The Iron Girl

I've read all of Hart's novels and while they are all well written, compelling and interesting stories, The Iron Girl is really, really good. A combination of danger, humor and romance kept me reading until the startling and satisfying conclusion. This latest episode in the "Jane Lawless" series is more emotional and dramatic than anything Hart has done before. Ellen Hart has mastered the intricacies of serving plot and character in equal portions. The emotions are so real you'll find yourself drawn in and living the story.

Jane Lawless has struggled and grieved over her partner Christine's death back in 1987, a long time ago, but now she's happy with someone else and after coming back from a vacation with new partner Kenzie, she finally decides she's ready go through Christine's things. However, as she's going through Christine's briefcase, she finds a gun that shouldn't be there and now she has questions that need to be answered. Christine was a realtor and the day before her death three members of one of her client's families had been murdered and Jane, investigator that she is, naturally wonders if there is a connection between those murders and the gun in Christine's briefcase. And as she looks into it she meets a young woman who is almost a dead ringer for Christine and now not only is her relationship with Kenzie on the line, but her life as well. I like the way Ms. Hart weaves her tale, drawing you in page by page. I also liked Jane's somewhat eccentric, but very sharp sidekick Cordelia. She is just to die for, character wise that is. Ms. Hart has a unique talent of spicing up her clues with a few very good laughs amid the tension and she knows how to keep her readers turning the pages.

There is no doubt that we are blessed with many talented mystery writers. There are, however, only a handful of books each year that are exceptional. Ellen Hart's The Iron Girl is one of those. I've read many of Hart's novels and while they are all well written, compelling and interesting stories, The Iron Girl is spectacular. The death of Jane Lawless' life partner Christine Kane many years ago did not put closure on their relationship. With a new relationship beginning, Jane realizes she must move on. She begins the sad and disturbing job of going through the boxes of Christine's belongings that have waited for so many years. During the examination of Christine's possessions, Jane finds a gun. What is unusual is that Christine abhorred guns and that it actually belonged to an eccentric and wealthy Minneapolis family. This family had members of the household brutally murdered the night before Christine died of cancer. Jane is unable to put aside the gun and other discoveries she's made. She is determined to learn what happened at the Simoneau household and how Christine fit in with the murders. As she searches, a Christine look-alike moves to town, clouding Jane's ability to think clearly. Jane's past and present collide in a deadly and sensational manner. Only Jane can find out what truly happened. But it just might put her and others in a great deal of danger. This latest episode in the Jane Lawless series is as emotional and dramatic as I've ever seen Ellen Hart's writing. Her plot is both fascinating and heart wrenching, the characters full-bodied and complex with all the real-life human frailties and vulnerabilities. The intensity of emotions is so real you'll find yourself drawn in and living the story. Armchair Interviews says: The Iron Girl is one of the best and most intriguing mysteries of 2005. It is definitely a must read!

Now that Kenzie is in Jane Lawless's life, she is so grateful to have found love for the second time after a ten year hiatus she gets up the nerve to go through her dead lover's things in order to put Christine in the past. She is shocked to find a gun in Christine's briefcase and when a friend brings over a statue that she was to give to Jane ten years ago but forgot all about it until now, Jane realizes both things were the property of the Simoneau family. Christine worked for Bill McBride of McBride Realty and she was selling the property of Bernadette Simoneau who moved with her son Philip into the family mansion. Not long before Christine died, the matriarch, Philip and the cook were murdered. The handy man was convicted of the crime. After visiting the black man in prison Jane believes that he is innocent; she starts asking questions in the hopes of finding the real murderers because she believes Christine would want her to do this. The reader sees flashbacks of the last weeks of Christine's life and how she came into possession of the gun and the statue. They also read about the revelation about Christine's death and how heart wrenching it is for the two lovers to acknowledge this. In the present, Jane meets Greta who could pass for Christine's double propping pictures of Jane's new restaurant. Jane's friend believes Greta has a motive for crossing Jane's path and the reader slowly began to believe it too, but wonder why. The decade old triple homicide was constructed with several suspects who had a motive and the opportunity to kill the victims. Ellen Hart has written one of the best novels of her career Harriet Klausner

Ellen Hart has another winner in her Jane Lawless series. "The Iron Girl" finally provides us with the back story of Jane and her partner Christine who died of cancer. Woven throughout this backstory is Jane dealing with her feelings for Christine (still very much in evidence years after her passing)while trying to move on with her life. There isn't a rock 'em, sock 'em finish like Cordelia driving her Hummer through a dining room to create a diversion, but this is still a very satisfying read for Lawless fans.