A Hard Bargain: A Laura Di Palma Mystery

Laura DiPalma #3

by Lia Matera

Laura Di Palma becomes involved in a suspicious suicide case and grows intrigued by the dead woman's past and by her charismatic husband. 20,000 first printing. National ad/promo. Tour.

Genres: Mystery

192 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1992

About the author

Lia Matera is a graduate of Hastings College of the Law, where she was editor in chief of the Constitutional Law Quarterly. She was also a Teaching Fellow at Stanford Law School before becoming a full-time writer of legal mysteries. Prior Convictions and A Radical Departure were nominated for Edgar Allan Poe awards. The Good Fight and Where Lawyers Fear to Tread were nominated for Anthony and Macavity Awards. She has written nine novels, including the critically acclaimed Face Value. Matera lives in Santa Cruz, California.

Reviews

[Liedzeit Liedzeit · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rechtsanwältin Laura Di Palmer klärt den Fall. Nicht besonders spannend, am interessantesten noch Beziehung zu Freund und Verdächtigen.

[Avid Series Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

A Hard Bargain by Lia Matera is book 3 of the Laura DiPalma mystery series, set in early 1990s Northern California. Laura was fired from her high-powered attorney job at a prestigious San Francisco firm. In reaction, she fled her glittering over-achiever life to live in a small town with her cousin and lover Hal DiPalma. Her days are filled with hiking and appreciating nature's beauty. When Sandy Arklett arrives, asking for help on a case, it's obvious he misses her and wants her back in his life. He's an investigator for the SF firm, also her former lover and best friend. The case concerns the apparent suicide of Karen McGuin, a woman Hal knew. Karen's taped suicide message disturbingly relates how her husband's actions facilitated her death. Karen's family, clients of the SF firm, want Sandy to investigate the circumstances. Sandy, Hal and Laura meet Ted McGuin, a strikingly handsome man. He is quite hostile to them as representatives of Karen's family. Meeting Karen's family is not as hostile, but an unpleasant experience nonetheless. They apparently have always been biased against Ted based on his mixed race. Meeting Ted's family is no picnic either. His father returns after 13 months with a guru. His mother and aunt are artists. They live pretty much hand-to-mouth, proud of their artistic talents and contemptuous of those who work for a living. Clearly it must have been difficult for Karen and Ted to be a couple, with those widely differing families. Sandy and Laura continue investigating, with Hal dropping out due to jealousy over Sandy and Laura's teamwork (Hal is difficult emotionally; Laura thinks he must be understood and given lots of leeway; Sandy thinks he needs to get over it). The plot thickens when multiple attempts are made on Ted's life. As Laura learns more about Ted, she is attracted to him. A sad tale of mental illness in many of the secondary characters; all of whom are quite unlikable. Laura herself is not thinking clearly, as Sandy tries to point out. Hope she straightens herself out in the next book, Face Value.

[Joan Eurell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lia Materia is a good writer, legal murder mysteris. This book is different, more interior, and deals with more psychological drama.