"I, Lilly Rose Cleary, have a nearly endless capacity for driving myself crazy." And who knows a woman better than herself? Especially a woman like Lilly, a tough-as-nails partner working in a Sarasota, Florida, law firm representing fat-cat physicians in malpractice cases. Lilly is also an obsessive-compulsive health nut who has a bad habit of tripping over dead bodies.
After successfully representing a client in a kayak whiplash case, she becomes a victim herself when she's ambushed at her office door. The following day a client turns up dead from an apparent poisoning. As if that isn't enough to tax Lilly's chronic state of anxiety, her sometime boyfriend -- an attorney in search of the perfect class-action suit -- moves in and promptly begins to drive Lilly nuts.
Amid the chaos, Lilly tries to figure out why she's in this mess. Who would want to attack a tofu-eating attorney? And why? Joined by a colorful cast of characters, including a bridge-diving rottweiler and a lay minister who runs a U-pick opium poppy farm, Lilly has a mostunorthodox -- and hilarious -- way of finding out.

Skinny-dipping: A Novel of Suspense

Literature & Fiction

Matturro, Claire

United States

William Morrow

Lilly Cleary is an attorney for a prestigious Sarasota law firm. But her killer cross-examination technique and take-no-prisoners courtroom attitude haven't stopped the senior partners from dumping one stink bomb after another on her desk—like the kayak-whiplash case she's currently saddled with. And problems at home, specifically with her ex–boyfriend, aren't making her disposition any sunnier.
 But it isn't until she's mugged outside her office that her troubles really begin. And when someone puts a bullet hole in her favorite suit, Lilly realizes things are getting a bit too personal. Perhaps it has something to do with a malpractice lawsuit she's inherited, and her recently and suspiciously deceased doctor client. Lilly's not going to take the insult lying down—even if tracking a killer leads her into dangerously deep water.

Skinny-dipping (Lilly Cleary, 1)

HarperTorch

From the supremely talented author of Skinny-dipping comes a wickedly funny and original suspense novel featuring the smart, sassy Lilly Cleary
It's hard being Lillian Belle Rosemary Cleary.
And if I didn't know that already, Bonita, my legal secretary supreme and secondary therapist, kept reminding me.
"Carita," she said, shaking her head and handing me the pink highlighter at my hyperventilated request so that I could mark another obscure legal point I needed to memorize for my upcoming appellate argument. "You make this so much more difficult than it needs to be."
So spank me, I'm a lawyer and complicating things at a high hourly rate is my specialty.
Sometimes being a lawyer is the pits. At least that's what Lilly Cleary thinks. Lilly is a tough-as-nails attorney (and an obsessive-compulsive health nut) who works for a big firm in Sarasota, Florida. Just when she's got her hands full with a psychic client and a Nazi next-door neighbor who keeps reporting her to the police, an obnoxious partner in her firm is murdered.
When the loyal Bonita surfaces as a key suspect, Lilly jumps knee-deep into the murder investigation and encounters a world-class assortment of weirdo suspects -- all of whom had good reason to want to knock the guy off.

Wildcat Wine: A Novel of Suspense

It's hard being Lillian Belle Rosemary Cleary. And if I didn't know that already, Bonita, my legal secretary supreme and secondary therapist, kept reminding me.
 "Carita," she said, shaking her head and handing me the pink highlighter at my hyperventilated request so that I could mark another obscure legal point I needed to memorize for my upcoming appellate argument. "You make this so much more difficult than it needs to be."
 So spank me, I'm a lawyer and complicating things at a high hourly rate is my specialty.
 Sometimes being a lawyer sucks. That's what Lilly Cleary thinks. Lilly is tough–as–nails attorney who works for a big firm in Sarasota, Florida, and an obsessive–compulsive health nut who has a bad habit of tripping over dead bodies. This time out she's got her hands full with a psychic client and a Nazi–next–door neighbor, when an obnoxious partner in her firm is murdered. Somehow Lilly gets dragged into investigating and encounters a world–class assortment of weirdo suspects, all of whom have good reason to want to knock the guy off.

Wildcat Wine (Lilly Cleary, 2)

Humor & Entertainment

Humor

Eager to bill more hours, ambitious Sarasota lawyer Lilly Cleary tackles a rather odd case defending two guys accused of libeling oranges. They claim pollution turned the fruit toxic—a definite no-no in the Sunshine State, where folks should not be defaming the main money crop. But Lilly's case goes from wacky to deadly when someone blows up one of her clients right in front of her.
Impatient as ever, Lilly sets out to find the killer. But stalking the truth's hard when everyone is lying, including the surviving client, a very fortunate guy who just happens to have a criminal record for making bombs. Lucky for Lilly, she has a handyman who can sniff out a great wine—and an explosive killer.

Bone Valley

Sarasota lawyer Lilly Cleary has had her share of odd cases. She's defended everyone from a pet psychic to an orange libeler, and she's done so with finesse. But it's another situation entirely when she finds out that her phobic and dysfunctional mother has been accused of murder. 
Although she's been estranged from her family for years, Lilly drops everything to return to the little town of Bugfest, Georgia, and steps into more than she bargained for. For one thing, her mother's house is beyond a mess. Important papers are missing, and on the back porch there's a freezer whose contents are very odd. Bugfest itself is under attack by developers who want to turn it into a resort community, a plan that would displace many of the longtime residents. 
And then someone tries to murder Lilly's mother with red ants while she's strangely oversedated in the hospital. 
Lilly has come to the rescue, but can she get to the root of these mysterious doings in time to save her mother's life?

