Order of Book Series
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Jane Lawless Books in Order

Jane Lawless by Ellen Hart contains 27 books, published between 1989 and 2020. The first book is Hallowed Murder (1989) and the newest is In a Midnight Wood (2020). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
27
Published
1989–2020
Pages on record
6,958 in 22 of 27 books
Reading time
116–174 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 6,958 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 22 of 27 titles with a page count on record.

See all 27 books in order Printable Jane Lawless checklist

Jane Lawless is Ellen Hart's mystery series about a lesbian restaurateur in Minneapolis who investigates murders. 27 books span 1989 to 2020, opening with Hallowed Murder (1989) and taking in Vital Lies (1991), Stage Fright (1992), Robber's Wine (1996) and The Merchant of Venus (2001) on the way to In a Midnight Wood (2020). Restaurants, missing persons and murder investigation carry the series, one of the longest-running in lesbian crime fiction.

How many Jane Lawless books are there?

Jane Lawless has 27 books, released between 1989 and 2020.

Jane Lawless Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 27 Jane Lawless books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of Hallowed Murder by Ellen Hart, book 1 of the Jane Lawless series (1989)
  2. Cover of Vital Lies by Ellen Hart, book 2 of the Jane Lawless series (1991)
  3. Cover of Stage Fright by Ellen Hart, book 3 of the Jane Lawless series (1992)
  4. Cover of Killing Cure by Ellen Hart, book 4 of the Jane Lawless series (1993)
  5. Cover of A Small Sacrifice by Ellen Hart, book 5 of the Jane Lawless series (1994)
  6. Cover of Faint Praise by Ellen Hart, book 6 of the Jane Lawless series (1995)
  7. Cover of Robber's Wine by Ellen Hart, book 7 of the Jane Lawless series (1996)
  8. Cover of Wicked Games by Ellen Hart, book 8 of the Jane Lawless series (1998)
  9. Cover of The Merchant of Venus by Ellen Hart, book 10 of the Jane Lawless series (2001)
  10. Cover of Immaculate Midnight by Ellen Hart, book 11 of the Jane Lawless series (2002)
  11. Cover of An Intimate Ghost by Ellen Hart, book 12 of the Jane Lawless series (2004)
  12. Cover of The Iron Girl by Ellen Hart, book 13 of the Jane Lawless series (2005)
  13. Cover of Night Vision by Ellen Hart, book 14 of the Jane Lawless series (2006)
  14. Cover of Sweet Poison by Ellen Hart, book 16 of the Jane Lawless series (2008)
  15. Cover of The Cruel Ever After by Ellen Hart, book 18 of the Jane Lawless series (2010)
  16. Cover of The Old Deep and Dark by Ellen Hart, book 22 of the Jane Lawless series (2014)
  17. Cover of The Grave Soul by Ellen Hart, book 23 of the Jane Lawless series (2015)
  18. Cover of Fever in the Dark by Ellen Hart, book 24 of the Jane Lawless series (2017)
  19. Cover of A Whisper of Bones by Ellen Hart, book 25 of the Jane Lawless series (2018)
  20. Cover of Twisted at the Root by Ellen Hart, book 26 of the Jane Lawless series (2019)
  21. Cover of In a Midnight Wood by Ellen Hart, book 27 of the Jane Lawless series (2020)
  1. 1
    Hallowed Murder1989 · 246 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1989246
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Vital Lies1991 · 248 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1991248
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Stage Fright1992 · 245 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1992245
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Killing Cure1993 · 295 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1993295
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    A Small Sacrifice1994 · confirmed 2/4
    1994–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Faint Praise1995 · confirmed 2/4
    1995–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Robber's Wine1996 · 308 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1996308
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Wicked Games1998 · confirmed 2/4
    1998–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Hunting the Witch1999 · confirmed 2/4
    1999–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Merchant of Venus2001 · 408 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2001408
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Immaculate Midnight2002 · 322 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2002322
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    An Intimate Ghost2004 · 320 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2004320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    The Iron Girl2005 · 352 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2005352
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Night Vision2006 · 336 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2006336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Mortal Groove2007 · 368 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2007368
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Sweet Poison2008 · 320 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2008320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    The Mirror and the Mask2009 · 312 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2009312
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    The Cruel Ever After2010 · 328 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2010328
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    The Lost Women of Lost Lake2011 · 324 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2011324
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Rest for the Wicked2012 · 336 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2012336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Taken by the Wind2013 · 336 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2013336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    The Old Deep and Dark2014 · 304 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2014304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    The Grave Soul2015 · 320 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2015320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Fever in the Dark2017 · 306 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2017306
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    A Whisper of Bones2018 · 304 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2018304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    Twisted at the Root2019 · confirmed 2/4
    2019–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    In a Midnight Wood2020 · 320 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2020320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Is there a chronological order for Jane Lawless?

No separate chronological order is on record for Jane Lawless, because none of the book listings this catalogue draws on publishes one; the publication order above is the only order given.

Do you have to read Jane Lawless books in order?

You should read the Jane Lawless books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Jane Lawless book also stands alone.

Where to start with Jane Lawless

Start with Hallowed Murder (1989), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Jane Lawless book?

In a Midnight Wood (2020) is the newest Jane Lawless book released so far.

Is there a new Jane Lawless book coming?

No next Jane Lawless book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Jane Lawless at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Jane Lawless title on record dates from 2020, 6 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Jane Lawless books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
6,958 pages across the 22 of 27 books with a recorded length, a median of 320 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Jane Lawless books, 9 of 27, were published in the 2010s.

What the Jane Lawless books are about

All 27 Jane Lawless books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: mystery & detective, women sleuths is tagged on 21 of 27. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

More books by Ellen Hart

The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.