Fever in the Dark

Jane Lawless #24

by Ellen Hart

Ellen Hart was named the 2017 MWA Grand Master, the most distinguished lifetime achievement award offered in the mystery community.

In FEVER IN THE DARK by MWA Edgars Grand Master Ellen Hart, Fiona and Annie return home from their one year anniversary trip to discover that their poignant proposal video has been posted on YouTube and has garnered hundreds of thousands of hits. The video is on the verge of going viral, and there’s enormous media interest in Fiona and Annie, as their fame comes just on the heels of the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize gay marriage across the country. As some of the attention starts to turn vicious, Fiona pulls in an old friend, private investigator Jane Lawless, to help separate the harmless threats from the potentially harmful.

As the media storm continues to grow, Fiona revels in the attention, but Annie is furious. Fiona has always known that Annie has secrets, but her newfound notoriety threatens to bring Annie's past straight to their door. And then, when a murder occurs and Annie and Fiona are both suspects, it’s up to Jane to prove their innocence…although the more she learns, the more she starts to wonder whether they actually are innocent.

Ellen Hart will once again captivate readers with her trademark smart, clever, mystery plotting and rich, human characters.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, LGBT, Mystery Thriller, Lesbian

8 pages, Audiobook

First published January 31, 2017

About the author

Ellen Hart is the author of twenty-eight crime novels in two different series. She is a five-time winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Best Lesbian Mystery, a three-time winner of the Minnesota Book Award for Best Popular Fiction, a three-time winner of the Golden Crown Literary Award in several categories, a recipient of the Alice B Medal, and was made an official GLBT Literary Saint at the Saints & Sinners Literary Festival in New Orleans in 2005. In 2010, Ellen received the GCLS Trailblazer Award for lifetime achievement in the field of lesbian literature. For the past fourteen years, Ellen has taught "An Introduction to Writing the Modern Mystery" through the The Loft Literary Center, the largest independent writing community in the nation. Ellen's latest Sophie Greenway mystery is No Reservations Required (Ballantine). Rest for the Wicked, the twentieth Jane Lawless mystery, will be released by St. Martin's/Minotaur in October 2012. Bella Books has recently revived the out-of-print books by publishing them in both trade paperback and E-book. Ellen lives in the Minneapolis area with her partner of over 35 years.

Reviews

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fever in the Dark, Ellen Hart’s 24th Jane Lawless mystery, focuses more on gay rights and women’s issues than any of the other books in the series. Jane, who is a lesbian restaurant owner, and her best friend Cordelia Thorn, a flamboyant theater owner, who is also gay, are both prominent characters in this story. However, the primary characters are two women who attract all sorts of attention when a video of their wedding proposal goes viral on YouTube. This causes friction in the relationship because there are other issues as well.

Any relationship has pressures, of course, but when one partner is hiding a terrible trauma from her past, things can be tense. And then there are strange occurrences that no one can predict. But when one’s estranged family suddenly shows up on the doorstep? Will they all be one big, happy family, or will the pizza hit the fan?

Well, we know that since this is a Jane Lawless mystery, there’s a murder in here somewhere. Who will it be? The victim was not difficult to predict. There is no shortage of suspects, but I felt that Ms. Hart took the easy way out when she chose her murderer. In fact, now that I’ve caught up with the entire series, this may be my least favorite of the whole 25. Of the characters introduced in this book, I liked Sharif and Fiona. I even liked the infusion of Julia in this story, since I had read A Whisper of Bones ahead of this one and didn’t know how she had come back into Jane’s life. Despite the social commentary on love and marriage for everyone, the evils of rape, the dangers of guns, the sadness of Alzheimer’s, and the power of friendship, the plot felt lacking. Too pat.

Jane is feeling spread too thin at the Lyme House, and I felt that she was spread too thin in this novel. I wanted more Lawless! I actually wanted more Cordelia too! Fortunately, I already know that #25 is well worth reading! I hope we won’t have to wait too long for #26.

