One of my favorite Jane Lawless mysteries so far! These books are total comfort reads for me, and this one was everything I was looking for from this semi-cozy Minnesota mystery series. Jane is investigating a case her father worked on several years ago, trying to find evidence that Rashad, jailed for his husband's murder, is innocent, as well as who the real killer is. With a great cast of shady suspects, as well as the ever-amusing Cordelia, Cordelia's eccentric niece Hattie, and Jane's brother Peter, this book is a really fun read. Jane's relationship with Julia is pretty meh to me, but Julia is absent for most of the book, which I appreciated. Would really like for her to get a new love interest, but I will continue following this series in any case!

This is a long running series featuring private investigator, Jane Lawless, set in Minnesota by Ellen Hart, but this was my first taste of the series which I think you can reasonably read as a standalone. Four years ago, it was assumed that Rashad May and Gideon Wise were contentedly married, until Gideon was discovered murdered in his bath, and his partner, Rashad was convicted of the heinous crime and sent to prison. In this miscarriage of justice story, Rashad's brother gets in touch with Jane's father, Ray, his defence lawyer, with potential evidence that questions the original guilty verdict. This propels Jane on the path of seeking justice for Rashad, still grieving, determined to find the truth in a case in which her brother, Peter, with his involvement in the original trial, a man who harbours secrets. She has her work cut out as she sifts through a host of suspects, all with viable motives to murder Gideon.

I found this to be an okay, if undemanding, easy crime read. For me, it needed more in depth characterisation and more complex plotting. However, I am aware that there many fans of this series and who will no doubt love this addition too. Many thanks to St Martin's Press for an ARC.

Jane Lawless is called in for help with the investigation when her father is thinking of petitioning to reopen an old case of his. Gideon Wise was found dead in the bath tub and his husband was sent to prison for murder. Jane investigates and finds out her brother has some unsavoury friends.

All the while I'm wondering why Ray Lawless didn't hire his daughter to investigate during the original trial. There's nothing she found out now she could not have found out at the time.

The story is told from multiple third person perspectives. Which makes for a change from my usual fair, but doesn't improve the mystery for me.

A solid, sophisticated mystery that keep you hooked until the end with its complex, tight plot, interesting, fully developed characters, intriguing prose, and even-paced narrative. Definitely recommended to all mystery lovers.

I have loved Jane Lawless since Hallowed Murder. Ellen Hart creates great characters and plots. Twisted at the Root proves that this series only gets better. Jane and her father investigate a 4 year old murder case that has Jane looking for her missing brother who might know more than he is telling about the original case.

I got halfway through this book and could not finish. Lots of unnecessary dialogue between characters. Jumped between characters a lot. Felt as if I was reading a script from This Is Us. That’s how jumbled up it felt. I hardly ever start a book without finishing, but I just couldn’t finish this one.

This was a great book, I really enjoyed reading. I have never Read anything by this author before but I definitely will be again in the future thank you so much for the advanced reader copy and I highly suggest this book for anyone

The Twisted Root is populated with interesting characters that are so believable I'd be happy to call a couple of them friends. The mystery is complex. When I thought I'd figured out who the culprit is another connection would present itself and I'd doubt my conclusion. Ms Hart is an accomplished writer who is adept at misdirection. Enjoyable reading experience.

I received an Advanced Readers Copy from Minotaur Books through NetGalley.
#TheTwistedRoot #NetGalley

The following review appeared on my book review blog this evening:

This was my first book to pick up from the Jane Lawless Series. It can be a stand-alone book and I only was slightly confused by relationships and characters going in. It would have been helpful to have read the other books in this series just to understand the returning characters more. However, other than that I enjoyed this cozy murder mystery.

THE MURDER
Four years ago, everyone assumed that Gideon Wise and Rashad May were happily married. That is until Rashad was arrested for Gideon’s murder. Rashad is inevitably sentenced to prison where he remains for four years until Jane Lawless agrees to help her father reopen the case.

A CAST OF CHARACTERS
As restauranter and private eye, Jane Lawless delves deeper into Rashad’s case, we are met with a cast of colorful, fun characters that all could possibly be Gideon’s murderer. Ellen Hart does a solid job at keeping us guessing as to who the true killer of Gideon actually is. What is clear is that Rashad May really didn’t have anything that would make him want to kill his husband. Jane is ready to dive deeper into the case when her own brother who has been strangely absent makes a surprise visit home.

A SUPRISE VISITOR
Jane’s brother Peter surprises everyone with not only his visit, but also with a break in the case for Peter is connected to the J.H. Chenoweth Gallery. As Jane has already figured out, the gallery was the only other access that there was to Gideon and Rashad’s home. However, Peter is still carrying a torch for Kit Lipton-Chenoweth, the wife of gallery owner John Henry Chenoweth. He becomes angry with Jane when she questions Kit and it clear that he has held his feelings for Kit for a long time, ever since she was with Eli, Peter’s former dealer, and John Henry’s own son.

BOOK INFORMATION
Twisted at the Root: A Jane Lawless Mystery is scheduled to be released from Minotaur Books an imprint of St. Martin’s Press with ISBN 9781250308429 on August 13, 2019. This review corresponds to an advanced electronic galley that was supplied by the publisher in exchange for this review.

Nice steady pace and so many twisted relationships. You don't know who or what you know until the right question is asked. And Jane has lots of questions. I thought the book was well written and held my interest to the twisted end. Mystery lovers will like this one.

The dynamic duo are at it once again. New evidence is brought up to question if the right person has been sentenced for the murder of his husband. Jane and her dad work the case with Cordelia helping every step of the way.
Goodreads & Facebook

My first book by Ellen Hart and I quite liked it for its fresh sort of story with the characters being well-developed, some nice, some shady - but all of them were fairly human. Of course there is the so-called coincidence that family members of the PI know some of the people that are important to the story, but that is in Twisted at the Root not problematic.

It was an easy read, clever plot and with lots of characters (but not too much, all of them are a piece of the puzzle) to have a interesting whodunnit to chew on without the far-fetched (sometimes ridiculous) twists and turns that often make me want to roll my eyes. So no worries for this book: no eyes rolling or shaking one's head in disbelief ;-)

I'll be adding this review to Goodreads somewhere in July, because according to your policy or preferences you like the review to be published less than a month before the book is published...

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book

A series mystery featuring restauranteur Jane and her friends and relatives. A lot of the plot hinges around her brother and her ill partner Julia, but works as a stand alone. A reasonable mystery, treat for Jane Lawless fans.

Ellen Hart is a great writer and her books are good mysteries. Twisted at the Root is a good mystery, but you can figure it out early in the book. Well written and good storyline.

I’ve read a previous book in this series and unfortunately, it did not appeal to me. I tried this one with the hopes my feelings would change. I’m not sure why I cannot relate to any of the characters, but this story didn’t change my opinion .