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Death on Demand #23
Dead, White, and Blue
Summer is a hectic time of the year for Annie Darling. Sun and scorching temperatures never fail to bring swarms of tourists to her mystery bookstore, Death on Demand, for the latest beach reads. But Annie still finds time to enjoy herself. The Broward’s Rock Fourth of July dance is just around the corner, and the island is buzzing with excitement—Shell Hurst included...
Shell is the kind of woman wives hate—for good reason—and most of them wish she would just disappear. But when she does, and a teenage girl is the only one who seems to notice, Annie can’t help but feel like someone should be looking for her. Last seen walking into the pine trees at the Fourth of July fireworks display, Shell has seemingly vanished without a trace.
The residents of Broward’s Rock grow uneasy when a second islander mysteriously disappears. Annie and her husband, Max, know something dangerous is brewing. They soon find themselves following a twisted trail marked by blackmail, betrayal, and adultery, winding from the corridors of the island’s lovely inn to a pier lashed by pelting rain, to a gathering on the terrace of a country club where a trap is set for a calculating killer…
Shell is the kind of woman wives hate—for good reason—and most of them wish she would just disappear. But when she does, and a teenage girl is the only one who seems to notice, Annie can’t help but feel like someone should be looking for her. Last seen walking into the pine trees at the Fourth of July fireworks display, Shell has seemingly vanished without a trace.
The residents of Broward’s Rock grow uneasy when a second islander mysteriously disappears. Annie and her husband, Max, know something dangerous is brewing. They soon find themselves following a twisted trail marked by blackmail, betrayal, and adultery, winding from the corridors of the island’s lovely inn to a pier lashed by pelting rain, to a gathering on the terrace of a country club where a trap is set for a calculating killer…
288 pages, Hardcover
First published May 7, 2013
56 people are currently reading
800 people want to read
About the author
Carolyn G. Hart
128 books945 followersAlso writing as Carolyn Hart.
An accomplished master of mystery with 46 published books, Carolyn Hart is the creator of the highly acclaimed Henrie O,Death on Demand, and Bailey Ruth Raeburn series. Her books have won multiple Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Awards. Letter from Home (2003), her standalone mystery set in Oklahoma, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Her latest book is Dead by Midnight (William Morrow/HarperCollins, 2007). She is one of the founders of Sisters in Crime, an organization for women who write mysteries. She lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma."
New Books: Dead By Midnight Carolyn Hart
DEAD BY MIDNIGHT by Carolyn Hart On Sale March 29
The police say suicide. Annie Darling suspects murder. Max is unconvinced until Annie follows a trail behind the dead woman's house.
Annie unravels the mystery of a towel hidden at midnight in a gazebo, the interesting lack of fingerprints on a crystal mug, blood on a teenager's blue shirt, and the secret of a lovers' tryst. Max plunges deep into the woods to find incriminating evidence.
Annie sets the perfect trap for a merciless killer, but her cell phone rings and Death is on the line.
www.CarolynHart.com
And for cat lovers:
DEAD BY MIDNIGHT by Carolyn Hart
I love to have fun when writing a mystery. If I laugh, I think a reader will laugh. In the Death on Demand series, I especially enjoy writing about Annie Darling's ditzy mother-in-law, Laurel Roethke. Laurel is usually excited about a new interest, something that surprises and often confounds Annie.
In Dead by Midnight, Laurel creates Cat Truth Posters, which she wants Annie to hang in the bookstore. Annie thinks books should be the store's focus, but the posters enchant her.
Each poster features a cat's photograph with a caption. Here are three of the Cat Truth posters;
. . . a silky furred, mitted, and bicolored Ragdoll stretched out on a red silk cushion, looking as comfy as Eva Longoria in a Hanes ad: Go with the Flow.
A rectangular-muzzled, green-eyed, cholocolate colored cat appeared as brooding as a Gothic hero: Always Say Yes to Adventure.
