The
Mirror and the Mask
A
Jane Lawless Mystery
Ellen
Hart
St.
Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-312-37527-1 (0312375271)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-37527-0 (9780312375270)
Publication Date: November 2009
List Price: $25.99
Synopsis (from
the publisher): Minneapolis restaurateur Jane Lawless is at crossroads.
The rough economy has put her plans for a third restaurant on hold, and
her long distance romance is on the rocks and quite possibly
unsalvageable. Unsure of what to do next, she takes her good friend A.
J. Nolan up on his standing offer to take her on as a private
investigator.
While still in training, her first job seems simple enough. All she had
to do is find Annie Archer's stepfather. Jane tracks down a likely
match -- a man who has made a small fortune in real estate. While she's
happy to close her first case, she finds it hard to reconcile the
difference between PI work -- finding what people pay you to find --
and uncovering the truth, the whole truth, especially when clues in
this seemingly simple case point to more threatening family secrets
than where Annie's father has been hiding out.
Review:
Jane Lawless gets to practice her investigative skills when a young
woman arrives in Minneapolis looking for her long-lost stepfather and
asks for her help in finding him in The
Mirror and the Mask,
the 17th mystery in this series by Ellen Hart.
Jane soon discovers, however, that the woman, Annie Archer, has a far
more mysterious past than her stepfather Jack Bowman, who Jane learns
is a prosperous real estate developer in the area. The case becomes
even more complicated when Jack's current wife, who was having an
affair with a co-worker, tumbles down a flight of stairs at home, and
dies. Jane discovers that Jack's former wife, Annie's mother, also died
under suspicious circumstances. Did Jack kill both his wives? And does
Annie suspect his involvement in her mother's death, and is looking for
him to exact some sort of revenge?
The cleverly, and appropriately, titled The Mirror and the Mask
is a wonderfully crafted character study, with intertwining
interpersonal relationships that are not readily untangled. True, it is
also a murder mystery, but this aspect of the story is clearly
secondary to the elaborate web of Annie's past history and current
situation. The reader knows Annie is clearly lying to Jane, and Jane
knows she's lying to her, but to what end? Jane muses at one point,
"Humans were never simple. Or logical. And there was never just
one. Of anyone." The plot twists are
unexpected, the final resolution somewhat less so.
Jane's friend Cordelia also plays a significant role here, but it is
the subplot involving her niece Hattie that offers a striking and
memorable familial contrast to the story. It's quite charming, and a
rewarding way to end a most satisfying novel.
Special thanks to St. Martin's Minotaur for providing a copy of The Mirror and the Mask for this review.
Review Copyright © 2010 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read The Mirror and the Mask? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series …
Hallowed
Murder
Seal Press (Trade Paperback), October 1989
ISBN-10: 0-931188-83-0 (0931188830)
ISBN-13: 978-0-931188-83-1 (9780931188831)
Vital
Lies
Seal Press (Trade Paperback), April 1991
ISBN-10: 1-878067-02-8 (1878067028)
ISBN-13: 978-1-878067-02-9 (9781878067029)
Stage
Fright
Seal Press (Trade Paperback), January 1992
ISBN-10: 1-878067-21-4 (1878067214)
ISBN-13: 978-1-878067-21-0 (9781878067210)
A
Killing Cure
Seal Press (Hardcover), September 1993
ISBN-10: 1-878067-36-2 (1878067362)
ISBN-13: 978-1-878067-36-4 (9781878067364)
A
Small Sacrifice
Seal Press (Hardcover), October 1994
ISBN-10: 1-878067-55-9 (1878067559)
ISBN-13: 978-1-878067-55-5 (9781878067555)
Faint
Praise
Seal Press (Hardcover), November 1995
ISBN-10: 1-878067-67-2 (1878067672)
ISBN-13: 978-1-878067-67-8 (9781878067678)
Robber's
Wine
Seal Press (Hardcover), July 1996
ISBN-10: 1-878067-80-X (187806780X)
ISBN-13: 978-1-878067-80-7 (9781878067807)
Wicked
Games
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover), August 1998
ISBN-10: 0-312-18680-0 (0312186800)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-18680-7 (9780312186807)
Hunting
the Witch
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover), September 1999
ISBN-10: 0-312-20386-1 (0312203861)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-20386-3 (9780312203863)
The
Merchant of Venus
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), February 2001
ISBN-10: 0-312-26618-9 (0312266189)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-26618-9 (9780312266189)
Immaculate
Midnight
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), July 2002
ISBN-10: 0-312-26676-6 (0312266766)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-26676-9 (9780312266769)
An
Intimate Ghost
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), March 2004
ISBN-10: 0-312-31747-6 (0312317476)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-31747-8 (9780312317478)
The
Iron Girl
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), July 2005
ISBN-10: 0-312-31749-2 (0312317492)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-31749-2 (9780312317492)
Night
Vision
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), December 2006
ISBN-10: 0-312-34944-0 (0312349440)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-34944-8 (9780312349448)
Mortal Groove
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), December 2007
ISBN-10: 0-312-34945-9 (0312349459)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-34945-5 (9780312349455)
Sweet
Poison
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), November 2008
ISBN-10: 0-312-37525-5 (0312375255)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-37525-6 (9780312375256)
The Mirror and the Mask
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), November 2009
ISBN-10: 0-312-37527-1 (0312375271)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-37527-0 (9780312375270)
Omnimystery
keywords for The Mirror and the Mask
...
Location(s) referenced: Minneapolis, Minnesota.
