Customer Reviews

Hunting the Witch (Jane Lawless Mysteries)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!

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

Ellen Hart writes one of the best series around. Her characters are rich and real, the plots full of lots of twists. I was waiting for her latest, and I certainly wasn't disappointed!

I HAVE FOLLOWED THE ADVENTURS OF JANE LAWLESS FROM BOOK ONE AND REALLY ENJOY HER AND CORDELIA. THIS BOOK STAYS TRUE TO THAT RELATIONSHIP.THE STORY IS AS USUAL COMPELLING. I AM HOWEVER FRUSTRATED BY JANE AND JULIA'S RELATIONSHIP. HART SHOULD READ J.M. REDMANN ON HOW TO KEEP A RELATIONSHIP GROWING. JANE SUFFERED A HEAD TRAUMA NOT AMNESIA. I DO HOWEVER ANTICIPATE THE NEXT INSTALLMENT OF THIS SERIES.

This and the last book written by Ellen Hart have become progressively more depressing and irritating. I don't know whether Ms. Hart is suffering in her own personal life, but it is clouding her mysteries. What was once a well written series with entertaining characters has become a dark and gloomy series with characters you wish would just shut up and quit feeling sorry for themselves. Just be prepared not to enjoy this book if you've been a fan of her earlier works.

The books of Ellen Hart, especially those featuring restaurateur Jane Lawless, as does this one, are like a rich, multi-layered torte. Each layer has its own variety of satisfaction embedded in it. This does not mean that I think all her books are alike. Oh, no! Nothing could be further from the truth. Well, there is one common thread in all of them: gays and lesbians are treated like ordinary, normal people. Which, of course, they are. We get to know them, and love them and laugh with them, in all their human foibles, even as we learn more about ourselves in the process, and discover the ultimate secret: how much alike we all are. In the previous book, Jane was severely injured, and needs a lengthy recuperation period to regain her strength and stability. A former lover, Dr. Julia Martinson, wants back in Jane's life, and suggests a stay at her secluded cabin--a non-rustic year-around home, north of the Twin Cities. In spite of some little niggles of her own, and bigger ones from Cordelia (Jane's long-time best friend), Jane agrees to the rest period. At the same time, an enterprising young woman, Patricia Kastner, has launched a campaign to turn an old downtown hotel into a Senior Living complex. With the help of a group of local philanthropists, she is on the verge of locking up the financing when one of the group is found dead in the empty hotel, after a meeting with the architect. Patricia, who is hoping to bring Jane into the project to supervise the food service, is also interested in becoming more than just a friend to Jane, and asks her to please investigate the death. Very much a novel of today's world, mirroring the headlines in tomorrow's paper, Ms. Hart manages to blend her characters, her settings and her plot into a very believable, totally enthralling novel. This short review cannot begin to do justice to such a multi-textured book. Read it for yourself, and enjoy. You won't soon forget this one.

As seems the case with many mystery writers who focus on one or two repeating characters, Ellen Hart is focusing too much these days on the soap opera drama of Jane and Company, rather than a good yarn. Muddying the mystery of the building remodeling and it's connection to a murder, readers are faced with several frustrating conversations between Jane and the enigmatic Julia, who's secret we still don't know until the end of this book (and it's anticlimactic when all is said and done). I just don't believe it when Jane whines about not knowing what's going on and then decides to "put off" talking to Julia. It seems a flimsy device to drive the plot.

Cornelia, as usual, is effervescent and a needed comic break, but even she cannot spare the agony in the middle of the book as Jane faces a binge into drunkeness, complete with accompanying depression and overdramatization.

Perhaps Ms. Hart needs to write another Sophie book and get away from the horrendous troubles of Jane's life.

At least Jane made the right decision in the end . . . .

I did enjoy Ellen Hart's recent offering. However, I was dissapointed. I see this novel as an attempt to mix campy drama with slasher movie action. I found the whole, "he's gay, is he gay? do they think I am gay? I was never gay before?" dialog tirering. Too much dialog switching back and forth from beleiveable suspence to childish horror. This novel does not know what it wants to be when it grows up. People in Jane's arms dieing and everyday folks shooting guys with guns? There also seems to be a lot of (gender) stereo typing going on. For a more beliveable read I would recommend, "The intersection of law and desire" by Redmann minus the wacky ending. I hope Ms Hart will continue the series with more intelligence and depth.

I love the Jane Lawless series, I was hooked till the end, I had to stop myself from jumping ahead to figure it out. This book definitly had my emotions jumping I am so so so so upset about the ending!!!!!! I still can't believe it!!!!!