3 stars

[Kristina Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fever in the Dark by Ellen Hart is the twenty-fourth A Jane Lawless Mystery series. Fiona and Annie are returning home to after their vacation to celebrate their one year wedding anniversary. As soon as they get off the plane, their phones start ringing. Their friend, Roxy DeCastro has left a message asking them to contact her before arriving home. It turns out that Roxy had a video created of Fiona’s proposal to Annie and then their wedding. It was subsequently uploaded onto You-tube, and the video is getting millions of hits. The video upload happens to coincide with the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize gay marriage. The press is staked out at their home thanks to someone notifying them of the pairs imminent (gee I wonder who). Fiona and Annie watch the video and it is beautiful. But not all the remarks are positive. Annie is upset and wants the video taken down. Annie is afraid that someone will dredge up her past which she does not want to come to light. Fiona has a problem that she has yet to share with Annie. Someone is stalking her and sending her letters. Fiona asks Jane Lawless to investigate the matter. After a bomb scare, Cordelia Thorn invites Annie, Fiona and their guests to stay with her. Cordelia soon regrets her invitation when Noah Foster is found dead in her driveway. When Annie ends up the prime suspect, Jane will have to step up her game to find the real killer.

Fever in the Dark may be the twenty-fourth book in the series, but it can be read alone. The author provides the necessary background information on the characters for readers. I did not enjoy reading Fever in the Dark. I found the pace of Fever in the Dark to be slow which made the book seem long (even though it is average length). The two mysteries may seem complex, but they are easily solved. I could identify the stalker early in the novel. The killer is equally easy to recognize. I believe the author tried to stuff too much into this book. We have two mysteries plus the current play at the theater, Sharif Berry visiting, Bridget and Noah are in town, and we get background information on Annie (there is more). Why Annie left home and what happened to her afterward is revealed through a series of diary entries. I thought the entries were lengthy and interrupted the flow of the story. I wish the author had found a different way to present the information (maybe through flashbacks or Annie having an honest conversation with Fiona). I felt that Ellen Hart had one too many barmy characters (writers should really limit it to one wacky person per story). Cordelia is over-the-top and annoying and then we have Roxy who is bubbly, perky, and exasperating. Jane was not the prominent character in Fever in the Dark (especially in the first half of the novel). I give Fever in the Dark 2.5 out of 5 stars. I wish the author had not included foul language in Fever in the Dark. It was not necessary or needed. I did not enjoy reading Fever in the Dark. Fever in the Dark was just not the right novel for me.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, the book was a super quick read! I'm not going to go over the plot in depth because you can find that in other reviews, but I wanted to bring up a large issue that I had representation wise.
First, this has nothing to do with the wlw characters in this book. Jane, Julia, Fiona, and Annie were all absolutely fantastic and I loved them with all my heart. My issue came with the representation of Mimi, who is diagnosed as having bipolar depression and narcissistic tendencies in the novel. The reveal that she was the murderer was one that I was dreading through the novel, because I was afraid it would be her, and knew it would be her. This just adds on more to the "dangerous psycho bipolar" stereotype, and I could go a little bit more into the details, but if you want to read more about how that adds to poor representation there's tons of resources explaining better than I can through google. That's not to say that people who are bipolar can't be antagonists in a narrative, but it also rubbed me the wrong way because it is such a stereotype in our society (think of reactions to white shooters, how they are almost immediately dubbed "mentally ill" and that's the only time politicians choose to mention the issue)
That's not to say the book is not well written. It wasn't my favorite narratively, but the plot carried me through and the combo of short chapters and constant cliffhangers caused me to finish quickly. I just think people should be aware of this poor representation in the novel.

