Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hallowed Murder | 1989 | Ellen Hart | Buy |
| 2 | Vital Lies | 1991 | Ellen Hart | Buy |
| 3 | Stage Fright | 1992 | Ellen Hart | Buy |
| 4 | Killing Cure | 1993 | Ellen Hart | Buy |
| 5 | A Small Sacrifice | 1994 | Ellen Hart | Buy |
| 6 | Faint Praise | 1995 | Ellen Hart | Buy |
| 7 | Robber’s Wine | 1996 | Ellen Hart | Buy |
| 8 | Wicked Games | 1998 | Ellen Hart | Buy |
| 9 | Hunting the Witch | 1999 | Ellen Hart | Buy |
| 10 | The Merchant of Venus | 2001 | Ellen Hart | Buy |
| 11 | Immaculate Midnight | 2002 | Ellen Hart | Buy |
| 12 | An Intimate Ghost | 2004 | Ellen Hart | Buy |
| 13 | The Iron Girl | 2005 | Ellen Hart | Buy |
| 14 | Night Vision | 2006 | Ellen Hart | Buy |
| 15 | The Mortal Groove | 2007 | Ellen Hart | Buy |
| 16 | Sweet Poison | 2008 | Ellen Hart | Buy |
| 17 | The Mirror and the Mask | 2009 | Ellen Hart | Buy |
| 18 | The Cruel Ever After | 2010 | Ellen Hart | Buy |
| 19 | The Lost Women of Lost Lake | 2011 | Ellen Hart | Buy |
| 20 | Rest for the Wicked | 2012 | Ellen Hart | Buy |
| 21 | Taken by the Wind | 2013 | Ellen Hart | Buy |
| 22 | The Old Deep and Dark | 2014 | Ellen Hart | Buy |
| 23 | The Grave Soul | 2015 | Ellen Hart | Buy |
| 24 | Fever in the Dark | 2017 | Ellen Hart | Buy |
| 25 | A Whisper of Bones | 2018 | Ellen Hart | Buy |
| 26 | Twisted at the Root | 2019 | Ellen Hart | Buy |
| 27 | In a Midnight Wood | 2020 | Ellen Hart | Buy |
The Jane Lawless series is Ellen Hart’s signature work, running from Hallowed Murder (1989) through In a Midnight Wood (2020). Jane owns a restaurant in Minneapolis and repeatedly finds herself investigating murders, sometimes because friends are in trouble, sometimes because she stumbles onto something she cannot ignore.
The series has earned multiple Lambda Literary Awards and is recognized as a landmark in LGBT mystery fiction. Across 27 books, Jane’s relationships, career, and community evolve, giving long-time readers a character who ages and changes in realistic ways while still delivering satisfying mystery plots.