THE CRUEL EVER AFTER

Jane Lawless has no time for romancing ladies or crime-solving when her ex-husband turns up.

Though restaurateur Jane Lawless can’t escape her addiction to solving mysteries, she wishes she could at least escape her ex-husband and his shady motives. Jane got the money for her original start-up restaurant from a false marriage to antiques-dealer Chester (Chess) Garrity. She thought all was well that ended well when she got the divorce decree he sent from the Dominican Republic. Now that he’s back in town, Jane, wanting to see the best in him, offers him her third-floor apartment until he can come up with something better. Chess acts the gentleman, attending Jane’s father Raymond’s birthday bash and advising Jane’s ex Julia Martinsen on how to win Jane back. Never mind the fact that Chess had woken up next to the dead body of businessman Marvin Dial just nights before; he wouldn’t want to worry Jane with that. And when Jane starts to think she’s being followed, she can’t believe it’s related to such a nice guy as Chess. Irina Nelson believes the best of Chess, too, and not just because they’re working in the same field. Irina is so smitten by Chess that she’s hoping to divorce her long-suffering husband Steve for him. Then there’s the matter of the smuggling ring Chess brought Irina into. When things go wrong, cast members show their true colors.

Hart’s characters show little mercy and even less leg in this installment in the Lawless series (The Mirror and the Mask, 2009, etc.).