. . . a thick-furred, piebald Siberian forest cat, its white front a brilliant contrast to a charcoal back and head. Its face appeared almost angelic: Always try a Smile First.
And yes, one of the posters points to a killer.
Fun for me and fun, I hope for readers
An accomplished master of mystery with 46 published books, Carolyn Hart is the creator of the highly acclaimed Henrie O,Death on Demand, and Bailey Ruth Raeburn series. Her books have won multiple Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Awards. Letter from Home (2003), her standalone mystery set in Oklahoma, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Her latest book is Dead by Midnight (William Morrow/HarperCollins, 2007). She is one of the founders of Sisters in Crime, an organization for women who write mysteries. She lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma."
New Books: Dead By Midnight Carolyn Hart
DEAD BY MIDNIGHT by Carolyn Hart On Sale March 29
The police say suicide. Annie Darling suspects murder. Max is unconvinced until Annie follows a trail behind the dead woman's house.
Annie unravels the mystery of a towel hidden at midnight in a gazebo, the interesting lack of fingerprints on a crystal mug, blood on a teenager's blue shirt, and the secret of a lovers' tryst. Max plunges deep into the woods to find incriminating evidence.
Annie sets the perfect trap for a merciless killer, but her cell phone rings and Death is on the line.
www.CarolynHart.com
And for cat lovers:
DEAD BY MIDNIGHT by Carolyn Hart
I love to have fun when writing a mystery. If I laugh, I think a reader will laugh. In the Death on Demand series, I especially enjoy writing about Annie Darling's ditzy mother-in-law, Laurel Roethke. Laurel is usually excited about a new interest, something that surprises and often confounds Annie.
In Dead by Midnight, Laurel creates Cat Truth Posters, which she wants Annie to hang in the bookstore. Annie thinks books should be the store's focus, but the posters enchant her.
Each poster features a cat's photograph with a caption. Here are three of the Cat Truth posters;
. . . a silky furred, mitted, and bicolored Ragdoll stretched out on a red silk cushion, looking as comfy as Eva Longoria in a Hanes ad: Go with the Flow.
A rectangular-muzzled, green-eyed, cholocolate colored cat appeared as brooding as a Gothic hero: Always Say Yes to Adventure.
. . . a thick-furred, piebald Siberian forest cat, its white front a brilliant contrast to a charcoal back and head. Its face appeared almost angelic: Always try a Smile First.
And yes, one of the posters points to a killer.
Fun for me and fun, I hope for readers
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 151 reviews
May 7, 2013
For readers that have been following Annie and Max Darling right from the beginning, with the release of Death in Demand, they will be anxiously awaiting the release of the 23rd book in this series, Dead, White & Blue.
It is summer in Broward's Rock and Annie and Max Darling are looking forward to the Fourth of July dance. However one resident is causing up a stir and everything is due to come to a head at the dance. That person is Shell Hurst, the woman everyone loves to hate. Even her own husband, Wesley Hurst, has reasons to dislike her and wish her dead. When she goes missing after the dance, after having made a spectacle, Max is asked to investigate where she went by Shell's step-daughter, Hayley. However what Annie and Max will uncover is a multiple murder and many people in the town that really wished Shell would disappear and never return.
The Death on Demand series are one of my favorites. They are intelligent mysteries, that are very much reminiscent of Agatha Christie's Tommy and Tuppence. Annie and Max are smart sleuths, that always get their man (or woman!), despite the obstacles in their way. This time there is quite a few people that are determined to stop them from investigating Shell's disappearance, people that would rather she stayed missing!
I love the Darlings and I always enjoy trying to solve the mystery alongside them. I also dearly love Broward's Rock and the Death on Demand bookstore. The secondary characters that appear in each book have endeared themselves to me over time, and I always look forward to taking another adventure with them.
If you haven't picked up this series yet, be sure to begin with Death on Demand. Like a glass of fine wine, these books have only gotten better with age, and I can't wait to see what Carolyn Hart has in store for us next.
