Faint Praise: A Jane Lawless Mystery, by Ellen Hart

 The Jane Lawless Mystery Series, by Ellen Hart
1. Hallowed Murder 02.13.06
2. Vital Lies (TBR)
3. Stage Fright 02.17.06
4. A Killing Cure 02.28.06
5. A Small Sacrifice 02.28.06
6. Faint Praise 08.19.10 * * * *
7. Robber’s Wine 03.02.06
8. Wicked Games (TBR)
9. Hunting the Witch 03.03.06
10. The Merchant of Venus 03.06.06
11. Immaculate Midnight 03.07.06
12. An Intimate Ghost 03.08.06
13. The Iron Girl 03.17.06
14. Night Vision 02.13.07
15. The Mortal Groove 05.20.08
16. Sweet Poison (TBR)
17. The Mirror and the Mask (TBR)
18. The Cruel Ever After (TBR - Release Date 12.07.10)
(TBR = To Be Read)
When I first started working my way through this series, my local library didn't have several of the books, so I just skipped them and kept going.  Now, the library is adding some of their missing books, and I'm able to go back and pick up the ones I missed the first time around!  Thank you, library!
So I just finished Faint Praise (in bold above), which is book 6 of the series.  Jane Lawless is a restaurant owner, and amateur sleuth. She has recently lost her partner Christine to cancer and tends to hide behind her career to avoid dating.  Oh, and she somehow manages to stumble across dead bodies - often!
Jane and her best friend, Cordelia Thorn (a theater diva of epic proportions!) discover that all is not right in loft building owned by a recently deceased television personality.  Someone is searching the apartments for something, and the police have ruled the owners death a suicide, even though his daughter insists it was murder.  Everyone has secrets, but someone is willing to kill to protect theirs, and if Jane doesn't figure out who, one of her friends could be next!
If you like long series, yet quick witted & fun reads, then this series may be for you, as the author has been writing for awhile and book 18 will be released later this year, so there's plenty of stories and characters to sink you teeth into.  Some are better than others, of course, but in general I give the series 4 stars.
Do you like long series with lots of novels?  Who are your favorite female sleuths/detectives?