Customer Reviews

Wicked Games (Jane Lawless Mysteries)

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

 

 

I really enjoyed reading Ellen Hart's book Wicked Games she has is an excellent mystery author. I read the book for a project in my school and actually I read the book and with my suprise I really liked it . I really like the chachter Jane Lawless she shows to me what a real women is she has power and courage to face anything head on.All the chachters really have Wicked Games up there sleeves and that make sher book such an excellent book to read.I suggest this book to anyone who enjoys reading a good mystey book.

With this book and the next two that follow it, Ellen Hart has established herself as the lesbian Sue Grafton! I not only found the book suspenseful, I found it unpredictable. I highly recommend it. Of course, you may want to purchase Hunting the Witch, so you have it on hand as soon as you are done with this one!

Minneapolis restaurateur Jane Lawless rents her third floor apartment to Elliot Beauman, a writer who claims to be a psychic. Elliot has recently told the newspapers about his visions of brutal murders. Moving next door is Elliot's sister Patricia, who goes out of her way to become Jane's friend.

However, Jane is soon contacted by the parents of Patricia's deceased fiancé. They feel their son was murdered, though the official report is suicide. Jane begins to worry about her boarder and his sibling when she learns that years ago their older brother was paralyzed after a fall in what is now Jane's house. Jane begins to investigate the twosome even as buried bones of a dead girl are uncovered in her backyard.

Multi-award winning Ellen Hart has written an enjoyable amateur sleuth tale that will thrill fans of the Lawless series and the sub-genre. The story line is chilling, but in a serene way (sort of like the movie THE BURBS without the humor). J! ane remains an interesting character, but readers will be disappointed that her personal life problems (including troubles with her lesbian lover) from previous books have not been moved forward. They will still take extreme pleasure from this absorbing novel.

Harriet Klausner

In my review for Hart's An Intimate Ghost, I swore off the Jane Lawless series, as the end was unsatisfying. But, in the mystery section of my local library, a few Jane Lawless books were available and I couldn't pass them up! I am so glad I checked out Wicked Games, because it was such an awesome read. Hart's description of autumn in Minnesota is breathtaking, with the bad and good weather combined. A nice treat was Jane and Cordelia sunbathing on an unusually warm day in October. Then, up in a remote part of the state, Jane's lover, Julia, reports an early snow. Details of the weather, along with succinct descriptions of places and highways, add to the suspense in Wicked Games.

Jane has more than one mystery to solve. Try four or five! She's got a mysterious new tenant. A new neighbor, who happens to be the tenant's kid sister, has a CRUSH on Jane, and lets her know it. Then there's the mysterious bones found on Jane's property- whose are they? And then Jane discovers a few suicides that seem to be more than coincidence. And, finally, why is Jane's lover, Julia, soooo mysterious? Mystery mystery mystery for Jane and best friend/partner-in-sleuthing , Cordelia Thorn.

Jane is an awesome sleuth, chef, friend, and sister. Cordelia is the kooky best friend who will do anything for Jane. Bean is the adorable little pet dog of Jane, and you will just want him to curl up in your lap as you read these pages. This book is a fast, fun read and highly recommended.

PS- As soon as I finished Wicked Games, I started Hunting the Witch, cause I needed more Jane Lawless!

Wicked Games, reintroduces us to Jane Lawless - fabulous cook, restaurant owner, and very unofficial private eye. Jane's life in Minnesota is moving along quite nicely. Her restaurant is very successful, she has found happiness, albeit in a rather long-distance relationship, with a woman named Julia. But Jane's life changes dramatically and violently following the arrival of a young man who rents out the third floor of Jane's old home. As the novel progresses, we learn that this young man, along with many other characters in the novel, has a troubled past and many secrets to hide.

The level of suspense that moves Wicked Games is just right. It keeps you reading - you won't want to put this book down - but it's not a draining because the book operates on more levels than simply a suspenseful story. Aside from the violence and suspense at the heart of the story is the relationship between Jane and Julia which becomes a source of tension and conflict in the novel. And characters like the zany Cordelia keep us laughing even as we sit on the edge of our seats.

Wicked Games is a great addition to the Jane Lawless series, and a great introduction to Jane Lawless for those who haven't read Hart's previous novels. Gay and lesbian fiction fans are rewarded with superb writing and a fabulous heroine. Fans of general mystery and suspense novels are likewise rewarded.

A friend lent me this book and I was encouraged to read it out of my desire for plausible storylines and relatable characters in this genre. I couldn't have been more disappointed. The conversation is predictable and ridiculous, and the qualities the characters display make you began to wonder why these people would have anything to do with each other. I really wanted to like the main character, Jane Lawless, but she is someone that cannot be related to and who too often has events conveniently fall in place for her. Her actions make you think she feels entitled to do what she wants by believing in her excuses for constantly putting aside basic principles and expects the other characters to believe her excuses too (they do). These are the kind of people you steer clear from in everyday life, in all situations possible, and in books.

I had always thought I would rather read anything rather than have nothing to read...I was wrong.

I rated this 1 star because there were no lesser options available. a minus 3 stars would be more appropriate.
I am sorry I wasted my money on this book. I bought 2 books at the same time because someone highly recommended them...A Small Sacrifice and Wicked Games. the first was absolutely stupid. I forced myself to read 3 chapters and had to throw it away. then decided to try Wicked Games. the Prologue started out o.k. but when I got to the chapter about Jane Lawless not letting the alarm wake her sleeping woman companion, I had to stop. Threw that book away too. I read murder mysteries and I expect my 'heros' to have better morals than the murderers.
Carol Sutton M.D.
I certainly won't read, or buy, another book by Ellen Hart.