It is summer in Broward's Rock and Annie and Max Darling are looking forward to the Fourth of July dance. However one resident is causing up a stir and everything is due to come to a head at the dance. That person is Shell Hurst, the woman everyone loves to hate. Even her own husband, Wesley Hurst, has reasons to dislike her and wish her dead. When she goes missing after the dance, after having made a spectacle, Max is asked to investigate where she went by Shell's step-daughter, Hayley. However what Annie and Max will uncover is a multiple murder and many people in the town that really wished Shell would disappear and never return.
The Death on Demand series are one of my favorites. They are intelligent mysteries, that are very much reminiscent of Agatha Christie's Tommy and Tuppence. Annie and Max are smart sleuths, that always get their man (or woman!), despite the obstacles in their way. This time there is quite a few people that are determined to stop them from investigating Shell's disappearance, people that would rather she stayed missing!
I love the Darlings and I always enjoy trying to solve the mystery alongside them. I also dearly love Broward's Rock and the Death on Demand bookstore. The secondary characters that appear in each book have endeared themselves to me over time, and I always look forward to taking another adventure with them.
If you haven't picked up this series yet, be sure to begin with Death on Demand. Like a glass of fine wine, these books have only gotten better with age, and I can't wait to see what Carolyn Hart has in store for us next.
May 7, 2014
http://openbooksociety.com/article/de...
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Laurie
Carolyn Hart does an excellent job of writing a mystery lover’s mystery. Any mystery reader would love to have the cozy and caffeinated Death on Demand bookstore in their neighborhood. The daily management of the store is a significant part of the book, and there are numerous details to keep the regular mystery reader entertained. Annie regularly mentions the books that she recommends and stocks by title and author. Readers can follow along and see if they agree with her recommendations. The bookstore posts watercolor paintings of scenes from mystery books for the patrons to guess. This creates no small amount of competition among the patrons, and the reader gets a good enough description that she can guess too. Sadly, I was not successful in my guesses, but it was fun to see what the images referenced. Hart is also unafraid to poke fun at some of the more aggravating tropes in her genre. Emma Clyde, local mystery author and thoroughly obnoxious human being, thinks very highly of her own artistic merits, and writes books in which the protagonist disdains the local police. Watching Emma squabble with her closest rival Henny Brawley is most entertaining.
Beyond the bookstore Hart is skilled at evoking atmosphere. Every time someone took a sip of coffee or walked outside after a rainstorm I could feel the sensory experiences, more so than I find in other books. Set in the South Carolina Sea Islands, the weather is a constant presence, It’s almost a character in and of itself. Hart makes the reader feel the oppressiveness of the heat and the tropical atmosphere created by the rainstorms.
As for the particulars of the mystery of Shell Hurst, it is a classic case of victim as persona non grata. No one likes Shell. She’s the sort of woman other women hate: beautiful, nasty, and seduces men for sport. As with a mystery wherein no one likes the victim, the pool of potential perpetrators is deep. This book has many, many characters. At some points it is difficult to keep all of the characters straight. Hart is using many elements of the classic Agatha Christie model, and I would have appreciated a Christie-style cast of characters at the beginning. Annie and Max persist in asking questions, and the culmination of their investigation reads like a Poirot novel. I enjoyed this book, and look forward to the next.
*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a print copy of this title in exchange for an honest review. This review is part of an author blog tour that we are honored to be involved in*
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Laurie
Carolyn Hart does an excellent job of writing a mystery lover’s mystery. Any mystery reader would love to have the cozy and caffeinated Death on Demand bookstore in their neighborhood. The daily management of the store is a significant part of the book, and there are numerous details to keep the regular mystery reader entertained. Annie regularly mentions the books that she recommends and stocks by title and author. Readers can follow along and see if they agree with her recommendations. The bookstore posts watercolor paintings of scenes from mystery books for the patrons to guess. This creates no small amount of competition among the patrons, and the reader gets a good enough description that she can guess too. Sadly, I was not successful in my guesses, but it was fun to see what the images referenced. Hart is also unafraid to poke fun at some of the more aggravating tropes in her genre. Emma Clyde, local mystery author and thoroughly obnoxious human being, thinks very highly of her own artistic merits, and writes books in which the protagonist disdains the local police. Watching Emma squabble with her closest rival Henny Brawley is most entertaining.
