Walking on My Grave

Death on Demand #26

by Carolyn G. Hart

In the latest Death on Demand Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Don't Go Home, book seller Annie Darling learns murder and money go hand in hand...

Annie's friend and fellow shop owner Ves Roundtree is a very wealthy woman. Her rich brother entrusted her with his estate, and upon her death, his fortune is to be divided. Several cash-strapped islanders are in line to collect life-changing inheritances. The problem is, Ves is very much alive.

Ves hosts a dinner for the prospective beneficiaries and feels a chill in the air that has nothing to do with the wintry season. Not long after, she suffers a bad fall that was no accident. Everyone at the table had a motive but not a shred of evidence was left behind.

When one of the suspects is found floating in the harbor and Ves disappears, Annie and her husband Max spring into action to catch a calculating killer before greed takes another life.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Audiobook, Cozy, Mystery Thriller, Contemporary

256 pages, Hardcover

First published May 2, 2017

About the author

Also 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

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

You know, these just aren't that good any longer. Although I could talk about how uninteresting Annie and Max are at the moment and how I find the Emma/Henny/Laurel triumvirate equally tiresome, I will instead talk about how lazily they are written. In the first, let's say ten books, Hart was very good at fully fleshing out all the characters. Even if we had just met them new characters were complete and I understood their motivations and actions. I got invested in their story. Now we get nothing like that. We don't even get Max doing background checks on the suspects! Just taking one suspect from this book - Curtis Roundtree - we have him briefly talking to his mother in the intro chapters, Max trying to talk to him and having a door slammed on his face (2 sentences from Roundtree, max); a short phone conversation; and finally ONE SENTENCE in the denouement. THE HELL?!?! Can you imagine such a character in Southern Ghost?

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I generally love the Death on Demand series and look forward to new ones. This one let me down. It seemed to have been sloppily written, the characters were not true to themselves. For example, I can't imagine Annie calling laurel ditzy (she certainly thinks it but would never uses that word), or calls Max a hunk ( he may be one, but she wouldn't use that word). Or who in the world would ever call laurel as Ma! What a common designation for such an elegant lady! There was a lot of repetition (how many times can Annie call Max her Joe Hardy?) and most of all, Annie was really off her game. I think readers could have figured out the murderer well before Annie had a clue! And so many foreshadows (I'm probably not using this correctly) but no connection to the resolution of the plot (why the focus on the timeline?) Come on, Carolyn, don't ruin this delightful series by taking shortcuts on writing and editing!

PS: I just read that this is the final death on demand novel. How sad it went out on a wimper instead of a grand finale!

[Daniele · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars
I feel disloyal for not loving this last Death on Demand mystery. It was enjoyable enough but repetitive. There were so many details given about things that had nothing to do with the plot (do we really need to know minutiae concerning a couch?). I love Annie, Max, and all of the other recurring characters, and I will miss them as this is the last book in the series, but the characters specific to this book are lackluster at best. The mystery is rather weak.

I received a copy of this title from the publisher

[OpenBookSociety.com · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://openbooksociety.com/article/wa...

Walking on My Grave
Death on Demand #26
By Carolyn Hart
ISBN#9780451488534
Author Website: carolynhart.com
Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Daniele


Synopsis:

Annie’s friend and fellow shop owner Ves Roundtree is a very wealthy woman. Her rich brother entrusted her with his estate, and upon her death, his fortune is to be divided. Several cash-strapped islanders are in line to collect life-changing inheritances. The problem is, Ves is very much alive.
Ves hosts a dinner for the prospective beneficiaries and feels a chill in the air that has nothing to do with the wintry season. Not long after, she suffers a bad fall that was no accident. Everyone at the table had a motive but not a shred of evidence was left behind.
When one of the suspects is found floating in the harbor and Ves disappears, Annie and her husband Max spring into action to catch a calculating killer before greed takes another life. (Goodreads)


Review:

Walking on My Grave is the twenty-sixth, and final, entry in the Death on Demand Mystery series. Bidding farewell to much loved characters is bittersweet, and Annie and Max Darling leave us much the same way they entered our lives – young and happy with each other and their life on the island.

I have always enjoyed my time spent with the Darlings. As with any long running series, some books are better than others. Unfortunately for me, this is not one of my favorites. This makes me feel slightly guilty and disloyal to Ms Hart. On the bright side, twenty-six books in Ms. Hart’s formulaic stories and characters are as comfortable and familiar as Annie’s favorite booth at Perotti’s and a fried oyster sandwich. For as long as I have been reading these books, I have wished I could visit Broward’s Rock and Annie’s bookstore.

In this outing, wealthy Ves Roundtree feels that one of the inheritors of her brother’s estate is in a hurry for Ves to die and divvy up the riches. Her fears are confirmed when she takes a tumble in her home that she is sure is no accident. When those who stand to gain from her demise are themselves being murdered and Ves disappears, time is of the essence to get to the bottom of things before the body count rises even more

There is no death until approximately one hundred pages in, and despite the build up to the danger, this makes for a very slow start. The recurring characters are like old friends, but those central to this book are bland and uninspired. It is far too easy to pick out the murderer far too early. To further bog down the tale, there is a lot of repetition. So much rehashing the same information over and over. There are also many details given that have nothing to do with anything related to the mystery. I do not care what a couch looks like or what a characters wears each day. There is also too much emphasis on a chapbook project that just feels like padding.

I have dearly loved most of the books in the Death on Demand series, and their absence will surely be felt as time goes on. Though Walking on My Grave is not the best of the books, I do not hesitate to recommend it to fans of the series. If you are new to Annie and crew, start with one of the earlier books.

[Barbara Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe even 2.5 stars

Series: Death on Demand #26
Publication Date: May 2, 2017

I absolutely cannot believe I’m giving this one three stars. This is the final book in the series and I would have hoped for it to end with a bang rather than a whimper. I would have loved it if Annie and Max had decided to close everything down and sail around the world or maybe they find themselves expecting a child – just something – rather than this non-ending ending. Max has deteriorated to the point that I almost didn’t recognize him – he is such a wimpy, uninteresting fellow. Annie too has become a wimp and has lost her determination. So, I guess I have to say that, given the quality of this book, it is time for the series to end and it is a sad ending indeed for a much-loved series.

The book is a normal size, but a portion at the end is taken up with the content of the Chapbooks that are being written by Henny, Laurel, and Emma. I will definitely NOT miss those three because they are becoming very tiresome. At the beginning of the book, you also have a number of pages taken up with a ‘Cast of Characters’ and a ‘timetable’ that is totally unnecessary. So, you have the middle portion left for the actual story.

The mystery itself is okay, but you just don’t come to care about the characters. In previous books you would have come to really know and understand the characters – maybe there were just too many suspects. For some of the suspects, we probably had a total of 5 or 6 lines dealing with them – Curt Roundtree is a prime example of that. Also, the first murder didn’t even occur until something like 100-pages into the book. As I said, the mystery was an okay mystery, but I just never felt invested in any of the victims or suspects.

Frankly, I almost felt that this book was written by another author – not only a different author who hadn’t written any of the previous books but one who hadn’t read them either. I was really disappointed in the wrap-up for the series.

[Lisa Ks Book Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Carolyn Hart is a master storyteller, and mystery purveyor. She stands in a class all her own.

There are always a lot of characters Ms. Hart’s books, but if anyone knows all there is about her characters and their histories, it would be this author. With so many to keep up with, she kindly includes a Cast of Characters list to help readers keep track.

I feel fans will agree, WALKING ON MY GRAVE perfectly aligned with the other books in this series. The same wonderful writing readers count on is found in this tale. There is a good, solid mystery with an array of suspects, encouraging readers to keep turning the pages.

I’ve seen very mixed reviews about WALKING ON MY GRAVE. Anywhere from one to five stars. It’s not my favorite of the titles I’ve read in this series, but it is still an amazing piece of writing, and I’m happy to have read it.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve read too many mysteries. Had this figured out too soon to really enjoy the book. Plus, too many snobs in it.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually a 2.5. Some series go on a bit too long, and maybe the author gets lazy. The main characters get a little too perfect. The premise of this one, trying to prevent a murder, was interesting, as were most of the characters, but we had too many descriptions of clothing, too many recaps of the goings on, and way too much of one character being described as "dreamy". Editor, where were you? I remember starting this series when it first came out and really liking it, but this was a disappointment.

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

I lost all sympathy for Ves when it was revealed that she was selling an ivory chess set in her shop--no, I'm not revealing anything about the plot, just showing that the author isn't sympathetic to the plight of elephants losing their lives so someone can use their tusks. Disgusting.

I've enjoyed the early books in this series, but this one did not hold my interest. It flitted from one viewpoint to another and had no depth.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me this book was an absolute page turner. Carolyn Hart at her best.
The premise is Ves Roundtree is in charge of her late brother Rufus' estate. She has use of the money until she dies at which time the trust will be divided. Of course Ves can give some of the money to the heirs if she chooses. And of course, each of the six heirs request a loan and each is denied.
After an attempt on her life Ves stops by Death on Demand to talk to Annie Darling. And then decides to confront everyone with Max and Annie there. After a possible suicide by one of the heirs, the murder of a second, the missing body of Ves and the attempted murder of a third. Annie, Max, and the intrepid trio, Emma, Henny and Laurel help Billy Cameron find the real killer.

I have to admit I enjoy these books because Carolyn Hart gives you a cast of characters at the beginning with a sentence describing them. Which helps out especially when some characters aren't that prominent. I can go back and check who they are.
The characters are also fully described. Even if you are a veteran reader of the series there seems to be something that will describe Emma or Henny or Annie just a bit better with just a few words.

And the description of Broward's Rock. After Twenty-five books it still is a new and wonderful place to visit. I can picture the lush foliage, the water, birds, bike paths and alligators. These are the same and yet new with every book.
I figured out who the killer was early, changed then went back. For me the fun was really not solving the murders but the journey getting there.

Since I collect the Death on Demand series, it was an absolute joy to go into an actual brick and mortar bookstore, snag the last hard cover copy, and then wait to read it until just the right day. As much as I like my kindle there is still something about holding a book in your hands and dozing off with your finger or thumb holding your place. And I never have to stop to recharge.

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read a number of these mysteries that involve Annie Darling, the owner of the Death on Demand Bookshop, her wealthy husband, Max, who sort of runs a detective agency, and a number of other repeat somewhat quirky characters who love being part of any investigation. Set on the fictitious island, Broward's Rock, off the coast of South Carolina, this murder mystery focused on a group of people who hoped to inherit a large sum of money. They all needed money, and a few seemed desperate enough to commit murder. The plot moved slowly and was a bit of a reach for me in places, and I found many of the characters tiresome. What I did like, however, is an annotated list of mystery books and authors toward the end of the book, an unexpected resource.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Ves Roundtree's brother left her his large fortune and the other beneficiaries of his estate must wait until her death to inherit. That means six couples/individuals who need money are unhappy that she is still alive. A nasty fall at her home is no accident and Ves knows someone is trying to kill her. She enlists the help of Max and Annie Darling to figure out who wants her dead.

I have read only one of the 25 other books in this series. I like these pleasant and easy-to-read cozy mysteries. My main suspect was not the killer although I had the real killer on my radar too.

[Kristina Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Walking on My Grave by Carolyn Hart is the twenty-sixth (and last) novel in A Death on Demand Mystery series. When Rufus Roundtree passed away a year ago, he left his fortune to his sister, Ves. Upon Ves’ death the money will pass to six heirs listed in the will. Four of the heirs need money and would like some of their inheritance now. Ves has no intention of parting with the money and as she is only in her 40s, Ves expects to live a long life. On the one year anniversary of Rufus’ death, Ves holds a dinner at her home. She invites the six heirs—Curt Roundtree, Bob and Katherine Farley, Jane Wilson, Fred Butler, Adam Nash—along with Gretchen Roundtree (Curt’s mother) and Tim Holt (Jane’s boyfriend). When Jane brings in the dessert she feels a cold chill—like someone is walking on her grave—and knows that someone wishes to kill her. A few days later, Ves limps into Death on Demand to speak with Annie Darling. Ves confides that someone tried to killer her. Ves confronts the heirs with Max Darling present hoping to find the culprit. Fred Butler disappears and is discovered by a fisherman in the harbor. When Ves fails to show up at a meeting, Annie and Police Chief Bill Cameron go to her house. They find blood smears along with her purse, but they find no sign of Ves. Did the killer get to Ves? Annie, Max and their friends work together to find the guilty party before he strikes again. Will they succeed?

