Dandy, just dandy. I know this author quite well and I am fond of her. Some of you who read this will be aware that she and I tour together frequently as part of the Minnesota Crime Wave.
This is a terrific novel which may disturb some of Hart's long-standing fans. It's a darker, more disturbing novel than she's penned before, reacting, I suspect, to the state of the world today. But this novel is no polemic . Mortal Groove, with roots in the Viet Nam conflict, examines once again some of the enduring aspects of all her novels, the complexity of family relations.
More than thirty years ago a terrible murder occurred in a small Iowa town. That crime, never solved, may have involved three recently returned veterans, from Viet Nam. Fast forward to the present time and a surprise visit to Jane Lawless's father, Ray Lawless by political operatives. Although it's late in the political season, a medical emergency has sent an urgent call to the liberal attorney to run for governor of Minnesota, replacing an experienced politician. On this platform rests the continuation of the novel, because some of the veterans are now becoming involved in the Lawless campaign. And thus is prickly and sometimes thoughtless Jane Lawless drawn ever deeper into murky family matters.
At the same time, her beloved brother, Peter, abruptly sets out on a personal quest which he believes will solve his marital difficulties. This sub-plot, a true domestic, plays well against the grittier political campaign and war background. But doomed individuals and doomed relationships coil around Jane and her companions. As always, the irrepressible and somewhat insane acting Cordelia Thorn is present to lighten the mood whenever it get too dark.
The novel demonstrates Hart's mastery of her genre and brings important social issues into bright focus. Unlike some novels which veer into the polemic, Hart is careful to subsume the political potential of these issues in order to maintain the forward drive and develops in the reader an almost irresistible compulsion to turn the next page.
This is an excellent and thoughtful novel that deserves a wide audience.
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The Mortal Groove (Jane Lawless Mysteries) Books In Print, Audio Books.