Beyond the bookstore Hart is skilled at evoking atmosphere. Every time someone took a sip of coffee or walked outside after a rainstorm I could feel the sensory experiences, more so than I find in other books. Set in the South Carolina Sea Islands, the weather is a constant presence, It’s almost a character in and of itself. Hart makes the reader feel the oppressiveness of the heat and the tropical atmosphere created by the rainstorms.
As for the particulars of the mystery of Shell Hurst, it is a classic case of victim as persona non grata. No one likes Shell. She’s the sort of woman other women hate: beautiful, nasty, and seduces men for sport. As with a mystery wherein no one likes the victim, the pool of potential perpetrators is deep. This book has many, many characters. At some points it is difficult to keep all of the characters straight. Hart is using many elements of the classic Agatha Christie model, and I would have appreciated a Christie-style cast of characters at the beginning. Annie and Max persist in asking questions, and the culmination of their investigation reads like a Poirot novel. I enjoyed this book, and look forward to the next.
*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a print copy of this title in exchange for an honest review. This review is part of an author blog tour that we are honored to be involved in*
July 8, 2018
I used to like the Darling books more than the latest ones I've read. They recap everything that happened on the night of the murder about a hundred times. Then they read the newspaper articles to you, so it's recapped again. I was so bored by the end of this! Then the cops and darlings find out who the killer is on page 262, but it isn't revealed until page 290. Ugh. If I had to sum this book up in one sentence, it would be "Get to the point!"
October 28, 2020
Hayley visits Max to hire him to find Shell Hurst, Hayley’s father’s second wife, who encouraged her to learn to live comfortable in her own skin and who Hayley liked while most found Shell a bother.
What concerned Annie and some of the town folk is why no one was looking for Shell including Shell’s husband.
Dead, White and Blue was a fun read.
Johannah Parker was not the voice of the characters. She read the story much too quickly and she confused her male and female voices.
What concerned Annie and some of the town folk is why no one was looking for Shell including Shell’s husband.
Dead, White and Blue was a fun read.
Johannah Parker was not the voice of the characters. She read the story much too quickly and she confused her male and female voices.
July 6, 2018
I love Annie and Max and I'm sad that I'm getting close to the end of the series. This one kept me guessing right up until the end. I also love how she mentions all sorts of other mystery authors and their books and series, love it when it's one I've read.
May 19, 2013
Great Book. Thanks Carolyn.
This is another excellent effort by the Queen of Cozy, Ms. Carolyn Hart. I have been reading the Max and Annie Darling Books for some time now, and I love each and every one of them. This book is another winner. The setting is of course Broward's Rock in South Carolina . The book is set in a steaming hot July on this little island paradise. This is beach reading at its best. Annie and Max are trying to find out what happened to a young woman who disappeared during the fireworks display on July 4. No one seems to think that anything bad has happened to her, but Annie and Max know that she just didn't disappear off the island without a trace. There is no shortage of suspects, as this young woman has not made many friends in Broward's Rock. She has not been above going after any man she fancies and could care less if he's married or not. And Annie and Max are nothing if not entertaining. I love reading about their lives and their friends with each book that comes out. It's like reading about old friends, and that's what cozies are supposed to be about. Can't wait for the next one.
This is another excellent effort by the Queen of Cozy, Ms. Carolyn Hart. I have been reading the Max and Annie Darling Books for some time now, and I love each and every one of them. This book is another winner. The setting is of course Broward's Rock in South Carolina . The book is set in a steaming hot July on this little island paradise. This is beach reading at its best. Annie and Max are trying to find out what happened to a young woman who disappeared during the fireworks display on July 4. No one seems to think that anything bad has happened to her, but Annie and Max know that she just didn't disappear off the island without a trace. There is no shortage of suspects, as this young woman has not made many friends in Broward's Rock. She has not been above going after any man she fancies and could care less if he's married or not. And Annie and Max are nothing if not entertaining. I love reading about their lives and their friends with each book that comes out. It's like reading about old friends, and that's what cozies are supposed to be about. Can't wait for the next one.
