Fever in the Dark: A Jane Lawless Mystery

I hope you have had an enjoyable Saturday.  I spent the afternoon paying bills (yuck).  A necessary but boring chore (the same goes for laundry).  I am reviewing the latest A Jane Lawless Mystery novel today.  There are 24 books in this series. The first book is Hallowed Murder.  You can find the other books in the series here on Amazon.

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 this book. 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.

Thank you so much for your visit.  I need to go figure out what to cook for dinner (something easy and quick).  I am currently reading Mission Impawsible by Krista Davis (just wonderful).  I will return tomorrow to review Unpunished by Lisa Black.  I hope you have a magical evening. Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader