Although the Jane Lawless series was initially niche-marketed as lesbian fiction, the novels now attract a large crossover readership as well. Hart welcomes her growing audience, opining that "anyone, as long as they aren't , can read and enjoy my books."

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Nevertheless, she has a special bond with her glbtq readers. "I'm always so incredibly moved when a gay person comes up to me at a book signing and tells me that they've given one of my mysteries to a parent (or a sister, or a brother) to read, and that it helped them open up a discussion about who they are," she has said. "It makes a simple piece of commercial fiction very powerful indeed."

The appreciation of glbtq readers for Hart's writing is evidenced by the accolades bestowed upon her. A frequent nominee for the annual Lambda Literary Awards, she has earned top honors for Best Lesbian Mystery an impressive five times--and Jane Lawless shows no signs of retiring.

The contemporary literary awards given specifically to honor glbtq books may be seen as an outgrowth of the modern American gay rights movement, so intertwined are they with the movement for equality.

In the decades since Stonewall, gay male mystery fiction has burgeoned in United States, both in quantity and in quality, and has increasingly been issued by mainstream presses.

Although most lesbian mystery fiction reflects a political stance, the most effective lesbian crime novels have been those that have most enthusiastically embraced the need to entertain the reader.

From the great modernist writers of the 1920s and 1930s to the pulp writers of the 1950s to the lesbian writers of today, lesbian novelists have had a powerful impact on the lesbian community.

Writer and editor Katherine V. Forrest has played a major role in bringing lesbian fiction to the forefront of the mystery and science fiction genres.

Award-winning mystery writer Val McDermid writes three successful series of novels, including one featuring lesbian investigative reporter Lindsay Gordon.

J. M. Redmann, the Lambda Award-winning creator of the New Orleans mystery series featuring Micky Knight, writes richly textured novels focused on issues of power and family.