Bone Valley

Lilly Cleary #3

by Claire Matturro

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.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

336 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Claire Hamner Matturro, a former lawyer and college teacher, is the author of four legal mysteries with a sense of humor. Her books are: Skinny-Dipping (2004) (a BookSense pick, Romantic Times’Best First Mystery, and nominated for a Barry Award); Wildcat Wine (2005) (nominated for a Georgia Writer of the Year Award); Bone Valley(2006) and Sweetheart Deal (2007) (winner of Romantic Times’ Toby Bromberg Award for Most Humorous Mystery), all published by William Morrow. After her romantic suspense legal thriller, Trouble in Tallahassee (KaliOka Press 2017), Claire turned more serious with her newer book, The Smuggler's Daughter (Red Adept Publishing July 2020) and she returns to the Gulf Coast of Florida that she knows so well in a gripping mystery.

And look for her newest book Wayward Girls, her joint-writing adventure with Penny Koepsel, which was released in August of this year.

Claire remains active in writers’ groups, teaches creative writing in adult education, and write reviews for Southern Literary Review.

Visit her at www.clairematturro.com

Reviews

[Craig Pittman · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you live in Florida, you should love this series -- especially this entry, which features everything from a libel case involving oranges to a wounded panther soothed by hamburger meat.

Claire Matturro kicks this book off with a visit to Lilly Cleary's Sarasota law office from two sets of clients. One is her elderly yard man, Jimmy, who's being sued for rear-ending another car when a bicycling woman in a bikini took off her top because her parrot dropped a lizard down her decolletage. The other: a par of pro-environment guys being sued for defamation of a citrus grove.

Before long they're joined by a Manatee County sheriff's detective investigating the death of a phosphate mine owner who was drowned in the pond of toxic waste atop a phosphogypsum stack. Later there will be a second murder which involves a boat blowing up.

The plot is pretty tangled and at one point I lost track of who was doing what, and how Jimmy wound up with a video camera. But that winds up becoming important to the climax, which occurs during a roaring Florida rainstorm. It's written so well, when I finished I was sure my shirt had gotten damp. Plus, I'll never be able to look at a carrot again without judging its use as a weapon.

[Tomi · Rating 2 out of 5]

The heroine was a little too "cutesy" for me, and I don't like being preached to about environmentalism.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got Bone Valley at my library's book sale last fall for a great bargain. Although it is labeled "a novel of suspense," I didn't think it got very suspenseful until the last fifty or so pages. While it may not have kept me on the edge of my seat, it was still a pleasant enough read for me during my commute. Narrated in the first person by a trial lawyer, Bone Valley takes place in Florida among some pretty interesting characters. My favorite was the old man Jimmie, who was homeless, but may or may not have had $250,000 worth of investments. He barged into Lilly (the main character's) home uninvited, he filmed himself in bed with the elderly neighbor, but best of all he was lovable! Jimmie made the story cute and entertaining even when nothing suspenseful was going on.

While I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book, as it is nothing special, I wouldn't advise against not reading it. Meaning, it is a nice, easy read for the subway or bus, but if you are looking for a great work of fiction this is not it. While things to get rather exciting towards the end, I'm not sure if one should take the time to read the entire novel just for those moments. If you've got it, read it, but don't go out of your way to pick up a copy.

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

When attorney Lily Cleary's creepy ex-boyfriend M. David Moody's corpse turns up floating in a Florida toxic waste dump, she becomes the prime suspect.


Third in a series featuring Lily Cleary. Quirky characters provide comic relief from the very serious phosphate damage problem in Florida. Highly recommend.

[Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the main protagonist, Lilly Rose Cleary. Her OCD issues are taken lightly, yet her humor (i.e. the author's) makes up for the poor approach to discussing the disorder. A light and easy breezy read for the summer.

[Grey853 · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I found the other two books by this author humorous, I found this one disappointing. Lilly's sarcasm was way over the top and her dismissive behavior to others was a big turn off.

[Lois Baron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid entry in the series. Environmental stuff.

[Patricia Geller · Rating 2 out of 5]

Going down hill fast to more and more preposterous story.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

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