In 1999, a high school senior named Sam disappeared without a trace. Jane Lawless, once a private investigator, has the cold case on her radar. She and her friend Cordelia decide to go to the small town of Castle Rock to participate in a fundraiser for their arts festival and snoop around the town and its inhabitants to find out what they can about Sam’s disappearance. People in the town are of two minds – Sam either ran away from home or his father killed him. When the truth comes out, it is much worse and more complicated.

This is Hart’s 27th Jane Lawless mystery is well written with well-developed characters. That being said, if the reader is reading Hart for the first time, this may not be an easy read – Hart introduces several characters who have appeared in previous books in an info dump in the first chapter. She has also listed a very long list of characters at the front of the book. For the first-time reader, neither way of introducing characters is satisfactory because the reader may remain in the dark about who is who for a couple, or more, chapters.

The author is careful to dole out information about what happened in 1999 so the reader can try to solve the mystery herself. That being said, I think most readers will not have figured it out before Jane does.

If you’re a long-time fan of Jane Lawless, you’ll undoubtedly love this book. If you’ve heard about the author and want to check out her series, you’ll need a bit of patience in order to sort out who’s who, but once you’ve done that, this a page-turner and you may very well be up past your bedtime reading about Jane’s adventure.

My thanks to Minotaur and NetGalley for an eARC.

LGBT, law-enforcement, cozy-mystery, murder, Minnesota, friendship, conspiracy

JaneLawless is a private investigator turned Minneapolis restaurateur and true-crime podcast researcher, especially cold cases. She is back in northern Minnesota visiting with friends and it is time for a class reunion for one of them. Back in their senior year, 1999, a popular boy with an abusive father disappeared. Just now remains including backpack with wallet are found under a coffin being exhumed and it definitely appears as if the missing boy has been found. Lots of drama, red herrings, misdirections, and plot swings back and forth between night of murder and present day in a distracting almost bipolar manner. An interesting read.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley.

Jane Lawless just cannot relax. Going to visit an old friend opens up new questions into the death of their friend Emma’s high school classmate. Working in her own style Jane starts to move quickly through the suspects in a town that fights to protect its own. My first Lawless novel will not be my last. I loved the author’s style and insight. Happy reading

Ellen Hart is able to weave great characters into a good mystery story. There were times it was hard to go back and forth with the timeline, but overall a good read and addition to the series. The author had me guessing, which is always a plus. This was more a 3.5 stars out of 5 for this book.

#InaMidnightWood #NetGalley

Another great entry in the Jane Lawless series. An original, believable story with familiar, relatable characters. A must read for Ellen Hart fans.

Fist in this series. Great story that kept me reading. Enjoyed the past and present throughout. Will be looking for prior books in this series to enjoy.

In a Midnight Wood is a very well written murder mystery. A great plot that will keep you guess with all the twists and turns. I received an advance ebook from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

Jane lawless, podcaster investigator is delving into a case of a missing high schooler from 1999. This was a young man from her high school so this means a lot to her. Since, this cold case had never been solved and the rumors were various she wanted answers. This is a very thought out and powerfully written mystery. I normally can figure out a mystery in the first three chapters but this time that didn’t happen. I love the flashbacks to 1999. I truly enjoyed the essence of the town characters and all their secrets. Ellen Hart definitely has another best seller.

overall a good cozy mystery. Trying to solve a 20 year old case of a missing classmate, this was interesting, but also at times skimmable. Might have just been my mood. Would recommend.

Ellen Hart is such an absolute amazing author. While this definitely isn’t my favorite in the Jane Lawless series, (that honor belongs to the old deep and dark) this was a wonderful addition to the series.

A delightful reminder of why and how much I enjoy Ellen Hart mysteries. Tightly woven mystery and character development is top notch. There is nothing to complain about in the 27th installment which is amazing.

This is a long running series the I have followed from the beginning. Cleverly plotted with a strong female protagonist, they are always an enjoyable read. While I really enjoyed this outing it did feel familiar in a already-read-this way. The plot wasn't the most original and the bouncing back and forth from the late 90's to current time also felt a bit overdone. But overall it was a good read and I look forward to the next in the series. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

I have read most if not all of the Jane Lawless books and I really liked this one. It slips back and forth between 1999 and the present while Jane and Cordelia work to solve a cold case. All fo the characters are well fleshed out and I liked the addition of a new potential love interest for Jane.
Exactly the kind of fun page turner that I expect from this series

Mystery and intrigue for the reader who likes to solve puzzles. Going back to the past-returning to the present is a concept I don’t enjoy in. Book. I like beginning to end. This is a character driven book without loveable characters, but the reader wants to discover which one or more of them is guilty. Trying to discern that is a real puzzle. I could not finish the book because of loss of interest in a long story. Others may love this...

I know Ellen Hart is a well-known author but sad to say, this is the first of her books I've read. This book is a perfectly delightful gay, cozy mystery. Jane is a private investigator/ restaurateur/ true-crime podcast researcher and her best friend, Cordelia, both went to Castle Lake, a small town, for an art festival. They're also there to visit their friend, Emma. While there, a body of a long-missing teen, Sam, was found. Sam was Emma's boyfriend in high school. So, Jane is drawn to solving the crime as research for the podcast. The town is filled with interesting characters who seem to have secrets of their own. The book also has flashbacks to 1999 to show us what was happening before the disappearance happened. The story is engaging as we learn more about what truly happened in this small scenic town.

**Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for giving copy of book in exchange for honest review!**

Jane Lawless, true crime podcaster, private investigator, and restaurateur, is in the small town of Castle Lake, where there is a 20th high school reunion scheduled. Attendees are shocked because remains have been discovered--and it their former classmate Sam, a popular student who had disappeared right before their senior year. Jane wants to get to the bottom of this death, and finds that almost everyone in this small town has a secret. I have not read anything by this author before, but enjoyed this mystery, and hope to read more of her work. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ellen Hart has great characters. It's is hard to choose who I like best, Cordelia or JAne. I have been reading this series from the beginning and it never gets boring or old

The thing I love about Ellen Hart is her talent for unadorned language that still manages to clearly evoke place and character. Her mysteries have the right amount of red herrings and misdirections to be interesting without overloading the plot with unnecessary byways. Her latest novel is true to form and bring us back to Jane, with Cordelia along for the ride. New information about Julia is revealed, while Jane (maybe?) finds a new love interest. Recommended for fans of traditional or cozy mysteries.

Jane Lawless and Cordelia are attending a fund raiser in Castle Rock. While they are in town, the body of a missing boy was found and it turns out he was the high school boyfriend of their hostess. While half the town suspected his father killed him and the other half thought he ran away, it seems the past has come back to haunt his classmates who have returned to town for their 20th reunion.

Given Jane’s involvement with a podcast focused on Minnesota cold cases, this is right up her alley and she begins to dig. It seems there isn’t much faith in the local police getting to the root of what happened twenty years ago since they couldn’t solve the case back then either. Now Jane needs to find answers and help Emily and the town find closure and answers to what happened all those years ago.

This the first book I have read in this series and I found it quite enjoyable. Given that there are 26 books in the series prior to this one, it looks like I have a great series to binge on over the Summer. Yippee!

Jane and Cordelia are back. I love their friendship and was glad to see them both involved in this mystery. I enjoyed the past sections letting you see what happened then to cause what is going on now. Another great addition to the series.
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