Designer Crimes

San Francisco litigator Laura Di Palma's new a solo practice is collapsing around her, thanks to her detested former boss. He's been slandering her to potential clients and scaring off those she already has. On the brink of ruin, she decides to sue him. But when she consults a labor lawyer, a masked man with a gun bursts into the meeting. A lucky accident keeps Laura from catching a bullet, but the other lawyer is not so lucky. As she lays dying, she whispers to Laura, "Designer crimes."

With the help of her private investigator and former lover, Laura learns that the labor firm's other partner may be sabotaging her clients' employers. Each crime seems specifically designed to ruin a bad employer in a way that highlights the employee-client's grievance. Did this secret sideline business lead to the gunman's attack? Or was the bullet meant for Laura?

This question makes Laura take a hard look at her one remaining case. An old friend in her home town is accused of murdering his girlfriend, who packed up and disappeared... except for a bucket filled with her blood. Unfortunately for Laura's client, the bucket is from his fishing boat. Laura's defense forces her to impugn the district attorney, a strategy that erupts into a public feud.

When Laura is almost killed again, it becomes a matter of life or death to discover whose enemies are out to get her--her own, her client's, or the dead labor lawyer's.