Walking on My Grave will appeal to the fans of A Death on Demand Mystery series. If you are new to the series, I suggest starting with Death on Demand (first book). Walking on My Grave is easy to read and has interesting main characters (Annie and Max Darling). It was nice to revisit Broward’s Rock and the delightful characters in this series. I would love to visit Annie’s bookstore Death on Demand. It would be paradise to visit a bookstore filled with just mystery novels. I also appreciate that Annie and Max work with the police. They may gather information and talk to suspects, but they share the intel with the local authorities. There are no mean or idiotic police in Carolyn Hart’s series (for which I am very grateful). Unfortunately, Walking on My Grave was not on par with the previous books in the series. There is repetition of information throughout the story (especially about the case). I lost track of the number of times we are told about Max’s cars. Do readers need to be told whether he is driving the Lamborghini or the VW (each and every time he goes out)? Annie is working on chapbooks for Laurel, Emma and Henny. We hear about them frequently throughout the book along with book titles and authors, Latin quotes, clothing descriptions and mystery quotes. It felt like the author was trying to pad the story. I found Laurel (Annie’s mother-in-law) annoying and quickly tired of her nonsense (I do not know how Annie puts up with her). My rating for Walking on My Grave is 3 out of 5 stars. I wish I could say that the mystery redeemed Walking on My Grave, but that would be an untruth. I identified the perpetrator before Ves fell down the stairs. Only one suspect could commit the crimes and that person sticks out like an individual with fluorescent pink hair. It felt like the author’s heart was not into this book knowing it was the last. I do wish there had been an epilogue, but I did like who identified the books that went with the watercolors.

[Chanel Sharp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh boy this is the last book in the series, though to be fare when it come to cozy mysteries author can put down a series for years and than pick it back up again, as the series, or at least any we have read, have never had an ending.
A fortune has been left to Ves Roundtree, from her brother. Her bother also says that after Ves passes the the rest of the will be split among the serviving areas that were named in the will. Ves decided to be nice a host a dinner, to tell all the areas that she would be happy to share a bit of her wealth, but well at the dinner Ves gets the feeling that some one is "Walking on her Grave". Ves latter ends up slipping on her top steps, lucky she is not hurt to bad, but Ves is beyond certain that it was not accident and someone is out to get her, which brings her into Annie book store asking for help.
Getting see Annie and Max again is beyond wonderful. Annie is try to make chapbooks for the Trio. Laura, Emma, and Henny. ( The trio does play a part in this book, but I will admit that they seem to have taken a back seat in this book.) Max is of gulfing, because Confidentle comissions is closed because Barb is out, both Barb and Inger are also missing from this book. Max and Annie believe and decided to help her, along with the trio. Sadly they have a hard time figuring out who tried to hurt Ves on Thursday as none of the suspects have a solid alibi for the time when the accident occurred, but that all comes to a head when one of the suspects turns up dead. No Billy is on the case to and things are really starting to heat up.
Mom and I did love that Max and Annie were both involved in the mystery pretty heavily, but we wish that Max and Annie were able to solve the mystery, before the big reveal, though we did like the big reveal came form getting all the suspects together and having and all out reveal. That is always so fun!

[Jeannie and Louis Rigod · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just adore the series following Max and Annie Darling and their family and friends. This book was a joy to read.

A new, to me, character Ves Roundtree 'knows' that someone is walking on her grave. She asks Annie and Max for their help. Deaths occur and Ves is absconded with. Wow, time is becoming critical as the suspects grow.

Was it a suicide? Or, could it have been murder? This and other questions fill your mind as you race with the 'Incredible Trio' and the Darlings to solve these crimes.

As per usual there is an interesting twist to the tale. No, I'm not going to tell you. This book is worthy of your enjoyment in reading it. Have fun!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

First time reading Carolyn Hart and very pleasantly surprised. Enjoyed the mystery and how it was structured. Loved the characters and will definitely look for more in this series.
Being a big fan of Steve Demaree’s Cy and Lou series , I first heard of this author as she was one of the detectives go to authors.

[Mary Jane Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not my type of book but I found a Large Print copy at a free swap so gave it a try. In a nutshell: a group of eventual heirs are anxious for their money. An attempt is made to stage an accident on the woman holding the purse strings. There were too many character suspects for me to keep track of but a mystery fan might enjoy it.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

A local is designated as the guardian of his estate when he dies. She gets to use the interest and, at her death, a list of heirs divide the estate principal. She has all the prospective heirs to dinner and has a feeling that someone is 'walking on her grave'. When someone sets a trap for her to fall to her death, she survives and is sure she is right. Several townspeople of this many book series are on-hand as usual to dig into this and other mysterious and violent happenings, specifically Annie and Max Darling, who have helped solve difficult situations before. At one point, any of the 6 or their significant others were suspected. Of course the mystery is solved after many twists and turns.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do like the "Death on Demand" mysteries and by now the main characters are really well-developed.
The minor characters are also very well-developed, sometimes garnering emotions like sympathy. The ending didn't lend credence to this book being the last one of the series though as it was described elsewhere. All in all a good cozy mystery and recommended especially if you have diligently followed the series thus far.

