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IMMACULATE MIDNIGHT
by Ellen Hart
Minotaur, July 2003
336 pages
$13.95
ISBN: 0312313659


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Jane Lawless' attorney father, Raymond, has been unsuccessful in his defense of jewelry designer Bobby Alto, currently in prison serving two consecutive life terms for murder and arson. His appeal is denied, and Bobby is found dead in his cell, a suicide, declaring his innocence to the end. Alto's father curses Lawless and his family, and Ray has doubts as to whether he was as vigorous in his defense of Alto as he might have been.

Jane receives a photocopy of a tarot card. Drugs are found hidden in her restaurant. She feels one of her newer waiters is spying on her. Her father has also received a strange tarot card, as has her brother Peter. Jane has been feeling poorly lately: she is still recovering from an earlier attack, her dog has died and her lover has left. But the danger to her family invigorates her and she and her larger-than-life theatrical friend, Cordelia Thorne, start investigating.

They find strange ties among Alto, his father, and his best friend with whom Alto's girlfriend has been staying. There is also the matter of a beautifully designed platinum pendant which was found on the bodies of the dead women. Two of them had been found under the floorboards of Bobby's bedroom and, circumstantial though it was, this was the evidence that convicted Bobby. But Bobby is dead and the murders are recurring.

This is the 11th in the series featuring Minneapolis restauranteur Jane Lawless. Lambda award winner Ellen Hart does a wonderful job portraying Jane and her friends and family. And there are enough twists and turns in this entry to keep all but the hardest of noir fans interested.

Reviewed by Barbara Franchi, September 2003

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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