Button Up: A Mata Morrow Mystery

by Lula Flann

'The inexorable pull of gravity beckoned the sedan to the fall line. Tires spun again and again, setting off an automated skid alert that shrilled with an ear-piercing beeeep. Mata had realized a few miles ago, or hours ago now, that putting the pedal to the floor was the last thing they wanted to do. She’d nearly sent them careening off the mountainside some miles back. The dramatic descent would have spiraled them heavenward once their wheels flew from the road.' Mata’s oldest ally, Bax, has fled to Oregon for comfort and counsel. As one half of a well-suited couple suddenly beset by wedded wrongdoing, Bax is ready to kill. Unfortunately, her need to get away from it all has led them to a desolate mountain top in a deadly winter storm. While Bax struggles to come to terms with her hussy of a husband, Mata’s book group parses literary themes of conflicting passions, unexpected deceptions and motives for a hate crime that occurs close to home. Corporate espionage and covert action follow Mata and her friends from Oregon Wine Country to the hills of Catalonia, where the intersection between fashion, fidelity and out-of-bounds fascinations flesh out the backdrop to the latest installment in this clever cozy-noir. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND EXCERPT FROM THE NEXT MATA MORROW NOVEL, BOOTSTRAPPED, INCLUDED INSIDE.

286 pages, Paperback

Published November 22, 2015

About the author

Lula Flann, a devotee of head-turning ensembles and witty women, writes Cozy-Noir from her home in Portland’s Alberta Arts District. A mad sketcher of clothing inspirations since receiving a collection of paper doll templates, Lula is drawn to patterns that make for psychologically colorful characters as well as clever wardrobe creations.

Lula depends on her well-read book group to steer her to authors more contemporary than Eliot and James, Oregon’s incomparable landscape to spur her out biking and backpacking and upon her fascinating wife to be ever open to the delights of living with an Enneagram 9.

Lula is the author of the Mata Morrow mystery series, set in Oregon.