May 28, 2013
First the bad, Annie Darling really irritates me. She's a prime example of that old song, "Fools Rush In Where Angels Fear to Tread." She has to be the nosiest person on the face of this earth The last scene of the book is really a stretch. It wouldn't happen with the cooperation of the police anywhere in this country. Now the good----I love Browards Rock and all its inhabitants. It's a very real place to me and I love catching up with all my "friends" there. I really enjoy the pictures Annie hangs in her book store. (I got two of them this time.) The plot is excellent (other than that last scene that was so far fetched. Even with its faults I'll continue reading about Annie and Max.
December 8, 2013
Decent mystery, ok storyline although this one isn't one of the best in the series. The plot feels like it's been done before, especially in this series. The victim especially was a type we've read about in this series before. The murder and motive was clearly obvious from the onset and the denouement scene felt forced. So, not one of my faves but not bad.
January 1, 2014
I hate for a two star book be the final book of the year -- but I still have pages to go on the next Donna Leon in the series. This was definitely below par for Hart -- very repetitive and I got so tired of Annie and Max interviewing the same people over and over and over again. I usually enjoy the Death on Demand series but this one was frankly boring.
June 2, 2014
Not the best one out of the series, but still a very beautifully written murder mystery. I'm with Annie and Max until the wheels fall off.
Full review: http://jenn.booklikes.com/post/896234...
Full review: http://jenn.booklikes.com/post/896234...
June 2, 2013
This was another great mystery by Carolyn Hart. She is a great mystery writer. This book dragged on in some parts and was slower than I would have liked. Not enough clues led me to the conclusion. The ending was good, but not enough suspense and danger. It was a good Fourth of July mystery.
August 8, 2015
Carolyn Hart is the master of cozy mysteries. This series is the first cozy that I ever read. The fact that she mentions my Devereaux's Dime Store series in this book was beyond thrilling for me. Love, love,love Carolyn's books!
May 24, 2014
I have read every one of the books in this series. I enjoy Annie and Max. This one was hard to get through. I hope the next one is better.
February 25, 2016
What can you say about Carolyn Hart's cozy mysteries that hasn't already been said? She's a master at crafting mysteries.
April 27, 2018
This didn’t capture me from the start and the more the story went on the more just seemed to drag.
June 10, 2021
4.5 Stars
rounded up to 5 Stars.
I really liked the staging of Max's and Annie's denouement at the end revealing the murderer.
I really liked the staging of Max's and Annie's denouement at the end revealing the murderer.
February 13, 2017
I have not read any of this series of 'cozy' mysteries, but wanted to include some authors outside of my comfort zone, so grabbed several. This reminds me of some of the books I used to read, where everyone in town, except for the local sheriff, were suspect, and sometimes even he or she was included. This plot centers around Annie and Max Darling. Annie owns the local bookstore, Death on Demand, and this book namedrops often. Lists of authors, books, and both appear in the narrative. During the Fourth of July celebration, one of the locals disappears. She had many ties in town and had threatened to make an announcement at the festivities concerning one or more of the community members. Several had reason to stop this from happening. When a son of her ex is accused of murder after the body is found in a pond, the Darlings begin full force in trying to find the truth. When a witness dies, no one is safe from suspicion. Pulling the witnesses, statements, film and still photos together, they finally solve the case. Problem is, the victim is not at all likable and much of the action and especially the ending is kind of ho hum.
