Wildcat Wine

First, I know the author so I'm biased. However, I also know the world she is describing (lawyers in smaller Florida towns and how they crash and burn from time to time). Others who recognize it will REALLY enjoy this.

Claire Matturro brings back her quirky, brilliant attorney Lilly Cleary in another wild ride of a tale!! Lilly finds herself knee deep in wine, murder and matchmaking!! While representing a client who is a self proclaimed psychic, Lilly must protect those she loves from themselves and their good intentions as they try to deal with an unresolved murder, a grocery bag of money and there desire to keep each other out of jail. With no clear picture of the events that have transpired, Lilly jumps in and ferrets out the answers piece by piece, placing herself directly in harm's way. Between her tenuous love life, her fierce devotion to her "adopted" family, she copes with her fear of germs, pesticides and her general appreciation for the absurd. This is a well crafted novel with interesting and intriguing characters who all possess just a little bit of that inescapable wackiness that will push this author into the spotlight as a "Florida treasure"!!

This book is a hoot. It is really funny, so funny I nearly missed how well crafted the plot really is--there is a lot going on, from legal stuff to messages to an education on muscadine wine. The main character is a woman trial attorney who is both aggressive and smart, but also border line mentally ill. It's interesting how she overcomes her neurosis and her phobias. Also, her loyalty to the people she works with and to an old friend from back home really indicate she is a fine person--though she developes a tendency to break and enter, but all in the name of protecting her friend. This is both a legal thriller and an adventure, plus a good tale of Florida. Lots of Florida! Makes me want to visit Florida.

When farmer Dave comes to Sarasota lawyer Lillian Belle Rosemary Cleary with a truckload of Muscadine wine, he meets her legal secretary Bonita and her son Benny. Since Lilly is working, he takes Benny to look for jaguarundi in the Myakka River State park. The trip ends with Dave and his friend Waylon arrested for stealing the wine from his employer. Lilly hires Phillip Cohen to represent him and he makes it clear that he is interested in her. Benny tells Lilly that they found a corpse and a bag of money when they were in the park. Lilly goes to Dave's employer to ask him to drop the charges and does not say anything about the dead man or the money to the police. A few days later, Dave's employer is found dead in a homicide intended to look like an accident. Kenneth, a partner in the firm where Lilly works, harasses Bonita who is related to Dave's employer's wife; Lilly has no idea what his motivation could be. Shortly thereafter Kenneth is killed. Lilly knows the three murders are linked, but trying to learn how could make her the next victim. WILDCAT WINE is a fast moving, action-packed crime thriller in which the attorneys break the law as often as the criminals do. Readers are going to love the obsessive compulsive protagonist who believes cleanliness is next to nervousness as she does a lot of cleaning when anxious. Still Lilly goes to amazing lengths to prove her friends are innocent although these eccentrics also drive her crazy. Claire Matturro provides a light hearted chick lit mystery that grips the reader from the first page and keeps them laughing until the final cleaning spree. Harriet Klausner