Reviews       The Willa Jansson Series:   Havana Twist:     "With its page-turning plot, self-realized setting, and terrific characters, one could fairly call this the best Jansson adventure yet--and that's saying a great deal." Booklist (starred and boxed review), 4/15/98     "Matera uses the complexities of the Cuban revoution and modern skullduggery to build her tale . . . .  [T]he appealing Willa is fun to watch as she reacts with healthy doses of common sense, fear, humble confusion and wit to her various troubles." Publishers Weekly, 4/6/98     "Willa's cases and escapades always top the fun-to-read list, and Lia Matera's Havana Twist is a terrific addition to this personable series. ...  The beauty of Matera's writing is that the story, fun as it is, doesn't shortcut a shrewd social commentary on the current state of the Cuban Revolution and U.S. policy toward that country." Houston Chronicle, 6/7/98     "Here begins a marvelous adventure. ...  The array of characters is marvelously vivid.  Matera's portrait of present-day Cuba, with its hardships, shortages and corruption, is an education in itself. ...  And by the way, the plot and resolution of the mystery-- what did actually happen to the heroine's mother-- is intricate and convincing." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 5/31/98     "HAVANA TWIST truly lives up to its name.  The novel has so many plot twists and countless misdirections, most readers will not figure out what is going on even though all the clues are out in the open for all to see.  Lia Matera brilliantly makes the clues seem like trivial tidbits rather than vital information.  The examination of the socio-political situation in Cuba and the American policy towards that island country makes for authenticity and great reading" Harriet Klausner, online review Bookpage.com, Amazon.com     "Matera, a resident of Santa Cruz, has fun with her stories and writes well enough to pull it off.  Her voice is clear and light, and she knows when to jettison the gags and get on with the story.  As long as Willa is still the star of the show, the series will stand out in the often homogenous mystery landscape." San Francisco Chronicle, 4/30/98     "[T]he grim images of of homes without electricity, hospitals without drugs and shops with bare mannequins in the windows make Willa's rogue adventure a trip worth taking." NY Times Book Review, 5/17/98     "Ms. Matera has written a timely story in easy-to-read format.  In addition to the Willa Jansson stories, she is the author of another winning series--all well put together, thoughtful and warm views of what happens when a lawyer refuses to play the money game and listens to her own beliefs rather than the powers that be." Dallas Morning News, 5/29/98     "Havana Twist is an exciting and informative tale." St. Petersburg Times,  6/14/98       Star Witness:     "In this sixth legal thriller featuring the wry, no- nonsense attorney-sleuth Willa Jansson, Matera has researched UFOlogy with the same care and lack of judgmentalism she brought to the subject of shamanism in her previous book, Last Chants, and to pornography in Face Value. In fact, one needn't believe in aliens or flying saucers to admire Matera's gift for weaving her by- now incredible knowledge of the field (a bibliography lists 30 books and 46 videos) into a tight, alien- dunit mystery." San Francisco Chronicle, July 7, 1997     "'I had worked long and hard to be the least weird person of my acquaintance,' says Willa Jansson, the San Francisco lawyer whose efforts to distance herself from her hippie parents' flaky political causes always deliver a laugh in Lia Matera's snappy mysteries. Willa compromises all that hard-won respectability in Star Witness (Simon & Schuster, $22) when she takes on a vehicular manslaughter case in Santa Cruz for a client whose alibi is that he couldn't have squashed this guy's Buick with his Fiat because he was up in a spaceship being poked by aliens. . . . Intelligent and open-minded, just the way we like her, she considers the possibility that there might be something to her client's tale after all.  But in the end she settles for a deeper truth--'No alien being could be as frightening as someone truly crazy who truly loves you'--and leaves the rest of us to look up at the stars and wonder." New York Times Book Review, June 29, 1997     "Santa Cruz writer Lia Matera's latest mystery is a hoot.  It will drive the Pentagon non-UFO believers crazy and probably end up being the inspiration for an 'X-Files' episode. . . .  This fast-moving tale is peppered with eccentric characters, snappy dialogue and a creative plot.  