Hunting the Witch [Hardcover]

Ellen Hart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1999

Jane Lawless is slowly recovering from a head injury gained after a run-in with a killer, working a limited schedule at her restaurant, the Lyme House, and trying to stay in touch with Dr. Julia Martinsen, Jane's former lover who wants to rekindle their relationship. Jane is reluctant, not because she doubts her own or Julia's feelings, but because she feels Julia is keeping one too many secrets about her professional life.

When a man is murdered, Jane's suspicions are confirmed by Julia's stunned but evasive reaction. Partly to discover what her lover is hiding and partly out of fear for Julia's safety, Jane reluctantly resumes the role of sleuth, teaming up with her good friend and partner-in-investigation, Cordelia Thorn. Then, finding another connection between her own life and the life of the murder victim, Jane becomes even more unsure of who she can trust and who she can't. Before she realizes what's at stake in this complex murder case, Jane finds herself in more danger than ever before.

Hunting the Witch is an intriguing puzzle highlighted by a delightful cast and an eerie, complicated story. For fans of Jane Lawless's previous adventures, and for readers new to Ellen Hart's trademark talent for chilling suspense and flesh-and-blood characters, Hunting the Witch is a real winner.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An amateur sleuth and daughter of a powerful criminal defense attorney, Minneapolis restaurateur Jane Lawless survived her share of hard knocks in last year's Wicked Games, in which she was brutally attacked, hospitalized and nearly lost the love of her life. Now Jane is recuperating at her lover Julia's mountain cabin when she finds herself snared in the intrigue surrounding the murder of Jeffrey Chapel. Along with his tycoon father-in-law, Andrew Dove, Chapel is a board member of the exclusive Haymaker Club, a philanthropic venture that pools the resources of the city's most affluent citizens for large-scale charity projects. Before his murder, Chapel had loudly opposed the Club's plan to convert the classy but crumbling Winter Garden Hotel into an assisted-living community, much to Dove's chagrin. When Jane's friend Patricia Kastner, the flamboyantly gay entrepreneur who first proposed the project, finds Chapel's body at the bottom of the hotel's elevator shaft, she winds up first on the police roster of suspects. Patricia asks Jane to join on the Winter Garden project as a consultant, and, despite the fact that she is still in love with Julia, Jane's budding attraction to Patricia makes it hard to refuse. Meanwhile, her reputation for expert sleuthing lands Jane smack in the middle of the Chapel case when the deceased's widow, Brenna, hires her to find out if her husband was gay. Hart's work (which has received two Lambda awards) is notable for the characters' development from book to book. Here she integrates an exceptional subplot about Jane's ongoing attempts to patch up her relationship with Julia, who betrayed her trust in the previous book.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

While intrepid restaurateur and amateur sleuth Jane L Lawless slowly, painfully recovers from an accident, her on-again, off-again lover, physician Julia Martinson, lies like a lousy rug. Of course, that is only on the phone or when she is around, which is less and less since the siren song of booze is successfully calling Jane again. Is she becoming a bleak, mean, drinking machine? Could be, but true-blue pal Cordelia hangs in there, trying to talk sense and tough love, though with a lot less of the outrageous theatricality Lawless series fans have come to love in her. When a patient of Julia's is murdered, Jane enters the scene of the crime, though against her better judgment. Getting involved only sets her up for still more disappointments from the mysterious Julia, who manages to keep everyone in the dark and even pulls a series of disappearing acts. Hart plumbs new, dark depths in her regular heroine's psyche, leaving readers poised for some long-awaited resolutions. Whitney Scott

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 372 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312203861
• ISBN-13: 978-0312203863
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,343,833 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ellen Hart is the author of twenty-five crime novels in two different series.?? 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, a three-time winner of the Golden Crown Literary Award, a recipient of the Alice B Medal, and was made an official GLBT Literary Saint at the Saints & Sinners Literary Festival in New Orleans in 2005. ?? Entertainment Weekly??named her one of the "101 Movers and Shakers in the Gay Entertainment Industry." For the past twelve years, Ellen has taught "An Introduction to Writing the Modern Mystery" through the The Loft Literary Center, the largest independent writing community in the nation. Ellen's newest Sophie Greenway mystery is No Reservations Required, (Ballantine, June 2005). The Mirror and the Mask, the seventeenth Jane Lawless mystery, was released by St. Martin's/Minotaur in November 2009.?? Ellen lives in Minneapolis with her partner of 32 years.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hunting the Witch, February 23, 2000

