Customer Reviews

Bone Valley

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4 star:		(3)
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This is the third Lily Rose Cleary mystery by attorney Matturo.

Lily Rose is a health food addict who lives Sarasota, Florida. She is a defense attorney in medical malpractice suits, usually--but her case in this book involves defending two environmentalists who called an orange grove toxic and the oranges poisoned--because residue from phosphate mining had been put on the soil. They are being sued for libel by the orange grove owners!

The complicated story involves a murdered phosphate mine owner (and also one of the owners of the orange grove), his obnoxious wife (who has a new escort very quickly), more angry environmentalists, a very ill saintly woman who cares for sick and damaged wild animals, Lily's handyman, the elderly Jimmie Rodgers and her wild religious brother Delvon.

While Lily works to clear her clients of the orange defamation charge, she gets involved in the battle to stop a new phosphate mine, and almost gets blown up when one of the environmentalists is killed. She seriously starts working with Manatee County Sheriff Josey Farmer to solve the murders, while trying to figure out if her remaining client, the dreamy Miguel, is innocent.

Lily Cleary is a truly distinctive and hilarious character and her legal work fascinating. The issues (phosphate mining and environmental damage in Florida) are serious, and the plot is full of action--bombs, a kidnapping during a ferocious storm, and a panther caged with Lily who is smeared with raw hamburger (a fate almost worse than death for a vegetarian!)

Lily is someone I would like to know. I would compare Matturo to Evanovich and Cruisie.

Armchair Interviews says: Great kudos from this reviewer.

Sarasota, Florida Attorney Lilly Cleary suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder that either drives people crazy except for those who benefit from her hyperactive sex drive or are the clients she defends at an incredible pace. Lilly agrees to legally represent environmental activist Angus John Cartwright, who is being sued by a Sunshine State orange grower for libel. The suit states that Angus John and his partner disparaged oranges with unfound claims of toxicity caused by pollution.

Angus hides from Lilly that his partner is her weird former boyfriend, M. David Moody as she would not have taken on the case. However, not long afterward, M. Donald is found dead in a toxic waste lake in Manatee County. Following that death, Angus dies in an explosion. Lilly thinks she also is on the list of someone who is systematically making their opposition extinct.

In her third zany appearance (see WILDCAT WINE and SKINNY-DIPPING), Claire's energy and enthusiasm provides a humorous counterpoint to a deep whodunit. However, the star of Claire Matturro's latest legal thriller is the geography as the audience obtains a deep frightening look at a global environmental problem as represented by Florida's BONE VALLEY where mounds of phosphogypsum causes harm to people. The story line is action-packed as the case twists from a legal matter to a self preservation scenario. Still with a strong investigation and a wonderful wacky heroine, the environment rules in this eye opening cautionary thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Young and ambitious attorney- Lilly Cleary, takes all possible cases,even the strange ones. One of those cases gets quite complicated when a body of a prominent businessman is found. Lilly is eager to find the killer and takes all possible actions to solve the murder mystery. However, turns out to be more dangerous than she thought it was going to be and Lilly's inevstigation gets her in a lot of trouble. The book is very smoothly written and quite funny at times. The main characters are very convincing and likeable. I could not put the book down until I found out the outcome of Lily's investigation. This was my first book by this author and now, I'm quite eager to read her other books.

Read "Bone Valley" because protagonist Lilly Cleary is a sexy female lawyer with a dry sense of humor. She's easy to like. The novel also boasts a fast-moving plot with plenty of twists. Those things alone make it a great beach read. But if you really appreciate getting a little more from a book, "Bone Valley" delivers. I learned a lot about the destructive phosphorous mining industry in Florida, something that was barely on my radar before, even though I live in the state. Vast quantities of poisonous sludge are held behind weak earthen dams, which are ready to burst and destroy everything in their paths. Real stuff that terrified me! The novel pointed out one more way we are taking our most valuable resource--clean water--for granted.

Also enjoyable is the conflict created by Lilly's two romatic interests, the steady Philip and the enigmatic Miquel. The set-up reminded me of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series in this regard, with the dual love interests: Stephanie's cop friend and her darker lover, Ranger. The humor that spices up the story is another similarity to Evanovich, but Matturro's wit results in a more intelligent and wry protagonist, and Lilly is considerably more competent than Stephanie Plum.

Matturro ranks right up there with Carl Hiaasen and Randy Wayne White in coupling suspense with strong regard for Florida's natural beauty and the forces working to destroy it.

Highly recommended!

Lilly Belle Cleary is intelligent, sassy and breaks and enters! Claire Matturro is one smart writer. I've read all 4 books of Lilly's adventures. You should too!

Hey, maybe because Matturro is writing about my adopted state, but I found all the environmental materials in this book fascinating--but the real joy in this book, like all of Matturro's books--is the humor. This is a funny woman, with a critical eye no question, but she turns her dismay over what is going on in Florida into a funny romp, with these great, lovable characters. There's an animal rehab lady and her stoner boyfriend in this book that will not only make you laugh out loud, but love them. The stoner, who is the main character's brother, actually has a lot of substance to him, and he can be counted on to do the right thing. I liked this book a lot.

Lilly Cleary is an author in Sarasota, Florida. Normally her cases are medical malpractice. She is asked to defend Angus and Miguel in a fruit libeling case. Their claim is that phosphate mining residue was mixed into the soil in an orange grove thus infecting the oranges.

M. David Mooney, Lilly's ex-boyfriend, is killed in a toxic waste lake. She soon finds he is tied to her current case as well.

When one of her clients is blown up in front of her, she sets out to find the killer. She's not sure whether she can trust the gorgeous Miguel. Can she unravel this case without putting herself in danger? She enlists the aid of her wild religious brother and her handyman is also quite involved.

This is the first I've read in this series. It definitely won't be the last. I really enjoyed Lilly. The writer has created a wonderful protagonist and the Sarasota location is great too! Lilly is an attorney I'd love to have in my corner. She's a bit quirky, but she cares a lot and gets to the bottom of things.

I highly recommend this book.