THE MORTAL GROOVE
by Ellen Hart
Her father’s gubernatorial campaign spells trouble for a gay restaurateur and her flamboyant best friend.
When politically connected lawyer Randall Turk convinced Ray Lawless to accept the Democratic nomination for governor of Minnesota, Ray knew it would mean long hours and hard work. He didn’t know he’d be putting his family in mortal danger. But when reporter Melanie Gunderson, who’s just reconnected with her ex-girlfriend Cordelia Thorn, is knifed outside the Unicorn Bar, Cordelia shakes out her rainbow-hued locks, grabs her best friend Jane Lawless (Night Vision, 2006, etc.) and drives down to Waldo, Iowa, to finish Melanie’s investigation into the murder of Susan Bouchard—a murder of which Randy’s brother Ethan was acquitted nearly 30 years ago. Aided by Ray’s campaign manager Del Green and drifter Larry Wilton, who served in Vietnam with Randy and Del, Randy desperately tries to hide every bit of dirt Jane and Cordelia can dig up. Ray’s son Peter—who only wants to trace the daughter his wife Sigrid gave up for adoption years ago—gets caught in the crossfire when he loses his broadcasting job and takes a position with the campaign. Gutsy, practical Jane uses the skills that have made her Twin Cities eateries a success to track down a criminal who’s cheated justice too long.
Hart swings wildly from farce to thriller in this densely plotted family saga that pulls out perhaps one stop too many.