Matthew Hope Series by Ed McBain

Matthew Hope is a divorce lawyer in the town of Calusa, Florida, where the Gulf waters are warm and the women on the beach topless. One such woman, Michelle Benois Harper—a striking beauty with cascading black hair—enters Matthew’s office revealing swollen eyes and a bruised and battered body. After making a statement with the cops saying her husband did it, her body is found on the beach, burned beyond recognition.George N... moreMatthew Hope is a divorce lawyer in the town of Calusa, Florida, where the Gulf waters are warm and the women on the beach topless. One such woman, Michelle Benois Harper—a striking beauty with cascading black hair—enters Matthew’s office revealing swollen eyes and a bruised and battered body. After making a statement with the cops saying her husband did it, her body is found on the beach, burned beyond recognition.George N. Harper is a hulking man with pockmarks, flaring nostrils, and rheumy eyes—the ugliest accused man Matthew has ever seen. But something’s not quite right about the case—Harper loved his wife. Yet the cops and lawyers are ready to hang the man who could extinguish such a beautiful woman, and it’s up to Matthew to prove his innocence.An instant classic in the Matthew Hope series from Ed McBain, Beauty and the Beast pairs the good-hearted lawyer with a client who tests his prejudices and proves beauty may be skin deep, but ugly is in the bones. less

When the bodies of three young girls are unearthed in Mary Barton’s garden, the retired Florida schoolteacher insists she didn’t do it. But an eyewitness—the woman next door—has a different story: she swears she saw “Mary, Mary quite contrary,” so called by her neighbors, burying something the night before. Mary’s former student Melissa Lowdnes can’t believe the fun-loving teacher she once knew could ever carry out a murder—much less three—and seeks the help of lawyer Matthew Hope... moreWhen the bodies of three young girls are unearthed in Mary Barton’s garden, the retired Florida schoolteacher insists she didn’t do it. But an eyewitness—the woman next door—has a different story: she swears she saw “Mary, Mary quite contrary,” so called by her neighbors, burying something the night before. Mary’s former student Melissa Lowdnes can’t believe the fun-loving teacher she once knew could ever carry out a murder—much less three—and seeks the help of lawyer Matthew Hope. Matthew only takes on clients he feels are innocent, and he’s got a hunch that Mary could be telling the truth—that is, when she isn’t ranting about the neighbors she feels have done her wrong. Matthew follows clues and builds a solid defense, but his strategy runs into a major setback: he’s going up against “killer” assistant district attorney Patricia Hemming, and she’s got an offer on the table that compromises the entire case. less

Matthew Hope mystery.