[Florence Primrose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Annie Darling, bookstore owner, is concerned because her friend feels someone has tried to kill her. When she dies her money will be split six ways, but one of the six is eager to get it now.

Annie's murder book club are working with Annie and her husband, Max, to find the killer.

This is a quick fun read.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite American mystery writers. Always keeps me guessing until the end! Never disappoints.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars rounded up to 3 Stars.

[Lynnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic whodunit with the suspects all gathered together in the drawing room at the end, and the reveal. I like the Death on Demand series, light and fun reads and this was a good one.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the first DoD I've read, and it will be the only. I can't fathom how this got to 26 books with writing this poor. The constant quotes were annoying, and there was a point early on where the author had Max cooing over the brilliance of his mother...but she wasn't the one that was speaking. I ended up skipping 1/3 of the book because the investigation was so silly. Also, I couldn't help but feel that Rufus must have been an ass to set his estate up like that - several of the heirs were older than Ves, and unlikely to ever inherit. It's not a great idea to put your closest friends and family in a situation where they will stand to inherit millions upon the deaths of the others.

Annie seemed like an overly sensitive airhead, practically in tears whenever she recounted anything to Max. Every couple is so sappily in love that it rings false. Ves brilliantly tells the suspects that the next murder attempt will be met with a shot from the gun she's carrying... But the murder attempt was set up as an ACCIDENT and there was zero opportunity to defend against an assailant. How on earth can this work? Also, the line she says about voodoo was so ridiculous that I had to repeat it aloud to make sure it really said that >_<

The "solving" of the murder was ludicrous and lacked any proof that would stand up to an actual arrest. Lack of surprise and talking to someone for a minute the day they died is hardly a crime. And where in a truck can you hide a gun that the truck must be dismantled to find it? Luckily none of the characters were likable, so their deaths were not troubling. I do question the general silliness of it - why meet a suspected murderer by yourself late at night in a remote location, how many dentist appointments can your boss believe you have, and how much blood can you get by jabbing an earlobe? It was ludicrous, and the writing was clunky beyond belief. I found it particularly weird that the book opens with an index of all the characters.

[Tina Miles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somehow I had missed the publication of this DoD book and quickly bought it to read when I discovered this today.
For me there are 3 very unique characteristics in the DoD books: 1) I love the coffee cups that have book titles on them, 2) I love the references to mystery books which are sprinkled throughout each book and 3) I love the paintings which are based on books, which someone always guesses.
I have always enjoyed Hart's books about Max and Annie Darling except the last one and then this one. This last book in the series has the familiar characters in it, mostly. I liked that we get a HEA for Lou, that was an unexpected and pleasant surprise. Laurel is her usual irritating self, never could like her I'm afraid. Henny and Emma are there to help as well. Was glad to get much more of Max in this book than in the last book. He seemed a bit less charming than he is in the earlier books. Also the romance and sizzle between Max and Annie was definitely damped down this time.
Since this is the last book I expected an epilogue to tell us how things turn out for Max and Annie down the road (rather like the Harry Potter epilogue if you know what I mean). Really disappointed that there wasn't anything like that.
The chap book idea was unique, although it seemed an annoying distraction to me.
Wished we had seen more of Ingrid and of Hyla. Agatha pops up in the story a few times, although she isn't a particularly endearing cat.
I was grateful that we got one more DoD book before the series ended but it certainly felt like Hart was just going through the motions this time. I hope she will do one more book some day soon that will really finish off the series in style so her loyal readers aren't left feeling let down.

[Katrina Wiese · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nola Mae is back and full of southern charm in the third installment of the Georgia Peach mystery series. In this enchanting story, she finds herself smack dab in another jam when mayoral candidate, Clem Rodgers, is found murdered inside his burning barn, and the sheriff sets her sights on sticking it to Nola's dad.

Annie Darling is back and finds herself in a sticky situation when good friend Ves Roundtree asks Annie for help after having an accident that she swears was anything but. As Ves tells it, someone is out to kill her so they can cash in on her fortune, an estate left to her from her brother that is to be divided among many of the islanders upon her death. After one of the accident induced suspects turns up dead and Ves goes missing, Annie and Max get in on the hunt to nail down exactly what is going on before it is too late!