Perfect fare for a trip to the beach." The San Francisco Examiner, July 1, 1997     "Matera has done her alien abduction homework, attested to by a lengthy bibliography, and, given the premise of the story, has managed to write a courtroom drama about the nature of circumstantial evidence and reasonable doubt that you simply have to keep reading, just to see how it comes out." The Washington Post, June 22, 1997     "Santa Cruz writer Lia Matera has proved more than once that she is the master when it comes to dabbling in Northern California flakiness for her mystery plots.  This time she focuses on alien abduction. . . .Matera cleverly walks the line here between milking the material for humor and taking it all too seriously. . . .  [Fans] can't fail to be entertained..." The San Jose Mercury News,  June 15, 1997     "Matera has done her homework and gives her client-- and readers--their money's worth in a case filled with crop circles, black helicopters and bright lights from the sky." Chicago Tribune,  June 15, 1997     "In the wackiest of a lively series (Last Chants, 1996), plucky San Franciso lawyer Willa Jansson defends a man who says he was in a spaceship when his car fell on top of a Buick, killing the driver. . . .  Matera is skilled at creating singularly offbeat characters and hurling then into multilayered plots that play out on the fringes of popular culture." Publisher's Weekly     "Lia Matera constructs her usual brilliant who- done-it while subtly weaving a lot of known UFO lore into the story line.  The impressive bibliography adds credence to the research and theories behind this tale.  The female protagonist is a woman to be admired as she is an independant female fighting to do what she believes is the right thing, even if it means placing herself at rist and being the recipient of ridicule and scorn.  Ms. Matera is one of the leaders in a genre teeming with much talent." Harriet Klausner, online review Bookpage.com, Amazon.com     "Say this for Willa Jansson: She doesn't shrink from the big cases. . . .  All right, the conclusion doesn't live up to Matera's bold, witty challenge to the most rational foundations of the mystery genre, but what could?  Willa's sixth still supports her remarkable claim to have 'helped make Santa Cruz a flakier place.'"  [No mean feat, as my fellow Santa Cruzans will attest!] Kirkus Reviews         Last Chants:     "In Last Chants, Lia Matera's sharp-witted sleuth leaps impulsively to the defense of Arthur Kenna, an eccentric mythologist suspected of having done away with his assistant, an Indian shaman who was programming a computer in the mystic arts. . . . Ms. Matera gives a fair hearing to her characters' unorthodox beliefs . . . and it's a treat to watch the normally level-headed Willa crawling around in the woods." New York Times Book Review   "Effectively blending the seemingly incongruous elements of high-tech computing and ancient mythology, Matera has produced a first-rate mystery, exhibiting her usual hallmarks of excellent plotting, solid characterizations, and brisk pacing." Booklist (starred & boxed)   "It's an intriguing plot, well developed with interesting characters in a picturesque location." The Washington Times   "Matera's skills make an accomplished, compelling mystery of material that could have been a lightweight, New Age yarn." Publisher's Weekly   "The real pleasure is Willa, who alternates between humor and annoyance at her predicament--and whose love-hate relationship with men strikes a chord with many female fans."  Entertainment Weekly   "Lia Matera is one of the most literate mystery writers working today.  Last Chants is a deeply realized journey of self-discovery as well as a cleverly turned mystery.  . . . a lovely book, written with a grace that is rarely found in the genre.  It's a joy to tag along with Willa on her voyage into self-awareness.  What comes next will be a wonder to us all."  Mostly Murder   "What a delicious smorgasbord this book is.  Lots of dishes, plenty of substance.  Matera mixes so much so well, you read quickly and feel nearly as breathless as Willa must.  Each character is unique, full of those idiosyncrasies that make characters so likable. . .[Willa's] witty and bright and never afraid to be critical of herself . . .  In addition to the wonderful characters, sharp dialog, and snappy plot is an underlying idea about the soul, and its power to keep technology in its place."  The Drood Review of Mystery   "Few writers possess Lia Matera's wry humor, especially when it comes to putting down lawyers, or her eye for Northern California fauna." San Jose Mercury News   "As in The Maltese Falcon, a constant stream of loony byplay keeps you from doping out whodunit-- unless you call on your own online shaman." Kirkus Reviews   "Readers will find Last Chants an unexpected gift that will stay with them for a long time after they finish reading it.  Talented Lia Matera places this tale on two planes of existence, the mortal and the supernatural, that somehow the readers accept quite easily.  This is a highly recommended read for those who prefer the unique in their reading experiences."