From Publishers Weekly
Lilly Rose Cleary, a sassy, headstrong junior partner at a Sarasota law firm, finds herself in a real pickle in this witty, intelligent novel of suspense. Lilly is in the midst of working her usual malpractice cases—here, defending a client involved in a kayak whiplash accident—when, on her way back to the office after a win at trial, someone puts her in a choke hold. The next day, a doctor facing a malpractice suit comes to her for advice—and is dead by nightfall. The "veggie baby case" a senior partner dumps in her lap starts to get some mysterious attention, and pretty soon Lilly's getting shot at. It's chick lit meets Perry Mason in this lively novel full of quirky characters and a dash of romance (Lilly's got a little crush on a detective—and then there's that attorney, Newly, she used to go with...). Lilly's voice is irrepressible ("Newly was sitting on the hood of his big gold Lexus, a twin of my colleague Ashton's sedan. Must be an amendment I had missed to the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar that now required attorneys to drive imported automobiles costing at a minimum twice the average annual income for the state"), but it's not just the smart narration and good dialogue—Matturro, a former appellate attorney, has the legal stuff down pat. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Detroit Free Press
"A frothy confection that moves at the speed of sound, much like the main character."
Poisoned Pen
"A striking voice, a sharp portrait of Sarasota, Florida, and its region, and a legal puzzler."
Midwest Book Review
"A fun legal thriller that stars a fabulous entry in the wacky Florida mystery world."
Book Description
"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 FROM THE PUBLISHER
"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 most unorthodox—and hilarious—way of finding out.
About the Author:
The winner of the first prize in the SEAK Inc. fiction contest, Claire Hamner Matturro is a former appellate attorney and former member of the writing faculty at Florida State University College of Law. She divides her time between Florida and Georgia.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Lilly Rose Cleary, a sassy, headstrong junior partner at a Sarasota law firm, finds herself in a real pickle in this witty, intelligent novel of suspense. Lilly is in the midst of working her usual malpractice cases-here, defending a client involved in a kayak whiplash accident-when, on her way back to the office after a win at trial, someone puts her in a choke hold. The next day, a doctor facing a malpractice suit comes to her for advice-and is dead by nightfall. The "veggie baby case" a senior partner dumps in her lap starts to get some mysterious attention, and pretty soon Lilly's getting shot at. It's chick lit meets Perry Mason in this lively novel full of quirky characters and a dash of romance (Lilly's got a little crush on a detective-and then there's that attorney, Newly, she used to go with...). Lilly's voice is irrepressible ("Newly was sitting on the hood of his big gold Lexus, a twin of my colleague Ashton's sedan. Must be an amendment I had missed to the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar that now required attorneys to drive imported automobiles costing at a minimum twice the average annual income for the state"), but it's not just the smart narration and good dialogue-Matturro, a former appellate attorney, has the legal stuff down pat. (Oct. 12) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
A bright, brassy, sexy, sassy heroine enters the lists of legal fiction with a joyful noise. Here's Lilly Rose Cleary in defense of a client being sued for kayak whiplash. Lilly Rose is brilliant, Lilly Rose is triumphant, but not for long. Lilly Rose's triumphs lack staying power. "Practicing law," says the recently anointed junior partner in the Sarasota firm of Smith, O'Leary, and Stanley, "is like juggling a dozen raw eggs, and sooner or later every lawyer drops one." When Lilly Rose-six feet tall but cute as a button when the mood strikes her-drops hers, it makes such a mess that suddenly an angry someone is pumping bullets into her 1987 Honda, from which she bails to the detriment of her favorite blue seersucker. Was the attack aimed at her, or at Dr. Winston Calvin Randolph, her detestable new client, whose behavior in a hurt baby case appears depressingly culpable? That's one puzzle. Almost as pressing is the conundrum her relationships have twisted themselves into. Should she favor the lawyer hunk or the detective hunk, or (ahem) both? It's complicated, but then that's life for Lilly Rose, who freely acknowledges that she has "a nearly endless capacity for driving those around me crazy." Funny, sharp, savvy both as to the courtroom and the human condition. Though her plotting could stand a bit more meat, this new kid on Grisham's block is one to watch.
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