Kirjahaku

Ellen Hart was named the 2017 MWA Grand Master, the most distinguished lifetime achievement award offered in the mystery community. Joanna Kasimir, an old friend of Jane Lawless's, left town years ago to make it big in Hollywood. She succeeded, but stardom had a price. Early on, Joanna met a man who quickly went from being a dalliance to a stalker. A decade has passed since she sent him to prison, but just as she has returned to Minneapolis to perform at Jane's friend Cordelia Thorn's theater, Joanna receives one of his ominous calling cards. Joanna refuses to let fear control her life---she can't. Not again. So she goes to Jane, restauranteur and amateur sleuth, for help. But can Jane protect her from a man who refuses to be anyone's one-night stand? A deadly game of cat and mouse, Night Vision proves to be one of Ellen Hart's best mysteries yet.

Ellen Hart was named the 2017 MWA Grand Master, the most distinguished lifetime achievement award offered in the mystery community. Lambda and Minnesota Book Award-winning author and MWA Grand Master Ellen Hart delivers another high-caliber mystery with Sweet Poison, her newest Lambda Award Finalist in a mystery series as loved for its delightful charm as for the absorbing psychological depth of its characters. Jane Lawless is at her wit's end keeping her Minneapolis restaurants running while volunteering on her father's campaign for governor. With a solid lead, the race is Ray Lawless's to lose, but that changes when his rival posts a list of criminals who are on the streets, thanks to Ray's work as a defense lawyer. Corey Hodge is one of the ex-cons who took Ray's advice to plead guilty for a crime he swears he didn't commit, and revenge is never far from his mind. Then one of Ray's volunteers is killed in such a way that mirrors the crime Corey was convicted of, and Jane must bring in the killer to save her father's political career and to keep Corey from going to prison again. The high stakes and intrigue that fuel Sweet Poison make for a gripping novel of ambition and obsession.

The elegant Maxfield Plaza Hotel in downtown St. Paul is packed to the rafters with the powerbrokers of the charismatic Church of the Firstborn--and a national convention of the Daughters of Sisyphus. Between the two gatherings, five old college roommates are reunited: food critic Sophie Greenway, now owner of the hotel; Adelle, who married into the founding family of the Firstborns; Lavinia, mastermind of the Daughters; and Bunny and Cindy, Lavinia's top aides. But when a murderer terminates one of the gang, Sophie senses that not everyone is devastated by the loss. As Sophie delicately probes the private affairs of her hotel's star guests, she recalls another death--of a young woman who had been the group's sixth roommate. The buried secrets of that long-ago death are exhumed as a clandestine killer once again commits the oldest sin.

Ellen Hart was named the 2017 MWA Grand Master, the most distinguished lifetime achievement award offered in the mystery community. DeAndre Moore came to Minneapolis from St. Louis with a purpose, but things aren't going as he planned. When it becomes clear he's in way over his head, DeAndre can think of only one person to call for help--his Uncle Nolan's business partner, newly licensed private investigator Jane Lawless. However, by the time Jane listens to his voice mail, she's hearing a voice from beyond the grave--DeAndre left the message only minutes before he was knifed to death outside a gentlemen's club. Soon his murder isn't the only one. With Nolan in the hospital, Jane sets out to find out who killed DeAndre, how his death is connected with the others, and what he was doing in Minneapolis in the first place. Rest for the Wicked is another outstanding addition to Ellen Hart's award-winning mystery series.

"A tale full of complex plot lines, fast-paced action, and characters skilled in deception. Fans . . . will not be disappointed."--Library Journal, starred review"Jane Lawless and her trusty sidekick, Cordelia Thorn, are the most refreshing, entertaining, and cerebrally stimulating duo since Rex Stout's unbeatable combo of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin."--Baltimore AlternativeMinneapolis restaurateur Jane Lawless is at a crossroads. The rough economy has put her plans for a third restaurant on hold, and her long distance romance is on the rocks and quite possibly unsalvageable. Unsure of what to do next, she takes her good friend A. J. Nolan up on his standing offer to take her on as a private investigator.While still in training, Jane's first job seems simple enough. Annie Archer explains that she left Steamboat Springs, Colorado, in search of her stepfather who vanished soon after her mom died in 1990. All Jane has to do is find Annie's stepfather. But it's not long before a hunt for a missing person turns into murder and Jane realizes this case is far from simple.Ellen Hart is the author of twenty Jane Lawless mysteries. She is a five-time winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Best Lesbian Mystery and a three-time winner of the Minnesota Book Award for Best Popular Fiction. Ellen lives in the Minneapolis area with her partner.

"Absorbing . . . unexpected twists and turns . . . and the activities of her irrepressible best friend, Cordelia Thorn (a treasure of mystery fiction), will keep the reader guessing."--Publishers Weekly"A judicious balance of long-term development and short-term storytelling; even readers who come for the ongoing characters will stay for the mystery."--Kirkus Reviews"An engrossing mystery with captivating characters"--Star Tribune (Minneapolis)Lesbian sleuth Jane Lawless confronts one of her most frightening situations: children gone missing. Seamlessly integrating enough backstory to orient readers new to the series, Ellen Hart also quickly establishes restaurateur Lawless's professional skills as a part-time PI as she deftly secures the details pertaining to the disappearance of Eric and Andrew's hot-headed, charismatic twelve-year-old son, Jack, and develops a search strategy. Jack has previously masterminded risky situations with his less volatile cousin, Gabriel, who is troubled, having recently consented to genetic testing since his father died of ALS. But have the boys escalated their adventures?Jane's first impression of the case isn't good--in fact, she's not convinced the boys ran away at all. She thinks they may have been abducted . . . or worse.Ellen Hart is a five-time winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Best Lesbian Mystery and a three-time winner of the Minnesota Book Award for Best Popular Fiction.

"Brava to one of the best mystery novels of the season."--David Marshall James, Book Reviews"Ellen Hart has written a terrific mystery with believable, well-rounded characters, great setting, fascinating story line and red herrings galore."--Tulsa Book ReviewRenowned theater director Cordelia Thorn is restoring a historic theater. She has a vision for its future, but is increasingly fascinated by its past. Nicknamed "The Old Deep and Dark" because of the Prohibition-era double murder that occurred in the basement, there are a wealth of secrets hidden inside its walls. And, to her shock and horror, Cordelia discovers a present-day body literally buried in a basement wall. Cordelia calls on her best friend, P.I. Jane Lawless. Although Jane is in the thick of another investigation, she agrees to help. But as Jane starts tracing the trails of two separate investigations, she quickly learns they might not be as unconnected as she thought.With The Old Deep and Dark, the twenty-second installment in the award-winning Jane Lawless series, Ellen Hart has crafted another impeccably plotted, seamlessly written mystery.Ellen Hart is the author of thirty crime novels. She is a five-time winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Best Lesbian Mystery, a three-time winner of the Minnesota Book Award for Best Popular Fiction, and a three-time winner of the Golden Crown Literary Award. In 2010, Ellen received the GCLS Trailblazer Award for lifetime achievement in the field of lesbian literature.