"The novel explores the theme of impossible divisions," Hart adds. "Nora is trying to reconcile the person who is being revealed through the evidence she uncovers with the sister she thought she knew."

False Mermaid features dual settings as well, St. Paul, Minnesota, and northwest Ireland. "I've had a fascination with Ireland since I was a kid," Hart says. "I remember watching a Disney movie called The Fighting Prince of Donegal, and it made a big impression on me."  Hart is in good company. Nearly six and half million people visit Ireland every year, and it fascinates many armchair travelers as well. Hart has toured the country several times and met her husband, a man named Paddy O'Brien, the day she returned from a visit. She went to hear his band play and he asked her to come up and sing. "Talk about meet cute," she says.

In yet another duality, Hart's series features two protagonists, Nora Gavin, an American pathologist, and Cormac Maguire, and Irish archeologist. Their romance adds emotional depth to the series. Hart loosely based Nora Gavin on a pathologist she interviewed for background research and was pleased to discover the pathologist was a musician. Music plays a prominent role in Hart's novels and in her life. Not only is she married to a musician, Hart delights her readers by singing Irish folksongs at her book signings.

"There's a reason I made all the characters musicians," Hart explains. "It's a true reflection of my experience of what Ireland is like. Everyone I met there plays an instrument or sings."

In her third novel, Hart has hit her stride, earning starred views from all the major industry publications.

"Many readers will find this passionate, complex novel almost impossible to put down."-- Publishers Weekly

"Rich in human drama, complex relationships, and vivid local color. Few writers combine as seamlessly as Hart does the subtlety, lyrical language, and melancholy of literary fiction with the pulse-pounding suspense of the best thrillers." --Booklist

"Rich with atmosphere and Irish legend, this exceptionally crafted story of murder, family secrets, and redemption is a welcome addition to Hart's suspenseful series. Nora Gavin is an intelligent and engaging protagonist who leaves the reader anxious for her next adventure."--Library Journal

Fans take heart, the author is busy writing a forth Nora Gavin/Cormac Maguire novel, which also features both a modern and ancient mystery.  As a child, Hart read Phyllis Whitney and considers her stories to be in a similar vein. As an adult, she studied the work of P.D. James to learn the craft of mysteries.

But her favorite book of the last 25 years is Possession by A.S.  Byatt. "It's an academic analysis of poetry and folklore," Hart says. "Yet there's a pot-boiler plot, skullduggery, and humor. It has everything you want in a novel."

L.J. Sellers is an award-winning journalist, editor, novelist, and occasional standup comic based in Eugene, Oregon. She writes the Detective Wade Jackson mystery series: Two are in print, The Sex Club and Secrets to Die For, and two more are in the works. L.J. also enjoys cycling, gardening, social networking, and hanging out with her family.