Lia Matera: The Good Fight (USA 2021)

From the Publisher:
Murder and a missing person disrupt a high-profile lawyer's climb up the ladder of success in this mystery by the author of The Smart Money.
Everything's falling into place for attorney Laura Di Palma. She's about to become a partner at her prominent firm, she has a great apartment, and she's paid off her Mercedes. Then disaster strikes. Her sick boyfriend goes missing from his hospital bed, and her firm's detective -- who's also her ex -- is eager for a second chance.

Meanwhile, work only adds to Laura's tension. Her newest client, activist Danny Crosetti, is accused of murdering an FBI agent, and her firm's top partner threatens to fire her if she doesn't drop the case. But Danny's an old friend from Laura's days of protesting. She can't turn her back on him.

When another murder is thrown into the mix, juggling her demanding career and missing lover while keeping her ex at a distance -- even though she really needs his help -- will prove to be quite the challenge for Laura. But time is of the essence: she must find the killer before everything comes falling down...

"The Good Fight is sharply written, brilliantly observed." -- John Leonard, NPR's Fresh Air
"Extraordinary, thought-provoking. Laura Di Palma is one of the most compelling characters in recent mystery fiction." -- The Baltimore Sun
"Compelling... Matera writes with passion about debts to old lovers and old causes." -- New York Daily News
"A satisfying blend of emotion, suspense and mystery." -- The Pittsburgh Press

Lia Matera: The Good Fight. A Laura Di Palma Mystery. Mysterious Press / Open Road Media, ISBN: 9781504066730 (June, 2021), eBook, 2423 KB (217 p.), $7.99.

Lia Matera: The Good Fight (USA 1991)

From the Publisher:
"Matera has her own distinctive voice... Her offbeat plots, quirky style and hard-to-pin-down characters make for a novel both unique and entertaining." -- The San Diego Union

Attorney Laura Di Palma is in complete control of her high-profile life - she's about to become a partner, signed lithographs decorate the walls of her spectacular San Francisco apartment, and her Mercedes is paid for. But control turns to utter chaos when her sick lover, Hal, disappears from his hospital bed without a word. Then Sandy, the detective she works with (and her former lover), begins pressuring her for a second chance. At work, she has a radical client who's accused of murdering an FBI agent. It's too much to handle, but Laura has no choice.

Frantically searching for Hal, Laura also attempts to build her client's controversial defense. Meanwhile, she must keep Sandy at a distance even as she needs his help. When a second man is murdered, Laura's carefully tailored life begins to unravel before her eyes...

"Ms. Matera proves a tough-minded writer." -- The New York Times Book Review
"A satisfying blend of emotion, suspense and mystery." -- The Pittsburgh Press

Lia Matera: The Good Fight. She has the most lavish "lifestyle" that her high-powered law practice can buy -- until the men in her life turn her world upside down. A Laura Di Palma Mystery. Ballantine Books, ISBN: 0345371070 (May, 1991), 217 p., $4.95.