Sweetheart Deal (Lilly Cleary) [Kindle Edition]

Claire Matturro (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At the start of Matturro's amusing fourth suspense novel to feature oh-so-perky Florida attorney Lilly Cleary (after 2006's Bone Valley), Lilly returns to her hometown of (not kidding) Bugfest, Ga. Lilly's mother, Willette, agoraphobic and bipolar, abused Lilly and brother Delvon as teenagers, and Lilly hasn't seen her in 20 years. But now Willette is both hospitalized and accused of murder, and Lilly mounts her lawyerly white horse. Along the way she encounters additional problems both old (greedy resort developers despoiling natural beauty) and new (endangered species sold as exotic meats for adventurous diners in big cities Up North). A curious blend of chick lit plus woman in jeopardy plus amateur detective, the book is somewhat hampered by overly cute phrasing and by the tendency of characters to stop what they're doing and explain themselves, just at crucial points when decisive action is needed. Lilly is full of contradictions: germophobic at OCD levels and a terminal flirt, but brave and dead-on effective. Readers who prefer their heroines with an extra dose of sass will find a lot to like. (Nov.)
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Product Description

Sarasota lawyer Lilly Cleary has had her share of odd cases. She's defended everyone from a pet psychic to an orange libeler, and she's done so with finesse. But it's another situation entirely when she finds out that her phobic and dysfunctional mother has been accused of murder.

Although she's been estranged from her family for years, Lilly drops everything to return to the little town of Bugfest, Georgia, and steps into more than she bargained for. For one thing, her mother's house is beyond a mess. Important papers are missing, and on the back porch there's a freezer whose contents are very odd. Bugfest itself is under attack by developers who want to turn it into a resort community, a plan that would displace many of the longtime residents.

And then someone tries to murder Lilly's mother with red ants while she's strangely oversedated in the hospital.

Lilly has come to the rescue, but can she get to the root of these mysterious doings in time to save her mother's life?

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 279 KB
• Print Length: 386 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0060773677
• Publisher: HarperCollins e-books; 1 edition (October 13, 2009)
• Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000W94G68
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #316,538 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fun, sweet, poignant, worth reading, August 27, 2008

By 

Florida John (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sweetheart Deal (Hardcover)

Hey, I just finished SWEETHEART DEAL a couple of weeks ago, and in some ways it's Matturro's best. I agree with one of the other reviewers that it's not as funny as the prior books by Matturro, but the plot is more complex and the book tackles some real poignant issues of family and home. And, I was so surprised by that guy who called it dreadful, I googled him (her?) and found out he (she) is not a published mystery author as he (she) claims, but writes basically the same review for a number of mysteries--that is, all of his (her) reviews on Amazon seem to have the same pattern of words and he (she) hates them all. Don't know, but it sounds like sour grapes to me, so I'd take it all with a grain of salt. So, you guys out there, take the majority view here--this book is worth reading. After all, this book won a major award for Best Humorous Mystery.

5.0 out of 5 stars Keep Them Coming Claire!, March 8, 2009

By 

Bebimon "Bebimon" (SF, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sweetheart Deal (Mass Market Paperback)

This book was recommended by a local bookstore and I really like it. I haven't read the earlier books, but plan on reading them. I was looking for a series that could be read as a stand alone with a strong female lead in a detective mysteries format. This was a great find. Keep them coming Claire!

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable read, December 3, 2008

By 

Mama Kai - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sweetheart Deal (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the third of a series by Claire Matturro. The books are about a female attorney from Georgia, currently living in Florida, who gets personally involved in her cases. Ms. Matturro's writing style is very much like that of Janet Evanovitch; the series is reminiscent of the Stephanie Plum novels, but without the obscene language.