Lia Matera: A Hard Bargain (USA 2021)

From the Publisher:
A burned-out attorney investigates a strange small-town suicide in this mystery from the author of The Good Fight.
Laura Di Palma's days as a high-profile San Francisco lawyer are behind her. Four hundred miles north of the city in her peaceful hometown, she now spends her days hiking in the woods and helping her lover cope with his war injuries. But their retreat is soon interrupted by a private detective -- Laura's former flame -- who's looking for help with his disturbing new case...

Karen McGuin was a troubled woman. Her husband, Ted, claims that, after her first suicide attempt, he'd leave a loaded gun in front of her every day to force her to choose life. But one day she finally chose the gun. Now Karen's family wants Ted charged with murder.

As Laura examines Karen's past, she's forced to question the status of her own life. But self-reflection quickly takes a backseat after Ted almost dies in an explosion. Suspicious of foul play, Laura knows she must uncover the truth before a killer strikes again...

"Matera skillfully weaves Laura's dissatisfaction with her own circumstances into the investigation of Karen's death, taking a thought-provoking look at the dangers in relationships that grow too close." -- Publishers Weekly

"[A] welcome respite from the mystery-by-formula crowd." -- Kirkus Reviews

Lia Matera: A Hard Bargain. A Laura Di Palma Mystery. Mysterious Press / Open Road Media, ISBN: 9781504066747 (June, 2021), eBook, 2422 KB (192 p.), $7.99.

Lia Matera: A Hard Bargain (USA 1993)

From the Publisher:
"Matera is a solid writer. Her dialogue is pungent and her plotting careful." -- Detroit Free Press
Everything Laura Di Palma owns she has earned- including a resounding case of depression and job dissatisfaction as a rising young star in San Francisco's high-powered law circles. Taking off and taking stock, Laura has escaped to the country with her battered and taciturn lover, Hal.

But Laura's idyll doesn't last long. Her former lover, private detective Sandy Arkelett, shows up with the disturbing. emotional case of a young woman's suicide-which may have been encouraged by her husband. As confused lives and twisted motives swirl around her, Laura discovers that morality and honesty are often at odds with each other, and may have nothing to do with the truth...

"With plenty of action and mystery, this is sensitive, thought- provoking writing." -- Winston-Salem Journal
"Matera takes on social and moral issues. She also delivers the goods a mystery writer should, with intelligence, humor, and gutsy femininity." -- Robert Campbell

Lia Matera: A Hard Bargain. A Laura Di Palma Mystery. Ballantine Books, ISBN: 0345380592 (April, 1993), 181 p., $4.99.