>as the first two. Maybe it's because the 'big
>cases/mysteries' this season don't seem to be so close to home
>as Season 1 and 2.

That makes sense. But it might be kind of an ugly stretch to keep coming up with stuff that was actually close to home. There are only so many friends that can be raped and killed and family members that can be driven to alcoholism before fleeing with 50,000 dollars. Though... something with the mother would have been good. She was pretty good, but my impression is that she's gone from the show. Last year there were all these Kay Jewelers commercials where the kids and husband surprise their wife with some earrings or a necklace or something, and she played the mother in the commercial. I was like, "Don't go acting like you're mother of the year, Lianne Mars. I know what you did! That was money for Veronica to go to college". Bitch.

When I heard the second mystery arc was going to be a murder, I thought briefly that it would be girl from Just Shoot Me and Keith would be a suspect. I've been missing the "close to home" thing too, though I actually thought the first mystery of season three was more carefully and thoughtfully plotted than any of the previous ones. Having a very personal aspect to the mystery AND having a carefully crafted mystery aren't exclusive, though.