Death on Demand

Annie is a bookstore owner with a problem. When murder strikes a pretentious author in front of her and other speakers, it becomes a rush to solve the crime and clear some names and reputations. Thankfully Annie has a strange friend who comes to visit the town and help her out.

Very cute! I'm not gaga over the main character since she's not fully bright and has a ridiculous temper and such, but her sidekick Max and cat Agatha bring up her appeal. The cast of mystery writers on a small island was also intriguing. The author obviously knows and loves her mystery, making the bookstore a strong setting by referencing writers and famous characters from a large variety of mystery sources throughout the book. Charmed.

Since this is a first book show more in the setting, a lot is still being set up - introducing the character's background, her coming to a new town and taking over the relative's store, finding her feet with meeting new members in the town. It's a cute cozy but doesn't offer much new in the unique front - the sherriff is an enemy, but the town's quirky cast helps. Max is something unique since he doesn't fit in, which helped this rise a little above the rest.

The main character breaking into a house when she's a prime suspect and being so obvious about so much with her clueless maneuevers didn't help her solve the crime on either intellect or skill. It all comes down to convenient timing and downright luck, which isn't the strongest pull in the mystery field. Not horrible but not mind-shattering, other than liking how it ties into a personal mystery of hers that she wasn't even aware of yet.

Ultimately the shine of the book is that it's setting on an island with a mystery bookstore is great. Book-themed cozies are among my favorites when paranormal isn't involved. And at least my favorite detective Hercule Poirot gets a mention.

Will try the next in the series. show less

This is the first in a series of cozy mysteries featuring the owner of a bookstore specializing in mysteries. It's a bit dated now (this one was published in 1987), but I enjoyed some of the humor in it, as well as all the references to classic mysteries and mystery writers. I also had a hard time keeping track of all the characters, but I was listening to the audio which probably contributed to that. I'm not sure I'll seek out the second in the series, but I wouldn't kick it out of bed for eating crackers, either (i.e. if it falls into my lap at some point, I'd be happy to read it) :)

3.5 stars

Audio book performed by Kate Reading.

Annie Laurence inherited her uncle’s estate on Broward’s Rock Island, South Carolina, including the mystery bookshop Death on Demand. She’s made a success of it, partly because the quiet island is home to several successful authors, who regularly meet at her store on Sunday evenings for coffee and an informal presentation about writing mysteries. But tonight one of them – Elliot Morgan – is planning to reveal the other authors’ secrets, and Annie would just as soon not have a scene in the store. When the presentation is interrupted by a power failure she is momentarily relieved, only to find that while the lights were off Elliot was murdered. Before long she is the target of the police show more chief’s suspicions regarding not only Elliot’s murder, but her uncle’s untimely death, and the deaths of several other island residents. Her dear friend Max Darling lends a hand to help clear her name and find the true culprit.

This is a fun cozy made more enjoyable by the many references to mystery writers, books and famous literary sleuths (Mrs Pollifax, Hercule Poirot, etc). If the murderer is a tad too prolific (and successful at killing) in such a short time frame, well that can be forgiven. Hart keeps the plot moving and the interest level high. The romantic tension is mostly in the background but adds a nice touch of spice to the mix. Kate Reading does a fine job on the audio, with a good pace and enough changes in inflection to differentiate the characters. show less

This is my first experience reading a novel by Carolyn G. Hart and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

"Death on Demand" is the name of the bookshop which caters to my first choice of reading selections ~ Mystery and Detective Stories. With the numerous references to mystery titles and mystery authors throughout the story, I could now go back and savor exploration of those I did not recognize. I also appreciated the descriptive language used by Carolyn G. Hart that captured my attention and added to my visualizations as I was reading. Here are a few examples:

“Saulter's ulcer burned like melting tar in August.”
“…pointing out the constellations that glittered in the southern sky like diamonds against black velvet.”
“The only sounds were

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the occasional rustle as squirrels scampered from limb to limb, the soft thud of falling cones, and the tap of fragrant pine needles against the pitched roof of the house.”

Closing the novel there remains one question which is quite perplexing to me. What is the purpose of the dog being shown on the front cover? show less

On a whim I plucked this book off my mystery shelves, and I am so glad that I did. I read one book in the Death on Demand series long ago, and bought some others to try out, including this one, the first in the series. Then they were put on my shelves and forgotten, which is a shame, because this book was so much fun. The main character, Annie Laurance, runs a mystery book store, and there are references galore to other mystery books and series. In fact, the only down side to reading this was that it made me want to read a ton of other mysteries right afterward. As for the story itself, it was nothing new - a member of her mystery writers club is murdered, and everyone else is a suspect - but the characters were fun, the setting was show more evocative, and the romantic tension between Annie and Max was wonderful. I'm definitely returning to this series. show less

4 stars.

Annie has inherited her uncle's mystery book shop and she loves it. She loves living where she lives and the community. What she doesn't love is an author hijacking her Sunday night author group to spill dirty details about their fellow authors, and she lets him know. When he ends up dead in her bookstore during said author meeting, Annie is unsettled. She wants nothing to do with the investigation, unlike Max, her kind of ex, but when she winds up under suspicion, Annie takes action.

I've read this several times, but not for many, many years. It's still enjoyable, and I remembered some of the plot. Max and Annie are such opposites, and Max is determined to convince Annie to take him seriously. I like that they come at the show more mystery from different angles. Although, Annie seemed a little naive in thinking that real people would react the same way as book characters. show less

Set in fictitious Broward's Rock Island, South Carolina, Death On Demand features mystery bookshop owner, Annie Laurance. When local author, Elliot Morgan, is murdered by a poison dart in her shop during the Sunday Night Regulars meeting, Annie becomes suspect number one. With the help of her friend, Max, Annie must find the real killer to prove her innocence.

I can't believe I've never read this series before. The island in the book is set near Hilton Head Island, one of our favorite vacation spots. With numerous references to local sites, the setting had a wonderfully familiar feel for me. The characters had great detail and back stories, the bookshop references are great for any mystery lover, and the mystery plot was easy to follow show more but hard to guess, which is always mystery novel perfection.

There were quite a large number of characters, which made things a little confusing at times, but could easily be overlooked since the rest of the book was such a great quality. Overall, this series will be going on my TBR list. show less