Fiction Monday: Jane Lawless Mysteries by Ellen Hart

Again, Happy New Year everyone!

Today I want to talk about my favorite kind of fiction, gay or straight: mysteries! Yes, I know; I talk about them a lot. So what? Mystery reviews seem to be some of my most popular fiction reviews so I know I’m not alone in my love for them. My take on it is this, with mystery books, you’re going to get some sort of a plot with, usually, a surprise ending where, with other genres, a plot other than one revolving around gratuitous sex is not a gaurantee and a formula ending is often assured.

My focus today is on one line of mysteries by lesbian author Ellen Hart, a FIVE TIME Lambda Literary Award winner for “Best Lesbian Mystery”. Now, that link will take you to Hart’s “Author Page” on Amazon.com. Her bio is a bit dated as it refers directly to a book she published in 2005 as her most current work and that’s certainly not the case. She’s had 11 books published since that time – most of them part of her very popular Jane Lawless Mystery Series (19 books, counting her most recent release). For the up to date scoop on Ellen Hart, please see her website, www.ellenhart.com.

The Jane Lawless series started way back in 1989 with the release of the book, Hallowed Murder. The book introduced us to Jane, her sidekick Cordelia, her/their sleuthing and the intricacies of life in Minnesota. In this first book by Hart, Jane is an alumni adviser to a university sorority and  a Minneapolis restaurateur who becomes an amateur detective out of the need to find out the truth about the so-called drowning death co-ed sorority member.

The latest book in the series is the already popular September 2011 release of The Lost Women of Lost Lake. The publisher’s synopsis for this book:

Restaurateur and part-time P.I. Jane Lawless is taking some much-needed time off at her family’s lodge when her best friend, Cordelia, arrives with news that Tess, one of their good friends, has taken a nasty fall and needs their help with rehearsals for a play that is set to open in a week. When Tess isn’t on crutches, she helps run the Thunderhook Lodge, the premier resort on Lost Lake. And while she clearly needs Jane and Cordelia’s assistance, she isn’t exactly acting all that grateful.

A man who claims to be a journalist has arrived in Lost Lake with an old photograph and some questions for Tess that go back decades. His questions have put her on edge, and when he shows up peeking through her kitchen window, everyone else is right there with her. As beloved as Tess is, there are plenty of people who don’t care about any so-called journalist and are happy to protect her, but how far are they willing to take it? And when will they need answers to questions that that only Tess can provide?

In The Lost Women of Lost Lake—the most engrossing mystery yet from Lambda and Minnesota Book Award–winning author Ellen Hart—Jane’s only hope of protecting her friends from the secrets that are surfacing all around them is to uncover the whole truth before anyone else can.

Jane Lawless is a lesbian. That’s a part of these stories. Refreshingly, it’s integrated into the stories much the same way as heterosexuality is integrated into other fiction. It doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb here. It’s one facet of a complex life. Hart’s clever, fast paced, descriptive writing and her intricate, well thought out plots snare readers both gay and straight and keeps them interested regardless of the sexual preferences of said reader or those of Hart’s characters.

Read one of her books in this series or read all 19. Don’t worry about the order you read them in. While the context of time does help to a degree, the books stand alone. Personally, I haven’t read them all but I’ve read several. I’ve been enthralled with each and enjoyed them all very much.