Dare to Die

Carolyn Hart is the queen of the American cozy in my opinion. All of the books she's written in this wonderful series are good, and this one is no exception. The community of Broward's Rock is teeming with undercurrents and long buried secrets. When a girl comes back home to Broward's Rock after being away for ten years, some of the locals want to really keep hidden long-buried secrets. When the girl is found dead at one of Annie and Max's parties, Annie and Max just have to find out what happened to her and why, so they begin digging around in old yearbooks and start asking questions about a group of old high school friends. Then things begin getting dicey for them as a murderer begins to run scared. This is a great book and it's show more written in Carolyn Hart's inimitable style. Good stuff! show less

Group of High School classmates who experienced death of 2 (1 overdose, 1 suspected suicide) their senior year. A woman 70th days into recovery returns home to make amends with the classmates and is murdered.
A little edgier than Hart’s usual mysteries, but still a pretty cozy mystery. Fun read. I love the Death on Demand characters and that Hart has multiple references to other books throughout her stories.

a young and beautiful couple, one of whom runs a bookstore on a South Carolina barrier island, are celebrating their new house when murder strikes. Of course, this being the amateur sleuth genre, they can't stay uninvolved, but to be fair, they're sort of doomed to it anyway. Pleasant and fairly distinct characters and enough romance to fill in the gaps. Recommended for the beach, or any recuperative effort

The Death on Demand series has been a long time favorite of mine. I love how the murder mysteries are interlaced with (usually literary based) fun and frivolity. Dare to Die did not follow the usual format. The mystery was front and center for the entire novel and unfortunately the mystery was depressing. The message of the novel was clear - teenagers do stupid things and those things will come back to haunt them as adults if someone doesn't kill them first. And worse, the repeated mentioning of a certain clue made the murderer obvious way too soon. Dare to Die was a fast and easy read, as most cozy mysteries are, but ultimately a disappointment. Sadly, this book was nothing more than average and I have come to expect more from both the show more author and the series. show less

Light little mystery; nothing earth shattering, though one did need a score card to remember all the characters and who was with whom now, as well as 10 years ago in the back story. It would be nice if Carolyn Hart actually knew the lowcountry where she sets this series, but she doesn't, as often comes out in the books. It makes me fear a little bit for our economy here, because with so many deaths on one island off the coast of South Carolina, what's it gonna do for our tourist trade? I guess people will just go, instead, to that little English village where Miss Marple lived.

Dare To Die by Carolyn Hart
Published by Avon Mystery
ISBN 978-0-06-145305-2
At the request of Bestsellersworld, a PB copy was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.

On the quaint island of Broward's Rock, a native daughter has returned after a ten (10) year absence. Riding a bike in the pouring rain with nothing but a duffel bag and a change of clothes, Iris Tilford arrives. She has made this visit, not only to make amends of her past, but to also find the truth of what really happened all those years ago when a high school friend, Jocelyn Howard, died the night at The Pavilion for an sports awards night. Did Jocelyn commit suicide, as so many have believed, or was it murder.

Annie and Max Darling, a couple loved by all is having show more a pre summer party for their friends at the same Pavilion ten years later but many, who have been hiding secrets for 10 years are not looking forward to the invitation. Annie befriends Iris on her second day in Broward County and invites her to the get together. Iris hopes that the party will somehow trigger a memory of that tragedy because at the time, Iris had a drug dependency that clouded her thinking, that she now has conquered. Are the memories she has a true depiction of Jocelyn's last minutes or were the visions due to the drugs?

The night of the Darling's party, tragedy strikes again, Iris Tilford if found dead in the woods right off the path of the Pavilion. All in attendance are now suspects. Annie and Max can't believe that any of their friends could be a murderer, until they start trying to put together the puzzle pieces of who killed Iris and who has just tried to kill them too. Could it be Emma Clyde, the resident eccentric mystery writer who is having a writer's block and needs an idea for her next book? Or maybe even Liz and Russell Montgomery who are very defensive and was one of the last two that saw Jocelyn before she died that tragic night so many years ago? Or what about Fran and Buck Carlisle, Max knows he is lying but what about exactly? Could it be Cara Wilkes, who after her failed marriage and loss of her young daughter has also returned to become a successful realtor, but there is evidence that belongs to her that was left at the scene of the Darlings' attempted murder?

And then another student from the same graduating class but not a member of the clique also turns up dead.

The reader will be able to visualize and know a community just like Broward's County through the vivid descriptions the writer conveys. The exceptional writing by this author regarding this close knit circle of friends will pull the reader in to wanting and feeling like the characters are true life friends. The suspense, at times, so intense, that the reader has to continue turning the page. This was a truly enjoyable book of suspense and mystery.
My Rating: 4 show less

A death, 10 years ago, of an 18-year-old girl comes back to haunt her friends and classmates. From the Death in Demand series featuring Max and Annie Darling comes a murder occurring at their party where the friends of Jocelyn Howard all attend.

A cozy mystery with the requisite case of eccentric characters, a connection to the police and in this case a traditional “Poirot-style” denouement. A relaxing read that flows along at an even pace.