Willa Jansson Mysteries
A Radical Departure
A Radical Departure is the second novel in the Willa Jansson series. It was nominated for the mystery genre's two top prizes, the Edgar Allan Poe Award and the Anthony Award. It is now available as an ebook on all platforms. Willa Jansson has graduated from law school and taken the job of her left-wing dreams. She is working for the renowned firm of an old family friend, famous activist Julian Warneke. Julian once defended Willa after a protest march got her arrested and hauled off to jail. The charge should have disappeared after a quick plea deal. But thanks to Julian's grandstanding, Willa spent two traumatic months behind bars. Now that she works for Julian, he's pushing her into a similar show trial… and never mind the client's best interests or Willa's better judgment. When Julian is murdered at a pricey working lunch, a Who's Who of radicals flock to San Francisco to pay their respects to the grand old man of progressive politics. And Willa finds that the police haven't forgotten her. |

"Almost everything a good mystery needs... a complex plot, social commentary, loads of atmosphere and a cast of unusual characters... The reader wants to hang out with Jansson and see more of her clear-eyed view of the world."
San Jose Mercury News
"Lia Matera is a skeptic. But Lia Matera is funny, too, and that's what sets her apart. The result is like Matera herself, quick-witted and entertaining and deceptively cynical. Matera's protagonists are bracingly real."
San Francisco Examiner
"Funny, clear-eyed and strong."
Robert B. Parker, author of the Spenser novels
"Almost everything a good mystery needs... a complex plot, social commentary, loads of atmosphere and a cast of unusual characters... The reader wants to hang out with Jansson and see more of her clear-eyed view of the world."
San Jose Mercury News
"Lia Matera is a skeptic. But Lia Matera is funny, too, and that's what sets her apart. The result is like Matera herself, quick-witted and entertaining and deceptively cynical. Matera's protagonists are bracingly real."
San Francisco Examiner
"Funny, clear-eyed and strong."
Robert B. Parker, author of the Spenser novels