The Merchant of Venus (2001) (edit title/settings)

• Rated 4 stars

“I like this series, Jane is an interesting character with an amusing sidekick. The central mystery here, who killed the director, is well played and there are plenty of good suspects. The writers hobby-horses; alcoholism awareness, gay rights, film preservation, PTSD awareness, sometimes get a bit heavy handed, but not to the point that I couldn't enjoy the book.”

• Rated 4 stars

“SUMMARY: Jane and Cordelia are at Innishannon, the Connecticut estate of 83-year-old retired Hollywood director Roland Lester, to attend the wedding of their host and Cordelia's sister, the much younger Broadway actress Octavia Thorn. Jane becomes intrigued with a long-ago Hollywood murder that remains unsolved, but that somehow involved Lester, and when he suddenly up and dies, tries to tie the two murders together. COMMENTS: The glimpse into Cordelia's family and a deeper peek into Jane's psyche lend an element of seriousness to an otherwise fun frolic. A couple of the dialogues between the Thorn sisters and Jane had me laughing out loud.”