
Narrated by: Cynthia Nixon
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.24

Buy for $20.24

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

From the New York Times bestselling author of Think Twice and Look Again comes an emotionally powerful novel about a split-second choice, agonizing consequences, and the need for justice

Rose McKenna volunteers as a lunch mom in her daughter Melly's school in order to keep an eye on Amanda, a mean girl who's been bullying her daughter. Her fears come true when the bullying begins, sending Melly to the bathroom in tears. Just as Rose is about to follow after her daughter, a massive explosion goes off in the kitchen, sending the room into chaos. Rose finds herself faced with the horrifying decision of whether or not to run to the bathroom to rescue her daughter or usher Amanda to safety. She believes she has accomplished both, only to discover that Amanda, for an unknown reason, ran back into the school once out of Rose's sight. In an instance, Rose goes from hero to villain as the small community blames Amanda's injuries on her. In the days that follow, Rose's life starts to fall to pieces, Amanda's mother decides to sue, her marriage is put to the test, and worse, when her daughter returns to school, the bullying only intensifies. Rose must take matters into her own hands and get down to the truth of what really happened that fateful day in order to save herself, her marriage and her family.

In the way that Look Again had listeners questioning everything they thought they knew about family, Save Me will have listeners wondering just how far they would go to save the ones they love. Lisa Scottoline is writing about real issues that resonate with real women, and the results are emotional, heartbreaking and honest.

©2011 Lisa Scottoline (P)2011 Macmillan Audio
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Editorial reviews

In Save Me, Lisa Scottoline opens with a typical suburban scene Friday lunch in the school cafeteria that goes tragically awry, leaving mom Rose McKenna with an impossible choice: To save the life of her own daughter, Melly, or to rescue the girls who have been bullying Melly. Though the plot gets a little tangled and the prose sometimes crawls, narrator Cynthia Nixon best known as Miranda on Sex and the City keeps the story moving and the widespread cast of characters interesting.

When an explosion in the cafeteria kitchen sets the school on fire, Rose attempts to save both the bullies and her daughter and she thinks she’s succeeded, until one of the girls is found in the school, near death, and ends up in the ICU. The other mothers band together to harass the McKennas and a tenacious reporter starts digging into Rose’s background both of which throw Rose’s carefully-constructed suburban life into shambles and inspire her to track down the cause of the explosion.

The story starts out strong, raising smart, thought-provoking questions about how far parents should go to protect other children, the safety procedures in place at schools, and the powerful effect bullies of all ages can have on a family. But as it progresses, plotlines about corporate espionage, lifelong secrets, scandalous affairs, murder, and nut allergies cloud the original focus. Even as the story begins to drag, though, Nixon brings it to life. Her gentle narration draws listeners into the tangled plots, and her range of voices which include a third-grader suffering from smoke inhalation, a fast-talking young teacher, a perky reporter, drawling construction workers, company thugs, outraged mothers, and even a gurgling baby is impressive. She navigates the turning points in Rose’s life with genuine emotion, and leaves listeners with a powerful end product. Blythe Copeland

Critic reviews

“Are you a good mother if you save your child from disaster? What if it means sacrificing another's child? In SAVE ME, Lisa Scottoline walks readers into this charged moral dilemma and then takes them on an intense, breathless ride. You won't be able to put this one down.” —Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of SING YOU HOME and HOUSE RULES

“Heart-pounding! Scottoline provides the perfect combination of explosive action, twisting turns, and genuine emotion in this exciting novel of an ordinary mom going to extraordinary lengths for her daughter. Open up SAVE ME, and save yourself with a great book.” —Lisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling author of Love You More

“At the quick pace of a thriller, Scottoline masterfully fits every detail into a tight plot chock-full of real characters, real issues, and real thrills. A story anchored by the impenetrable power of a mother's love, it begs the question, just how far would you go to save your child?” —Booklist

What listeners say about Save Me

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    243
  • 4 Stars
    164
  • 3 Stars
    116
  • 2 Stars
    33
  • 1 Stars
    24
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    206
  • 4 Stars
    98
  • 3 Stars
    50
  • 2 Stars
    17
  • 1 Stars
    13
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    193
  • 4 Stars
    91
  • 3 Stars
    67
  • 2 Stars
    23
  • 1 Stars
    14

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Not the usual for this author

A thriller is usually a little unrealistic, but this book showed new levels for a totally unbelievable plot. She took some social agendas and created a story to speak against everything from bullying to talking on cell phones while driving. I didn't disagree with any of the positions she took, but it just felt contrived. I had no problem with the narrator, but what was with the child's voice?? Horrible. At first I thought she was supposed to be "hoarse" from the smoke, but if so, she had permanent damage. But for me, it was just a terrible plot that lowered my rating. If it were the first book I'd read by this author, it would also be my last. But knowing otherwise, I'll give her another try on the next one.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

The narration...

After reading some other reviews, I understand what they were saying, but I enjoyed the story for thr most part. The voices of the narrator - especially Melly - omgosh, grated on my nerves. Thankfully, she didn't speak a lot! The story, it had a lot of stories inside the main story, so be prepared.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Page Turner the Makes You Examine Your Own Values

What I like about Lisa Scottoline is that she takes a question of relevance to contemporary women, and brings it to life in the pages of a book. You may agree. You may disagree. But you will ask yourself the question.

In this book the question is, "If you were a volunteer at your child's school -- and there were an emergency, would you save the children who have tormented your bullied child -- or would you save your own child -- at their expense?"

I found that question and the way that it gets answered by the protagnoist and the reaction as people judge her choice the most interesting part of this book. The mystery sort of lost its way for me in the end -- but I can forgive that as Ms. Scottoline's books never drag. They are page turners that offer the perfect distraction if you just want to loose yourself in the pages of a book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not what I expected

The storyline itself is a little boring. Melly is a whiny brat and Rose just doesn’t give up.
However, I love the ending, all the digging around was worth it.
I love the detail in the story, the writer did great in detailing every aspect of the story and bringing it to life! Not to mention the narration is great! Cynthia Nixon did a great job!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Lots of twists and turns.

Very long and winded. please use real actors or volunteers for the girls voices and men voices. don't have women reading for men and vice versus. it's just weird.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

How One Determined Woman Can Solve A Murder

Author Lisa Scottolie is one of my favorite authors. She describes in great detail how an ordinary woman and mother of a young girl and of a baby boy identified who started a fire in a school lunch room that killed several employees and injured young students. And also who was behind bilking a peanut manufacturing company of revenues to benefit himself. She actually fights this villain and escapes his clutches. Local police are amazed at all she has done. Her husband, a lawyer, comes to appreciate what an extraordinary woman he has married.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another hit for Ms Scottoline!

I really enjoyed this book! The story was so moving! I was never bored and could not foresee the next turn that the story would take! Also fantastic was Ms. Nixon's narration! I always loved her work but she morphed into the different characters so perfectly and I never even heard Miranda! :-D. I look forward to more from this author!!! Thank you for sharing your gifts, ladies!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

great read!

this was a great book by my favorite author that I would recommend to anyone, but especially for mothers in particular!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Better in parts

This book started off great, dragged a bit in the middle and finished up well. It was an interesting storyline. The main character seemed a little immature and undeveloped for the role that was created in the book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Evangelicals, homosexuality, and in vitro

Wow. Only someone like Jodie Picoult could incorporate all three of these controversial topics into one novel and make it interesting and make you think about both sides. It kept taking different turns, and my interest was held.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!