[Karla Huebner]

This sounded very promising--set just after the Supreme Court's legalization of gay marriage, with newlyweds returning from the honeymoon to find that a video of their proposal has been posted online and gone viral. So, timely themes addressed by an award-winning author. Alas, I soon found nearly all of the characters got on my nerves. The newlywed Fi(ona) was all right, but her lack of knowledge about her wife Annie's past sounded like a red flag, and most of her friends and co-workers seemed to have no tact whatsoever. Sure, the stranger-fans serenading the couple and climbing on the roof to look through the skylight were appalling, but so were the people we're expected to like. I could certainly see why Annie didn't care for Fi's friend Roxy, and was sure that by the end of the book Roxy would be taken away by either the police or the mental health professionals. Same for some of the others. Perhaps if one has been following the series there is more of a sense of these people being merely lovably quirky, but between the murderer, the dead guy, and the rest of the lot, I felt surrounded by far too many hyper, stressed-out people who were assailed by way too many unfortunate situations all at once. When a severely bipolar person off her meds (and I don't mean the kind of bipolar person who can sort of cope with life) doesn't seem all that much crazier than the other characters until the very end of the book, it's not a good sign. This book made me very eager to return to reading abstruse texts on aesthetics, semiotics, and communal housing.

[Ryan Mishap · Rating 3 out of 5]

While Ellen Hart continues to do her thing--offering up another decent Jane Lawless mystery involving past secrets, contemporary social problems and interpersonal interactions--I want to say how much I enjoy reading mysteries that are inclusive, with gay characters that aren't sidekicks, shticks, or psychopaths.

Rather than review, I'd also like to encourage you to support your local feminist bookstore, if your town has one. I miss the days when I could walk into Mother Kali's and browse the shelves looking for modern fiction, zines, and lesbian mysteries. Shame to lose such a community resource, so don't let it happen in your town!

[Sarah Thornton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone was so extra in this one that it was hard to sort of who was the real threat.

The murder wasn't really the mystery here, rather the stalker from many candidates.

Cordelia's mansion and Tyrion's treasures bump it up a notch, and the genuinely affection and understanding between Sharif and Annie/Fi was touching.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fever in the Dark is the twenty-fourth Jane Lawless mystery by author Ellen Hart. I read The Grave Soul by Ellen Hart last year and really enjoyed it so I have been looking forward to Fever in the Dark. I was not disappointed.

Fever in the Dark is character driven by a fascinating group of people. Jane's friend Cordelia runs a theater. Fiona is her stage manager. Fiona has been married for one year to her wife Annie. Annie's past has always been a bit of a mystery but not once a video is uploaded of their engagement. The video goes viral and Annie's family discovers where she is. Annie's family was never accepting her life style choices but we soon discover that Annie's rift with her family is much more sinister.

Annie's family show up in Minnesota determined to reconcile. In the meantime, Annie and Fiona's home is bombarded with people, media and threats. Annie, Fiona and Annie's extended family move in with Cordelia. When Annie's brother-in-law is murdered there are is no shortage of suspects. Jane searches to find an answer to the killing while Fiona is worried that Annie is going to be driven away by all the fuss and attention.

I really enjoyed Fever in the Dark. Ellen Hart is a great writer and storyteller. I highly recommend Fever in the Dark.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Ellen Hart's Jane Lawless series was quite shocked to realise this is no 24 in the series and that I have them all and read them avidly. Jane Lawless lives in Minnesota, where she runs a restaurant and also works as a private eye on the side. Her best friend Cordelia Thorn runs the local theatre and is very much larger than life. Together they make quite the pair of sleuths. In some ways reading these novels is like going back in time but they are set in the present day and have begun to deal with issues of today. The main focus of this story was the murder of a rogue psychiatrist and as usual there are many potential murderers. For me I enjoy the way that Ellen presents the characters and the way they interact, its like comfort reading and the eventual solving of the crime feels like an extra.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Someone's posted a video of Fiona proposing to Annie on YouTube, and their life has become a hell of social media and the press. When a bomb is found outside their house, Fi's boss, Cordelia Thorn, offers them a place to stay in her mansion. But with them come Annie's long-estranged but eager to reconcile family, who not only rejected her when she came out to them, but also failed her in another way, which no one knows about but her and her late mother. When there's a murder at Thorn Hall, their family secret (now shared by Annie's best friend, a former football player with trauma of his own) makes them all suspects.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the Jane Lawless mysteries! I can count on well-developed, often charmingly quirky, characters that I care about and a plot simple enough that I can follow, yet complex and suspenseful enough to be a page-turner. Ellen Hart knows human nature, and so she can make me believe that the sweetest, kindest character may turn out to be the heartless killer. More impressive yet is that she gets me wondering just what I might be capable of, driven to...out of betrayal, in anger, or for love?! Icing on the cake? Jane Lawless and Ellen Hart know that love is love.

