Irreconcilable Differences

A collection of twenty original crime stories includes contributions by Edna Buchanan, Jeffrey Deaver, Jeremiah Healy, Laurie R. King, Margaret Maron, Joyce Carol Oates, and many others.

Literature & Fiction

Greenberg, Martin

Matera, Lia

United States

Harpercollins

A collection of twenty original crime stories includes contributions by Edna Buchanan, Jeffery Deaver, Jeremiah Healy, Laurie R. King, Margaret Maron, Joyce Carol Oates, Bill Pronzini, and many others. Reprint.

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Mystery

AVON.

Attorney Laura Di Palma is in complete control of her high-profile life -- she's about to become a partner, signed lithographs decorate the walls of her spectacular San Francisco apartment, and her Mercedes is paid for. But control turns to utter chaos when her sick lover, Hal, disappears from his hospital bed without a word. Then Sandy, the detective she works with (and her former lover), begins pressuring her for a second chance. At work, she has a radical client who's accused of murdering an FBI agent. It's too much to handle, but Laura has no choice. Frantically searching for Hal, Laura also attempts to build her client's controversial defense. Meanwhile, she must keep Sandy at a distance even as she needs his help. When a second man is murdered, Laura's carefully tailored life begins to unravel before her eyes . . . . "Ms. Matera proves a tough-minded writer." -- The New York Times Book Review "Extraordinary, thought-provoking." -- Baltimore Sun

The Good Fight: A Laura Di Palma Mystery

Fawcett

Where Lawyers Fear to Tread

Overworked, overcaffeinated, and as cranky as a sequestered jury, Willa Jansson has a law review to get out. As second in command to the brilliant Susan Green, the ideal law student and perfect editor, Willa's rank jumps up a step when Susan's head is bashed in over a brief at the law review office. Everyone at Malhousie, the small San Francisco law school, is stunned by the crime -- including professors and the staff at the review. And none of them are above suspicion. Willa, now in charge and none too happy about it, launches a private investigation that succeeds not only in compromising her honor, but getting her arrested, as she chases one blind lead after another and comes face-to-face with the banality of evil....

"Has almost everytrhing a good mystery needs...a complex plot, social commentary, loads of atmosphere and a cast of unusual characters...The reader wants to hang out with Jansson and see more of her clear-eyed view of the world." SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS Working for a fat-cat San Francsico law firm, Willa Jansson thought she'd seen everything. Then her boss dies from hemlock poisoning. Things go from awful to outrageous when Willa's rad-lib mother, a former client of the deceased, is suspiciously named in his will to inherit his fantastic home in the hills. By now Willa is frantic to discover what's going on around her. Poking into the recent past and the apolitical present, she fishes out an old boyfriend she'd rather forget, a cop she hates on principle, and a famous law firm that can barely make ends meet. It's a pretty good catch for a first-year associate--considering that, in the meantime, someone is trying to kill her....

A Radical Departure

Ballantine Books

Laura Di Palma finally has it made. Eleven years ago, she ran from a broken marriage and her small northern California town in search of fame and fortune. As the smartest and most controversial young defense attorney in her high-class law firm, she found it. But she's got an old grudge back home that she can't let die. So she's moving back to ruin her ex-husband's career by taking the job he wants as public defender -- just long enough to make him squirm. Once she evens up the score, Laura can go back to her big city life. Unfortunately, a few things get in the way, including two murders, a crazed killer on the loose, old wounds that haven't healed, and a forgotten feeling that Laura is almost afraid to name . . . . "Laura Di Palma is one of the most compelling characters in recent mystery fiction." -- The Baltimore Sun

The Smart Money

Willa Jansson has always thought of herself as a right-thinking left-wing lawyer. But when her radical San Francisco law firm closes after the murder of its chief rabble-rouser, she does the next worst thing and takes a job as a high-priced corporate attorney. Willa has misgivings almost immediately, as she realizes all is not calm behind the firm's stately oak doors. After all, she's been around danger before, and she, can smell murder in the air. Sure enough, two partners are killed. Unfortunately, the popular misconception is that the storm is blowing in from her direction. Hassled now by the police, her parents, and office politics of the murdering kind, Willa is forced to play hardball with the big boys, before the third strike is called on her....

Hidden Agenda (Willa Jansson, Book 3)

Willa Jansson is a cynical ex-radical who worked in an L.A. corporate law firm for a year and has the scars to prove it. Back home in San Francisco, her still activist parents ask her to do a favor for an ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend. And she quickly becomes embroiled in a case of conflicting interests, slow-dying passions, and political grudges that can kill....

Prior Convictions (Willa Jansson, Book 4)

Escaping the world of law, burnt-out attorney Laura Di Palma takes up residence in the country, but finds her rest ruined by the arrival of her former lover, detective Sandy Arkelett. Reprint.

Hard Bargain

Bantam]

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Books by Matera, Lia

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Matera, Lia. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Irreconcilable Differences

Irreconcilable Differences

The Good Fight: A Laura Di Palma Mystery

Where Lawyers Fear to Tread

A Radical Departure

The Smart Money

Hidden Agenda (Willa Jansson, Book 3)

Prior Convictions (Willa Jansson, Book 4)

Hard Bargain

Where Lawyers Fear to Tread