July 23, 2019
This is the second book in this series I have read. I have already noticed a pattern. In the first few pages, several people are described in short vignettes. Included in these are the person who will be murdered and the various suspects. Annie and her husband Max Darling, along with his mother and two friends solve mysteries on the island paradise where they live. There is another mystery for readers to solve. Each month Annie displays 5 paintings in her bookstore. Each one depicts a scene from a murder mystery. The first person to correctly identify each book and its author wins a book and a one month supply of coffee. The author is obviously well read.
Annie Darling's Death on Demand Bookstore specializes in murder mystery and so does Annie. Shell is a woman that other women truly despise. When she disappears the only person who seems to care is her stepdaughter, Hayley. Shell was last seen at an event at the Country Club, but she and her car are missing. Hayley asks Max Darling to find her stepmother, but may live to regret that request. Was Shell murdered by Hayley's father? her mother? or ….?
Annie Darling's Death on Demand Bookstore specializes in murder mystery and so does Annie. Shell is a woman that other women truly despise. When she disappears the only person who seems to care is her stepdaughter, Hayley. Shell was last seen at an event at the Country Club, but she and her car are missing. Hayley asks Max Darling to find her stepmother, but may live to regret that request. Was Shell murdered by Hayley's father? her mother? or ….?
July 18, 2020
Oh Shell. Nothing like the other mom to get a mystery going as it brings everyone with av ery good motive. We start with oh family life in destress to to their divroced fathers girlfriend, Shell, having an afair with every man. Max and Annie do not know it but Shell is going to expose everything at the 4th of July Party, however things go wanky as Shell, boyfriend daughter comes to Max to ask for help finding Shell. Max says he will do his best. Before they know both Max and Annie are on the hunt for a missing woman, who they think might not be missing, and whole slue of people who seem to have no interest in finding her, lucky for our duo they have the normal sleuthing team behind them.
Mom and I liked how important the scarf was in all off this and how it kept poping up through out the mystery. Mom also loved how they caught the killer in the end. This really was one of he more funner mysteries an mom and I look forward to rereading this one again.
Mom and I liked how important the scarf was in all off this and how it kept poping up through out the mystery. Mom also loved how they caught the killer in the end. This really was one of he more funner mysteries an mom and I look forward to rereading this one again.
October 9, 2020
This is the first book I've read in the series, so it may not have been the best book to start with, but I have to say this felt like a bit of a disappointment.
The book felt very repetitive. I'm not sure how many times people were asked to recant where they stood on the night of the probable murder, but it felt like near one hundred. It all amounts to a slow moving, and boring, novel. The beginning and ending also felt odd to me, especially the ending where there were pages and pages devoted to the two protagonists calling all and sundry to convince them to attend a staged event to flush out the murderer. In the last few pages people never given more than a fleeting glance in the novel are more thoroughly questioned and introduced, shining a light on new facts. I'm not a huge fan of novels that do this. It's not a clever twist.
I'm not sure if I'd read another in this series, as I didn't really enjoy the characters that much. I found them a little nauseating, to be honest.
The book felt very repetitive. I'm not sure how many times people were asked to recant where they stood on the night of the probable murder, but it felt like near one hundred. It all amounts to a slow moving, and boring, novel. The beginning and ending also felt odd to me, especially the ending where there were pages and pages devoted to the two protagonists calling all and sundry to convince them to attend a staged event to flush out the murderer. In the last few pages people never given more than a fleeting glance in the novel are more thoroughly questioned and introduced, shining a light on new facts. I'm not a huge fan of novels that do this. It's not a clever twist.
I'm not sure if I'd read another in this series, as I didn't really enjoy the characters that much. I found them a little nauseating, to be honest.
