She applied the Page 69 Test to Rest for the Wicked, the 20th mystery featuring Jane Lawless, and reported the following:
I’ve always enjoyed this test. I’ve even gone back with some of my older books to see what Page 69 has to say. Sometimes I’m happy with it, though often I’m not. This time out, however, I think it works perfectly. The page happens to be the beginning of Chapter Ten and our introduction to the strip club, GaudyLights, which was originally the title for the book. I write a traditional mystery, so I’ve never needed to visit this kind of venue before. Never say never, I guess! Much of the mystery in Rest for the Wicked, takes place at GaudyLights and thus it feels somewhat serendipitous that we enter it for the first time on this page.Learn more about the book and author at Ellen Hart's website.
Excerpt:Stepping up to the front door, (Jane and Cordelia) gazed up at the neon sign. Tiny lights in every color of the rainbow spelled out the name. Under it, in a lurid, Day-Glo red, were the words DANCING GIRLS!
“Used to be an old car dealership,” said Cordelia, stomping her feet to get some feeling back into them.
“It was a restaurant back in the early nineties,” said Jane. “Sat empty for a while. I heard the city wanted to tear it down to build a parking lot.”
“Now it’s a flesh palace. Gotta love those city fathers.”
The Page 69 Test: The Lost Women of Lost Lake.
Writers Read: Ellen Hart (November 2011).
--Marshal Zeringue
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