The Old Deep and Dark

August 11, 2014
Hart’s engrossing 22nd Jane Lawless mystery (after 2013’s Taken by the Wind) finds the Minneapolis PI and restaurateur working with her attorney father to determine who shot country singer Jordan Deere. Jordan had just written an autobiographical novel that threatened to end his career, destroy his family, and ruin his close friends, so suspects abound. Meanwhile, Jane’s best friend, Cordelia Thorn, is horrified to discover three skeletons in the bricked-up walls and hidden rooms of the “Old Deep and Dark,” the theater and former speakeasy she’s renovating. Forensic examination shows the three were killed by the same weapon as Jordan. As the savvy Jane investigates both cases, she also confronts uncomfortable questions about her girlfriend, Avi Greenberg, whose behavior is becoming increasingly erratic. Hart develops characters and backstory enough to orient readers new to the series without miring them in previous complications. Agent: Deborah Schneider, Gelfman Schneider Literary.

October 15, 2014
Two old friends work together to make connections between a historic mystery emerging from a theater renovation and a modern-day murder."The Old Deep and Dark" is the nickname of the newly christened Thorn Lester Playhouse, which wisecracking, imposing Cordelia Thorn is preparing to restore. At least, that's what Archibald Van Arnam, the University of Minnesota's own resident historian, tells her as he helps her explore the new space. Cordelia, Jane Lawless' closest friend, wants to know the history of the place but doesn't bargain for the body that's found buried behind a brick wall or the secrets that accompany it-the Old Deep and Dark indeed. Jane would love to help, but she's working on a case of her own. Her dad, Ray, has asked for her help investigating the murder of famous country-western singer Jordan Deere. Jordan's stage-actress wife, Kit, has always been a little sweet on Ray, so he's in shock when his interrogation of her leads him to lies and more lies. Apparently the Deeres, with their two adult children in from out of town, are prepared to close ranks to keep family secrets. Not that Jordan wanted to be a keeper of secrets anymore; it's distinctly possible he was murdered over the impending release of a fictionalized tell-all memoir from which no member of his family seems to emerge unscathed. Jane wishes she could keep her attention on the case, but her thoughts keep drifting to her girlfriend, Avi, who's out of town with Julia, Jane's ex-turned-nemesis-turned-Avi's publisher.The Deere family has to carry much of the weight of the narrative. That's great for readers who buy into their family gossip but less great for those who'll miss the sharp wit Cordelia displays in Hart's ongoing Jane Lawless series (Taken By the Wind, 2013, etc.).

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October 1, 2014
Hidden subterranean rooms, ghosts from a speakeasy, long-buried skeletons in basement wallsall found in an historic theater under restoration. Although this sounds like a Nancy Drew mystery, it is the basis for the latest in Hart's (Taken by the Wind, 2013) Jane Lawless series. This time around, the restaurateur-PI's investigation of Minneapolis-based country music star Jordan Deere's death intersects with those discoveries in the theater owned by her best friend, actress-director Cordelia Thorn, who dreams of someday working with her old friend, famous actress Kit, whose marriage to the murdered singer is about to be exposed as nothing more than secrets and lies in his forthcoming book. Add to these complications Jane's dad, attorney Raymond Lawless' apparent crush on gorgeous client and prime suspect Kit, and Jane's girlfriend, Avi, sleeping withOMGJane's ex! Cordelia, who usually provides delightfully over-the-top comic relief in Jane's investigations, instead helps connect the many characters and developments, perhaps due to her new businesswoman persona. Fans may yearn for Cordelia's comedy but will still applaud Hart's latest.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)