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I've never particularly searched out Ellen Hart's Jane Lawless series, having read one or two of them and categorised them as the lesbian equivalent of Amanda Cross -- too many rather genteel people you'd cross a busy motorway to avoid, too much talk and nowhere near enough action. VITAL LIES, though, is a thoroughly inoffensive, pleasant read. I raced through it whilst curled up on the sofa feeling sorry for myself. It's not quite a cozy -- heavens to Betsy, I spotted the F word in there once or twice -- but it's not far off. Minneapolis restaurateur Jane Lawless has been invited to spend the week at Fothergill Inn, a Victorian house. Jane's friend Leigh has renovated it and turned it into a successful inn and restaurant which attracts visitors from far and wide. Jane has her own problems -- whether she should invite her favourite aunt Beryl to move in with her. But when she and best friend Cordelia arrive at the inn, their plans for a relaxing rest are ruined by some fairly uncongenial fellow guests, and a series of malicious pranks that turn very nasty. There are some clunky passages where information is transferred -- I think Jane, who runs a restaurant, might just know why chefs insist on hats being worn in kitchens. And Cordelia is thoroughly infuriating and top of my list for characters to be bumped off in the next book (fat chance of that, I suspect, given Hart has now written 12 mysteries starring Jane!) But Hart does tension pretty well, and keeps a firm hand on her pool of suspects. And anyone narrow-minded enough to condemn gay and lesbian mysteries will find in VITAL LIES a pleasant read towards the cozy end of the scale where the leading character's sexual preference doesn't matter a damn. VITAL LIES is the second in the Jane Lawless series and is being reissued 13 years on. You'll guess a lot of what happens, but the book is a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon, even if I won't necessarily be charging out to buy the rest.
Reviewed by Sharon Wheeler, July 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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