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Several stories come together in this absorbing mystery by Ellen Hart. One involves a crime from the past, 1972, in a small town in Kansas. Another features high school teacher Alden Clifford who talks a teenage shooter into freeing the students in his class but then watches in horror as Cullen Hegg turns the gun on himself and commits suicide. Finally there is the story of the wedding of Alden's son Nick which features a buffet catered by Jane Lawless, restaurant owner in Minneapolis, and at which some terrible things happen. Jane could easily be sued for the events so she is prompted to try to discover the culprit and that leads to the unraveling of all the stories. Ellen Hart's characters are always well-drawn and empathetic. The reader learns to like the characters and I, at least, was surprised by the villain in this case. No one has a monopoly on virtue and no one has a monopoly on evil. All characters have flaws and virtues and all are many-faceted and complex. For those who have read the earlier books in the series, Jane Lawless will be familiar, of course, as will her friend Cordelia. We have watched Jane grow and change through losing a lover, surviving personal attacks, and rescuing her restaurant. Cordelia brings both bathos and pathos to the scene. Alden and his wife Clifford seem superficially to be normal teachers, but few people are really normal. We hardly meet Nick since he is seriously injured early on and his new wife, Lauren, retreats into silence after his injury. All are intriguing and all are capable of surprising us. I enjoy the setting -- this time actually three settings: small-town Kansas, small-town Minnesota, and Minneapolis. I am familiar with this part of the country and, of course, Hart describes all three of the settings perfectly. The plot is intriguing. For a long time I was not sure how she was going to bring the diverse strands together to weave a common story, but of course she did so quite nicely and with just the right element of surprise and suspense. Because Jane is a restaurant owner she often talks of food (but there are no recipes to interrupt the flow of the story). I have to admit I get quite hungry while reading these books. Mouth-watering canapés, wonderful dinners, delicious lunches all make me wish I were enjoying them too. Obviously Hart does a good job of putting the reader into the story. This is a well-written enjoyable addition to a series which I have always enjoyed. I recommend it.
Reviewed by Sally Fellows, April 2004
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