Taken by the Wind (Jane Lawless Mysteries)

Taken by the Wind embarks us on the twenty-first mystery captained by Jane Lawless, restaurateur and PI. This time, two boys go missing and, when Jane arrives, the ransom demand is not far behind. Immediately pitched into the business of raising the money and then delivering it, Jane has little time to think clearly about what might actually be happening. Indeed, when only one of the boys then returns home, it seems nothing can be taken at face value.

The beauty of this simple story lies in the menace in the basic situation and the complexity of the puzzle underlying events. The recession has hit this small town hard and even the most devout are beginning to doubt whether God is really on their side. What raises the stakes is that the parents of one of the missing boys are a gay couple. As their anguish deepens, the latent homophobia in their area becomes more overt.

Ellen Hart has crossed over from the more limited world of gay fiction to the mainstream. Even Jane is having relationship problems as an ex comes back into play and seems to have a predatory interest in the new girlfriend. Overall, this is a very enjoyable read.