By 

"blackjewel" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hunting the Witch (Hardcover)

Author Ellen Hart has been writing for several years and her work shows steady improvement. Her effortless use of language and structure make this a strong entry in the genre. This story is another in her Jane Lawless series. Lawless, a successful Twin Cities restauranteer, is the lesbian daughter of a prominent Saint Paul criminal attorney. These associations offer Hart a variable platform from which to plausibly launch Lawless's sometimes reluctant involvement in the investigation of murder and other crimes.

The series also allows author Hart to explore the many similarities of the human condition, regardless of sexual orientation. In Hunting The Witch, several familiar themes crop up; greed, kickbacks, towering anger, blunt insensibility, and murder.

The story opens as Jane is recovering from injuries received in a vicious attack on her person in her own home. She is staying with a close friend, physician Julia Martinson, in a cabin near Grand Rapids. Martinson is competing for Jane's emotional attention with a Minneapolis entrepreneur named Patricia Kastner. When Julia's private telephone line constantly intrudes on Jane's solitude and Julia is evasive about the frequent calls, Jane begins to have questions about the long-term possibilities of a relationship.

In Minneapolis, Patricia Kastner is trying to raise money to rehab an important downtown building. Her plans are disrupted when the financial officer of a local investment syndicate is murdered.

Two seemingly disparate and unconnected events, apparently linked to Jane Lawless in a casual way, gradually intertwine and weave together until Lawless and her stalwart if charmingly ditzy sidekick, Cordelia Thorn are stretched to the limits of their endurance and ability to solve the crimes and save their own lives.

The book is well-paced and has a vibrant sense of place. Hunting The Witch is a worthy addition to the genre.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More Complex and Satisfying than any other Lawless mystery!, October 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Hunting the Witch (Hardcover)

I've been a fan of Hart's books since the first one appeared many years ago. Her development as a writer has been amazing, and this is the best book yet. I will say, I was surprised by the ending, but I feel as if Jane has become such a friend that I understand why she did what she did. I couldn't put the book down, though I had to or get fired at my job. And then I had to fight with my husband to get the book back. We both love this series, as well as the other one Hart writes. I just wish she could write them faster. It's hard to think I have to wait another year to revisit Hart's world. These books aren't just for the gay community (although our son who is gay turned us on to them) but for everyone who loves a good mystery. Well done, Ellen!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent amateur sleuth tale, July 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Hunting the Witch (Hardcover)

In Minneapolis, Jane Lawless owns the very successful Lyme House Restaurant. Jane is still recovering from a recent trauma (see WICKED GAMES), which forced her to spend time in a hospital. Her former lover Julia never left her bedside. After Jane's release, she moves into Julia's home to complete her recuperation. With all this kindness towards her, Jane wonders why Julia ended their relationship. Julia fears telling Jane the truth because she worries she may place her beloved in a very dangerous situation.

A person holding a gun breaks into the house, demanding to know where Julia keeps her medical records. The two women wrestle the weapon from their assailant, but he manages to escape. Julia propels Jane out of further peril by sending her beloved home even as she goes into hiding. Though still healing, Jane goes sleuthing. Her inquiries lead her into murder investigations, blackmail schemes, and ultimately a hostage situation.

Ellen Hart writes a deeply textured who-done-it that also focuses on a relationship drama. The colorful and often eccentric secondary characters add a needed degree of levity that softens the psychological thriller aspects of the mystery. HUNTING THE WITCH stars a likable, admirable female lead who is both strong and vulnerable. The audience, sensing the duality, wants to help Jane. Additionally, this special novel leaves readers to think about the impact of gay cleansing. Ms. Hart cleverly integrates that subplot into her fast-paced story line.

Harriet Klausner