[Greyson · Rating 2 out of 5]

So here's the thing. I sped through this book. But it disappointed me. first of all, I knew who did all the things really early. Not good for a mystery. Second of all, there was so many things going on. Unnecessary things that I couldn't tell what the actual main storyline was. And so many characters I didn't care about (as in they weren't important to story and I didn't know why they were there). However, I did like how queer it was! Which is why it's 2.5 stars for me.
A quick and easy read with queer characters, but predictable and all over the place.

[Julie Verne]

I enjoy these books for the mystery. The first 20 or so had me guessing, but the last four or so have been too strongly projected to remain mysterious.

Still reading for the plot, and for the cosy vibes, and still reading as quickly as possible to get to the end, but I don't obsess over the possible solutions the way I used to.

Which might be a 'me' problem, and the books are still very enjoyable.

[Sandra de Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I forget how much I enjoy Hart’s writing and this character. In this book, Jane herself is somewhat peripheral to the main story, though she solves the mystery by the end. Rich characters, interesting story line, and Jane’s quirky friend Cordelia makes a strong appearance. Have ordered the next one in the series.

[Brenda Freeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the Jane Lawless series by Ellen Hart. Jane and Cordelia always have some light moments. This one read a little slow, although an easy read. Hoping the next one return to more action and intrigue.

[Cecelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whew! I was a little worried after the last book that Hart had lost her way. But she certainly found it again with Fever in the Dark. A great page-turner and engaging read. I would recommend this!

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started in the middle of the series and am not familiar will all of the back stories yet. Probably should have started earlier in the series. The mystery interested me. I did guess the murderer. The story centers around a lesbian couple who are surprised that their video proposal is all over the internet. Havoc ensues. The characters are good. I didn't understand how some things connected the story line except they were from previous books. The end flies by in a couple seconds.

[Elizabeth Tanner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book by Ms. Ellen Hart. The focus is a little different than a lot of her books and she does it well. The characters are great and the plot is developed well. I always look forward to reading a Jane Lawless mystery and this one did not disappoint.

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this series and have read all of the books up to this one. While I liked it, I didn't like it as much as some of the others in the series. I didn't like Annie and Fi's story and I thought some things didn't quite "fit."

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review at www.criminalelement.com

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another engaging entry in a consistently engaging series...

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was little denouement, the ending felt much too rushed. But all in all, a good read, as always with this series.

[Miriam Holsinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love Ellen Hart mysteries - especially the Jane Lawless ones. This did not disappoint - lots of good stuff, twists, turns, and characters

[TJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good fun read. Quick read.

[Picture Perfect · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still love these but this one was by far the most predictable.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jane Lawless, PI and Restauranteur.

[Tink · Rating 3 out of 5]

24 down.

[Mary Schumann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, you know? A pleasant read. I wasn’t gripped but neither did I decide to set it aside so there you go. 😊

[Mary Nuttelman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jane sure has her hands full, both at the restaurant and with her friends. This entry of the series makes me glad that I don't participate on social media. Cordelia is in fine form, as always.

[Kristi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite edition in the Jane Lawless series, but I still like the protagonist and the fact that the mystery is set here in Minneapolis. Kristi & Abby Tabby

[Elissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5