Sweetheart Deal

In her never-ending quest to log more billable hours, Sarasota lawyer Lilly Cleary agrees to defend Angus and Miguel, two fervent environmentalists who are being sued for libeling . . . an orange! In the Sunshine State, people take their citrus seriously—and there are powerful interests that refuse to sit idly by while a pair of whistle-blowing rabble rousers demean Florida's main cash crop.
Though the orange affair isn't quite the juicy case Lilly was looking for, it gets a lot stickier when one of the defendants is blown to bits right in front of her. Not one to take losing a case—or a client—lightly, whole-grain-loving, toxin-phobic Lilly will stop at nothing to get to the truth behind this and assorted other related murders. Which won't be easy, since everyone is lying—including the surviving environmentalist, who just happens to have an advanced degree from the University of the Streets . . . in bomb-making.

AVON.

Sarasota lawyer Lilly Cleary has had her share of odd cases. She's defended everyone from a pet psychic to an orange libeler, and she's done so with finesse. But it's another situation entirely when she finds out that her nutty mother has been accused of murder. Although she's been estranged from her family for years, Lilly drops everything to return to the little town of Bugfest, Georgia, and steps into more than she bargained for. Her mother's house is beyond a mess, and Bugfest itself is under attack by developers who want to turn it into a resort community.
It's enough to keep Lilly busy, at least until someone tries to murder her dear old mom. She's ready to rescue the residents of Bugfest . . . but Lilly may not be in time to save her mother's life.

Sweetheart Deal (Lilly Cleary, 4)

THE LAW CAN'T PROTECT HER-- Young attorney Abby Coleridge opens her home to a troubled law student after a fire destroys the woman’s apartment. When the student disappears, leaving behind a blood-splattered note and a stash of cryptic flash-drives, Abby sets out to find her. Soon, a murderous arsonist threatens them both. Law student Victor Rutledge, a former Navy officer, knows more than he's telling. So much so that his offers to help Abby seem suspicious. When police reveal his scandalous past, Abby doesn’t know who to trust. Trouble, the black cat detective, lands in Tallahassee, Florida in the nick of time. Can he sniff out the salient clues and push Abby and Victor in the right direction and into each other’s arms? Can he save them—and himself—from a fiery end?

Trouble in Tallahassee (Trouble Cat Mysteries)

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Mystery

KaliOka Press

WHEN BEAUTIFUL, JADED ATTORNEY RUBY RANDOLPH IS ARRESTED FOR KILLING HER SNAKE OF A LAWYER HUSBAND, NOBODY BLAMES HER--EXCEPT THE COP WHO LOVES HER. Ruby Randolph is a street-smart lawyer with a dark past who finally makes it big, but she's snared in an abusive marriage. Privilege has its costs. When her husband's shocking murder sets her free, Ruby vows to keep it that way at any cost. But when her former lover shows up at her door as the police detective investigating the case, freedom gets tricky. There's still heat between them, but can she trust him? Hank Rider, an honorable, world-weary cop, knows better than to get emotionally involved in a case. But he can't forget what he once felt for Ruby as they re-ignite their steamy affair. When he discovers evidence against her, the line between duty and passion gets blurred, fast. As the investigation spirals out of his control, Hank struggles through a long list of suspects who wanted Ruby's husband dead--including Ruby. A bankrupted law firm, a busted client-attorney privilege, an ex-con out for revenge, a corpse in an orange grove, and Ruby's own shady history conspire to make everyone a suspect. Excerpt: The face under the sheet didn't look like Gardner. It was flat, pale, weak jawed, with cheeks somehow collapsing into themselves. Vacant. For a moment, Ruby saw the animated Gardner's face flash over this dead thing, obscuring the putty mask on the floor. Gardner's face, lively, alive, talking. Kinetic, ringing with energy even in sleep. That undercurrent of rage humming in him, keeping him on the move. Alive, his eyes had held everyone, engaged them, tricked them, bullied them. But now though his eyes were open, they were empty and blank. His lips were twisted, as if in pain, but even behind the grimace, he looked dull, weak, already cold. Utterly gone. Ruby rocked forwards on her knees, dropping her head till it was nearly resting her on her thighs as she knelt on the floor. ...[S]he put her index finger in the center of his forehead. Then she traced her finger down his nose, down his upper lip, and rested it on his full bottom lip. Inhaling sharply, she said, "Damn you, Gardner. Now what?"

Privilege

Moonshine Cove Publishing, LLC

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

Books by Matturro, Claire

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

Skinny-dipping: A Novel of Suspense

Skinny-dipping (Lilly Cleary, 1)

Wildcat Wine: A Novel of Suspense

Wildcat Wine (Lilly Cleary, 2)

Bone Valley

Sweetheart Deal

Bone Valley

Sweetheart Deal (Lilly Cleary, 4)

Trouble in Tallahassee (Trouble Cat Mysteries)

Privilege