Customer Reviews

Sweetheart Deal (Lilly Cleary)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

Lilly Belle Rose Cleary goes home to Bugfest, Georgia and the Mule Day celebration, in response to an urgent plea from her brother. Their mother is under arrest for murder and being held in a hospital under heavy sedation.

Lilly renews friendships and helps clean out her mother home. Willette Cleary is a recluse and hasn't been out of her house in years, a fact that is apparent by the clutter she's left.

A lot of puzzle pieces turn up, but to what puzzle? Lilly learns about a land grab deal, a motorcycle riding, abusive wife of a County Commissioner; and who is the man her mother is accused of killing; then there's an attempt to murder her mother, and burn her house down.

Claire Matturro has given us a "sweetheart" of a novel. A fun read with lots of puzzles and action.

Review by Wanda C. Keesey (author Lost In The Mist release May 2008)

Although not as good as her other books, this is a simple quick read based mostly outside of Sarasota,Florida. Probably why I didn't like it as well as her others, but still worth reading.

MATTURA IS AN UP AND COMING AUTHOR. SHE HAS WRITTEN 3 BOOKS WITH THE SAME MAIN CHARACTERS. YOU WILL LOVE THEM ALL AND GET A GOOD LAUGH AT THEIR EXPENSE. IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A NEW AUTHOR AND A NEW HEROINE, THESE BOOKS ARE FOR YOU. THEY KEEP YOU READY TO TURN THE NEXT PAGE.

Not only is Lilly Belle Clearly a neurotic vegetarian lawyer, but apparently she doesn't mind bending the rules to solve a mystery--like breaking and entering. But under the circumstances, perhaps such transgressions might be understandable. She makes her fourth appearance in this series under unusual circumstances. It seems her pill-popping mother is caught red-handed with a pistol by the police chief of the small Georgia town in which Lilly Belle was reared. At her mother's feet is a man who has been shot dead.

Called by her frantic brother Lilly Belle drives up from Sarasota where she is a law partner to Bugfest, GA [no, that's not a typo], to which she vowed never to return when she fled. There she finds her mother under police guard in the hospital, unconscious, sedated, and apparently someone is trying to murder her.

While the plot is well-thought out, its presentation is overly cutesy for my taste. That doesn't mean someone else might not be amused by the writing and dialogue.

Sarasota, Florida attorney Lillian Rose Cleary vowed never to go home, but rushes back when her bipolar abusive mother is accused of murder. Lilly would not have come back to Bugfest, Georgia after two decades away especially to see her mother except to defend her mom in a court of law. For her own peace of mind Lilly needs to believe she would have ignored her mother being in the hospital as the woman abused her (starting with naming her after two flowers) and her brother when they were growing up.

As she mounts a defense for mommy dearest and investigates the homicide, Lilly runs up against her mom's home (should be an EPA superfund site), someone trying to kill mom with red ants, avaricious developers and the sale of endangered species as specialty meats sold to expensive restaurants. Still her prime reason is to not battle the environmentally challenged including mom's abode; it is to get mom free so Lilly can immediately head south and away from this insane termagant who makes DNA cleansing seem politically correct.

The latest funny clearly chick lit legal thriller (see SKINNY DIPPING and BONE VALLEY) is an entertaining tale that affirms the belief you can't go home as Lilly learns the hard way that mom still is a lunatic and her efforts to defend her lead to dangerous scenarios for the courageous neurotic attorney. Although in many ways more a neurosis filled amateur sleuth than a legal family drama, readers who appreciate a spunky phobic heroine will enjoy Lilly's escapades especially her jocular asides even when they slow down the action.

Harriet Klausner