Designer Crimes (Laura di Palma mysteries) [Paperback]

Laura Matera (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 21, 1996 | Series: Laura di Palma mysteries

San Francisco attorney, Laura di Palma, tackles two cases that have her running from the law and for her life. Suffering slanderous abuse from her ex-boss, Steven Sayres, she decides to sue, but before the case has opened, fellow lawyer Jocelyn Kingsley is shot before her eyes.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a brief prologue that works more as a spoiler, San Francisco lawyer Laura Di Palma is arrested for conspiracy to murder ambitious DA Connie Gold. The book proper soon clarifies that Gold is prosecuting Laura's sole client Brad Rommel, who has been charged with murdering his missing and presumed-dead ex-lover. The pursuit of another issue, trying to stop an ex-employer's slander, puts Laura at the scene of a murder: a masked man shoots lawyer Jocelyn Kinsley during her meeting with Laura. Kinsley's last words, "designer crimes," baffle Laura until her former (and possibly future) lover, PI Sandy Arklett (who wonders if Laura was the shooter's real target), discovers that someone in the office was tailoring extralegal revenge when the law would not suffice. Before long, Brad jumps bail, claiming that someone is trying to kill and frame him, and he echoes Sandy's suspicions that Laura is at the center of things. Matera (Face Value) creates a dark world in which insinuation looms large and the crimes stack up in rapid succession, requiring significant suspension of disbelief. Laura, particularly angry and uncertain in this complex plot, finds only small relief in the resolution.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Series heroine Laura Di Palma (Face Value, S. & S., 1994), a San Francisco attorney, agains teams up with boyfriend/private eye Sandy Arkelett. First, they investigate the murder of Laura's attorney, who dies just before revealing a self-styled vigilante in her own law firm. Second, Laura lands in jail after trying to help a hometown client accused of murder.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Virago Press Limited (March 21, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1860491006
• ISBN-13: 978-1860491009
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,506,290 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars cyber sleuthing & d.a. screenplays, October 14, 2000

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"donatdeux" (maine) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Designer Crimes (Laura Di Palma Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

high tech high jinks, high school memories and legal reputations all converge to give laura di palma a new beginning. when di palma escapes the clutches of death time after time, instead of heightening tension,it dullens the senses and the plot devolves into tedium.