This was my first introduction to Carolyn Hart and the Death on Demand mystery series, which has had a nice long run! Walking on My Grave is the 26th book in the series and I am sad to say, the final book in the series. I have to say the book was slow to start and it took me awhile to really get into the story, but I am glad that I held on because once I hit halfway there was no turning back and I was hooked right up until the end, which wrapped up the story, and apparently, the series nicely. I have to say this mystery is more of a traditional mystery than my favorite cozies, but I very much enjoyed this story and the twists and turns that it took. Carolyn Hart is a wonderful story teller and she paints a beautiful illustrated picture with her words. I know this series will be missed!

http://myshelf.com/mystery/16/walking...

[Herb Blank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it a great deal with all the wonderful usual characters and 6 pretty good new one - especially Ves who is the main focus of this book in one way or another. It was one of the better crafted mysteries and exhibitions of this series even though the murderer was the person I tabbed from the opening dinner and stuck with throughout - still wasn't a given until revealed with finality. The whole set-up was pretty ingenious. The Chapbook angle and the inclusions at the end of the book are priceless. Great mysteries that I copied down for my reading list in Henny's and great pithy observations by Laurel. The trite saying in Emma's chapbook reflects the sudden resentment Annie has developed for her loyal friend - there's always been a mild undertone but this was pretty acrid.

The only reason this one isn't a 5/5 with me is that Annie (Carolyn?) is so peevish throughout. She is much more annoyed at Laurel, Emma, and others for no particular reason - usually they give her plenty of reason and she's still sanguine. It got a bit annoying. And then there's hubby perfect, Max. I think the series could take a far more interesting turn if he were killed off and Laurel and Annie had to team to track down the killer and rewsolve open issues. Perfection is boring and what husband on Earth is that kind, selfless and understanding? ANyway, now I'm being peevish. This is probably among the top 5 entries of the series and the best among the last 5 or so. Enjoy!

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have had a difficult time writing this review. When I read that this would be the last in the Annie & Max series, I put off reading the last few I had missed over the years and particularly for this one. It has been one of my favorite cozy mystery series; I love Annie and Max as well as the amazing group of supporting characters--Emma Clyde, Laurel, Ingrid and Henny.

I think one of the reasons I love the series so much is that I have had the privilege of meeting the author several times. The best word I can think of to describe her is gracious. She radiates a calm, kind and caring attitude. When you talk to her, even though she may have a long line of people waiting for her to sign a book, she treats you like you are the only one in the room and that she would like nothing better than to grab a cup of tea/coffee and sit down with you for a long chat.

The end of the book has a very nice collection of famous mystery authors with short bios. The book series has included all of this history authors at one time or another during the series.

This volume is another great entry to the series. Annie and Max--I will miss you. You have been wonderful characters. Adieu!

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

The great thing about the Death on Demand series, besides Annie's mystery bookstore itself that is, is that each mystery has six to eight suspects plus the dependable cast of Broward's Rock sleuths and the two cats, Dorothy L. and Agatha. The familair characters are soothing, while the conundrum of the book is wickedly well drawn. This time, a will has been written that gives the use of the funds to the dead man's sister for her lifetime and then disperses the meney among six people, only one of whom is a relative. When someone tries to kill the sister, she goes to Annie and Max for help, since she doesn't believe the police will take her seriously. But then the other people named in the will begin to die. At least two - and possibly three - od the will's beneficieries have been killed and one other has been assaulted. Annie and Max. plus the redoubtable trio of Emma, Henny and Laurel, race to find the killer. Along the way, they eat a lot of delicious fish and some scrumptious sounding breakfasts.And, of course, somebody also solves the mystery of the monthly watercolours at Death on Demand.

[Chris Mcgowan · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Audiobook August 2017) - This was in the "hot" title section and I took a chance on it. The first 2/3 or so was really entertaining, although there were a lot of characters to track. I later learned this is a "series" so at least some of the characters were "known" to readers of the series. A who done it that lost me in the last disc or disc and a half. It seemed to just be a bunch of titles and years were rattled off and I was too disinterested to figure out if I missed something - or if this was a recap of the 10 Death on Demand books. I blame myself partially for jumping into the final in a series. I need to just stick to my list of good titles that I discover or are recommended to me.