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Allison Leotta

Goodreads Author

Born

Detroit, Michigan

Website

http://www.allisonleotta.com

Twitter

AllisonLeotta

Genre

Mystery & Thrillers, Romance

Member Since

January 2008

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/allisonleotta

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For twelve years, I was a federal prosecutor in Washington, DC, where I specialized in prosecuting sex crimes, domestic violence, and crimes against children.

I started writing because I saw heartbreaking tragedies, acts of shocking evil, and vulnerable victims every day - but also moments of real heroism, true love, and healing. Given the stories I witnessed, the rich cast of characters I worked with, and my lifelong love of fiction, I had to write a book.

I wanted to create a story that would both entertain and teach about the way the criminal justice system works—and doesn’t work. I focused on a nightmare shared by domestic-violence prosecutors: losing a case and setting free an abuser who eventually kills his victim. I wanted to explore For twelve years, I was a federal prosecutor in Washington, DC, where I specialized in prosecuting sex crimes, domestic violence, and crimes against children.

I started writing because I saw heartbreaking tragedies, acts of shocking evil, and vulnerable victims every day - but also moments of real heroism, true love, and healing. Given the stories I witnessed, the rich cast of characters I worked with, and my lifelong love of fiction, I had to write a book.

I wanted to create a story that would both entertain and teach about the way the criminal justice system works—and doesn’t work. I focused on a nightmare shared by domestic-violence prosecutors: losing a case and setting free an abuser who eventually kills his victim. I wanted to explore why so many women stay with boyfriends who hurt them. And I wanted to create a strong, smart female prosecutor who would empathize with her witnesses because she shared some of their experiences – but whose romantic life would suffer from those same experiences.

Law of Attraction was written in the spaces of my life between prosecuting and mommying. I started writing while I was pregnant with my first son. I would wake up at 5:00 a.m. and write for a couple of hours before heading to work. I wrote at night and on weekends. After my son was born, I wrote during his naps and after bedtime. Now, the sound of a softly snoring baby triggers a Pavlovian response in me to start typing.

In 2010, Simon & Schuster published LAW OF ATTRACTION. The Washington Post called it “a racy legal thriller, taking on a still-taboo subject.” Suspense Magazine named it one of the best books of the year, and Library Journal gave it a starred review, calling it "riveting."

The sequel, DISCRETION, will be published this July, and is available for pre-order.

I also blog about what TV crime shows get right and wrong, from my perspective as a real sex-crimes prosecutor. The ABA named my blog, the Prime-Time Crime Review, one of the best legal blogs in America.

I went to Michigan State University and Harvard Law School. Now I live in Maryland with my two sons and my husband, Michael. ...more

210 posts
Allison Leotta's Blog

The Myth of He-Said/She-Said

This essay originally appeared in TIME Magazine.

Americans have been told a dangerous myth. It is an old but enduring one, which gives its beneficiaries unwarranted power — and in many instances, is demonstrably false. The myth is that allegations of rape and sexual assault are often simply a matter of “he said, she said”; that when a woman accuses a man of a sexual assault and the man denies i

Combine Editions
Allison Leotta’s books

Average rating: 3.9 · 9,654 ratings · 1,148 reviews · 10 distinct works • Similar authors

	Law of Attraction (Anna Curtis, #1) 3.74 avg rating — 2,322 ratings — published 2010 — 36 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Last Good Girl (Anna Curtis, #5) 3.96 avg rating — 2,140 ratings — published 2016 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Good Killing (Anna Curtis, #4) 4.03 avg rating — 2,062 ratings — published 2015 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Discretion (Anna Curtis, #2) 3.90 avg rating — 1,479 ratings — published 2012 — 19 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Speak of the Devil (Anna Curtis, #3) 3.96 avg rating — 1,362 ratings — published 2013 — 22 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ten Rules for a Call Girl (Anna Curtis, #1.5) 3.55 avg rating — 283 ratings — published 2012 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Suspense Magazine, September 2010 by D.P. Lyle, Shane Gericke, Alan Orloff (Goodreads Author) 4.75 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2010 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Suspense Magazine July 2012 by Starr Gardinier Reina, Jon Land, Mark Billingham 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2012 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Good Killing: A Novel (Anna Curtis Series) by Allison Leotta (2015-05-12) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Last Good Girl Volume 5: A Novel by Allison Leotta (Goodreads Author), Tavia Gilbert (Goodreads Author) (Narrator) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Series by Allison Leotta

Anna Curtis (5 books)
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Allison Leotta (Goodreads Author)

3.90 avg rating — 9,648 ratings

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Allison Leotta is now friends with Andrew
Sep 26, 2025 01:45PM · like

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Quotes by Allison Leotta (?)

“...the unmistakable smell of poverty, a mixture of cigarette smoke, weed, stale sweat, and fried food.”
― Allison Leotta, Discretion

2 likes

“Plan all you want, it is a very different thing to actually kill a person than to fantasize about it. In your fantasy, you have superhuman strength. Or your action takes no strength at all. You just do it, your arms gliding effortlessly through the weightlessness of your dream world. In reality, you have to plunge a knife or pull a trigger. You have to look into the eyes of an actual person. You see their humanity. You have to push past the respect for life that has been drilled into you since before you could talk.
I’m not saying it’s impossible. It happens every day. But for normal people who have lived their whole lives as law-abiding citizens, trying to be polite and well-mannered, respectful of their elders and kind to animals, good listeners and good employees; for people who use their turn signals, and hurry to get to work on. time, leave tips for their letter carrier, and put dollars in the Salvation Army’s red bucket, hoping to make the world a little better— killing another human being is not an easy thing.”
― Allison Leotta, A Good Killing

tags: female-empowerment, murder, revenge

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“They kissed for a few moments longer than people should kiss in the middle of a zoo.”
― Allison Leotta, Law of Attraction

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See all Allison Leotta's quotes »

Polls

Which short series (3-6 books) would you like to read for the first part of 2014? (We will have a second short series group read later on in the year!)

Smokey Barrett by Cody McFadyen {4 Books}

7 votes, 25.0%

Sophie Anderson by P.D. Martin {6 Books}

6 votes, 21.4%

Theresa MacLean by Lisa Black {6 Books}

3 votes, 10.7%

Graveyard Queen by Amanda Stevens {4 Books)

3 votes, 10.7%

Dead Series by Mariah Stewart {4 Books}

3 votes, 10.7%

Evan Delaney by Meg Gardiner {5 Books}

2 votes, 7.1%

Kenzie & Gennaro by Dennis Lehane {5 Books}

2 votes, 7.1%

Jo Beckett by Meg Gardiner {4 Books}

1 vote, 3.6%

Anna Curtis by Allison Leotta {4 Books}

1 vote, 3.6%

October Daye by Seanan McGuire {7 Books}

0 votes, 0.0%

An Underwater Investigation by Kathy Brandt {4 Books}

0 votes, 0.0%

28 total votes

6 comments

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