The Cruel Ever After

October 25, 2010
At the start of Hart's delightful 18th mystery starring Minneapolis restaurateur Jane Lawless (after 2009's The Mirror and the Mask), Jane's charismatic ex-husband and antiquities dealer, Chester "Chess" Garrity, wakes up one morning with a hangover outside the house of Melvin Dial, an art collector to whom he'd offered to sell a valuable Iraqi artifact, the Winged Bull of Nimrud, the night before. After finding Dial dead of a knife wound inside the house, Chess flees. When he returns to the crime scene with fellow dealer Irina Nelson, he discovers the body gone and a note clearly addressed to him demanding $50,000 in small bills along with incriminating photos. Arrested for Dial's murder, Chess must turn to Jane, who has more than enough on her plate already, for help. Buttressed by distinctive characters and a splendid Minnesota setting, the well-constructed plot builds to a satisfying conclusion.

October 15, 2010

Jane Lawless has no time for romancing ladies or crime-solving when her ex-husband turns up.

Though restaurateur Jane Lawless can't escape her addiction to solving mysteries, she wishes she could at least escape her ex-husband and his shady motives. Jane got the money for her original start-up restaurant from a false marriage to antiques-dealer Chester (Chess) Garrity. She thought all was well that ended well when she got the divorce decree he sent from the Dominican Republic. Now that he's back in town, Jane, wanting to see the best in him, offers him her third-floor apartment until he can come up with something better. Chess acts the gentleman, attending Jane's father Raymond's birthday bash and advising Jane's ex Julia Martinsen on how to win Jane back. Never mind the fact that Chess had woken up next to the dead body of businessman Marvin Dial just nights before; he wouldn't want to worry Jane with that. And when Jane starts to think she's being followed, she can't believe it's related to such a nice guy as Chess. Irina Nelson believes the best of Chess, too, and not just because they're working in the same field. Irina is so smitten by Chess that she's hoping to divorce her long-suffering husband Steve for him. Then there's the matter of the smuggling ring Chess brought Irina into. When things go wrong, cast members show their true colors.

Hart's characters show little mercy and even less leg in this installment in the Lawless series (The Mirror and the Mask, 2009, etc.).

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Starred review from December 1, 2010

Jane Lawless's (The Mirror and the Mask) surprise at her ex-husband Chester's appearance at her Minneapolis restaurant is nothing compared to his shock at waking up next to the body of a client to whom he was trying to sell a priceless statue stolen from Iraq. Before long there is another murder, and danger engulfs the Lawless family. VERDICT Hart, a Lambda and Minnesota Book Award winner, has consistently maintained a level of excellence throughout her 18 Lawless mysteries. Here she explores the relationships between siblings and what happens to a family when one of the children disappears. Hart never overplays Jane's lesbianism. It is just a fact of life in this truly engaging mystery series.

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