March 17, 2019
I have never read a hart book. This was my first introduction to the author. Underneath a lot of words was an interesting good story. I grew so blasted tired of listening to book names and the authors. I wasn't sure if this was an attempt to name drop, show her knowledge of books, or what was going on. But it got tremendously annoying. It was like somebody not just telling you there's a map on a table, but rather reading all of the country names on that map. Not very exciting and slow the pace of the book. The story itself was good underneath like I said. It wasn't a big plot twister, but it was a good enough mystery. I might try another one of Hart's books to see if it happened to be just in this novel that all of that trivial information was thrown out there
August 11, 2022
For a while now in this series, I’ve been able to tell that Hart started phoning these in. The murders are different, but the cast of characters involved in the murder are rinsed and repeated. How many cheating spouses and blackmailed rich people do we need driving the plot? I also don’t care for the Henny-Laurel-Emma trio anymore - so I was glad when they were mostly absent in this book. Max and Annie remain characters that I like. However Hart no longer brings originality to her recurring characters and every book it’s the same things repeated. Max is sexy, Annie loves hard work, Laurel is strange, Emma loves praise and is wearing a brightly colored caftan.
I’ve nvested so much in this series though that I continue on. 3 more to go!
I’ve nvested so much in this series though that I continue on. 3 more to go!
June 23, 2023
Carolyn Hart's 23rd "Death on Demand" book "Dead, White, and Blue" is not for those looking for a simple read. I don't say this often about a cozy mystery but wow that was a lot packed into one little book. Being so deep into the series you'd typically start seeing more fluff and less dense detail. Lots of dense detail and fairly stand alone. I feel that I might feel more connected to the characters if I'd read more of the previous books though. I read this one now for the 4th of July theme, which is kind of there.
The mystery was very involved and kept you jumping around. However, my main person I kept saying "wouldn't it be funny if it was them" ended up being correct. So it was very much a "ha!" moment at the reveal.
The mystery was very involved and kept you jumping around. However, my main person I kept saying "wouldn't it be funny if it was them" ended up being correct. So it was very much a "ha!" moment at the reveal.
June 30, 2023
This mystery was too cozy for me. It was not well written and I had to force myself to continue to read it. Shell seemed like a reprehensible person having an affair with her neighbor, blackmailing the person who tried to blackmail her, and threatening revenge on her husband for having an affair with his first wife who he loved and left for her. Shell pretended to be a starlet and great beauty from CA. Although, she had no acting credentials, Hollywood connections and was a country girl. Since Shell seemed to be threatening everybody including the blackmailer's wife, it was a little hard to emphasize with her when she was killed. Throughout the book, the author was trying to impress the reader by naming all the mystery writers and series she knew.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 25, 2019
I found myself thinking about this book a long time after finishing it. The author has etched evocative, memorable scenes and characters in this murder mystery. There is one scene with a car and water that won't leave my mind. I read this I think around the Fourth of July, which is actually when the mystery is set, and the tourists, country club scenes, hot days all work to make this a really good book.
July 12, 2022
When Shell Hurst goes missing after a Fourth of July Dance at the Country Club, her step-daughter calls on Max Darling for help. How Max and Annie manage to question people about Shell and what happened on the Fourth of July and discover the murderer makes for a great read. The characters were very well developed and the storyline was very interesting. Had a bit of a hard time getting into the book, but once I got into it, I really enjoyed it.
June 5, 2017
Awww what mystery reader wouldn't love a small neighborhood bookstore named "Death on Demand"? The daily management of the bookstore was fun especially listing the books.
Hmm is there a connection between the missing "Shell" and the missing shawl ? The reader of this audio did a great job performing all these "low country" characters.
Hmm is there a connection between the missing "Shell" and the missing shawl ? The reader of this audio did a great job performing all these "low country" characters.
April 18, 2020
This is the first book by Carolyn Hart I have read. Sometimes starting a series in the middle can be difficult as all the characters are new and the interplay between them is unknown. While I enjoyed the mystery of the disappearance of Shell, the relationships of the characters were difficult to gauge.
March 24, 2024
Picked this up from the library bookstore for $1.50. I sure had a difficult time getting into this story! I must have reread sections every night to remember what was going on in the story. Not very exciting. Mystery was fine, not a compelling mystery though. The couple Max and Annie, was it Annie? See I��ve already forgotten……
Displaying 1 - 29 of 151 reviews