The Mirror and the Mask

September 7, 2009
Lonely Jane Lawless never seems to catch a break in the love department, as shown by Hart's twisty 17th whodunit to feature the Minneapolis restaurateur and part-time PI (after 2008's Sweet Poison
). Jane gives a temporary job to bartender Annie Andrews, who's come from Colorado in search of her stepfather, John Archer, whom Annie blames for her mother's death years before. Jane, who's attracted to the bisexual Annie, discovers that John has changed his name to Jack Bowman, who owns DreamScape Builders in the Twin Cities. The mystery deepens after Susan, Jack's second wife, is found murdered by a blow to the head by Susan's depressed son, Curt, who's also attracted to Annie. Jane and her best friend, Cordelia Thorne, begin investigating Annie's troubled past. As Annie's search for answers hurtles to a close, the tragic deceptions concocted by John/Jack explode in a grand finale with disturbing consequences.

October 1, 2009
Veteran sleuth Jane Lawless (Sweet Poison, 2008, etc.) tries to wrap up her first case as an actual PI, even as she wonders if she's getting too involved for her own good.

Drifter Annie Archer shows up at the Xanadu Club, one of the two restaurants Jane owns, looking for both a job and her long-lost stepfather. Apparently he made fast tracks right after Annie's mother died, and she hasn't seen or heard from him since. Jane quickly discovers that Annie isn't telling the whole truth about her past or her motivations for reuniting with her stepfather. Meanwhile, Susan Bowman, who's peripherally and unfortunately related to the case, is murdered in her home. Jane fears for Annie, who's recently taken up with Susan's emotionally fragile son Curt. If she can figure out the secrets of Annie's past, Jane knows she can help protect the young woman—something she'd like to do more than she'd care to admit. Considering that her ex won't even return her calls, she figures that it's about time she felt that spark for someone, and Annie has some convenient lesbian tendencies that draw her to Jane as well. While all this goes on, Jane's usual sidekick Cordelia is preoccupied pining for her niece Hattie, whose histrionic mother has recently retaken custody.

Romance scenes read like outtakes from a Harlequin bodice-ripper in this blast from Jane's past, whose light-fare pleasures will depend on readers' investment in the cast.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

Starred review from October 1, 2009
When Annie Archer turns up at Minneapolis's Xanadu Club, its owner, lesbian restaurateur and amateur sleuth Jane Lawless ("Sweet Poison"), offers her a job and takes on the task of finding Annie's long-missing father. VERDICT The Lambda Literary Award- and Minnesota Book Award-winning author of 16 Jane Lawless mysteries knows how to spin a tale full of complex plot lines, fast-paced action, and characters skilled in deception. Fans of the Lawless series and readers who enjoy gay/lesbian mysteries will not be disappointed.

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2009
Lesbian heroine/Minneapolis restaurateur/sleuth Jane Lawless, now 45, mulls stalled career ambitions and cant emotionally leave her most recent ex. Into this disharmonic convergence comes pretty Annie from Colorado. Shes broke and searching for her father, John. Jane finds him, re-created as Jack, a successful contractor, but learns neither are who they seem to be. Armed with intuition and a Nazi interrogation bra, Janes larger-than-life sidekick, Cordelia, provides dramedy and assistance as the case quickly develops into murder when Jacks current wife is found dead and Janes involvement deepens. So does Annies, since shes trying to shake down Jack for money, and feels a bond with Jacks med-student stepson, who is shaken by his mothers sudden death and drinking heavily. Speaking of bondsJanes still leaving weepy messages on the exs voice mail, and Cordelia remains desperately committed to the five-year-old niece she raised until her vampiric sister reclaimed herall key emotional components as Hart constructs a mystery with underlying layers of shifting family alliances, and deepening levels of literary finesse sure to please readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)