Death Comes Silently

February 13, 2012
In Agatha Award–winner Hart’s sparkling 22nd Death on Demand mystery (after 2011’s Dead by Midnight), Annie Darling enlists Gretchen Burkholt, a fellow volunteer at Better Tomorrow, to sub for her at the charity shop so she can host an author signing at her Broward’s Rock, S.C., bookstore, Death on Demand. To Annie’s horror, someone kills Gretchen with an axe during the charity shop’s afternoon shift. Police chief Billy Cameron is sure ex-con handyman Jeremiah Young, who fled the crime scene, is guilty, but Annie’s longtime customer and mystery connoisseur, Henny Brawley, is equally convinced of Jeremiah’s innocence. When Annie and Henny find a link between Gretchen’s murder and the “accidental” drowning of fussy and pretentious Everett Hathaway two weeks earlier, the suspect field opens considerably. A bucolic setting, colorful characters, and frequent knowledgeable recommendations of mystery authors and books old and new help make this another winning entry in a cozy series that shows no sign of age. Agent: Deborah Schneider, Gelfman-Schneider Agency.

April 1, 2012
Did you hear the one about the mystery-bookstore owner menaced by an ax murderer? Annie Darling, proprietor of Broward's Rock's detective bookshop Death on Demand, is due to volunteer at the island's charity store, Better Tomorrow. But a book-signing by local author Emma Clyde forces her to swap times with Gretchen Burkholt, who rings up several times to gossip about a scandalous message she's found in a jacket donated by the family of Everett Hathaway, who accidentally slipped out of a kayak and drowned on a midnight sail in frigid January. By the time Annie arrives at Better Tomorrow, Gretchen is long dead, the murder weapon, an ax, left beside her. Most everyone considers the handyman, Jeremiah, the culprit, but Henny, the volunteer coordinator, believes him innocent and helps him hide. Annie and her husband Max decide to help vindicate Jeremiah, but their investigation is stymied when the mayor relieves the police chief of his job. With persistence, the amateur sleuths discover that Gretchen may have been murdered because she could recast Everett's death as not an accident but murder. There's no shortage of suspects within Everett's family and business circles, and two murders become three when the Hathaway housekeeper is shot. Henny will be waylaid and Annie accosted in a dense fog before mystery writer Clyde helps deduce whodunit, leading to Jeremiah's freedom and the police chief's reinstatement. The series hallmarks are all here--the Christie-like clues, the multiple motives, the never-ending gossip, the mystery fiction allusions, the cats Agatha and Dorothy L--but where's the verve, the wicked surprise? Barely mid-level in this venerable series (Dead by Midnight, 2001, etc.).

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April 1, 2012

In her 22nd adventure set in Broward's Rock, SC, Annie Darling, owner of the Death on Demand bookstore, and her husband, Max, become involved in the murder investigation of a local charity shop worker. The victim tried to call Annie right before she was killed, so Annie feels compelled to find her killer. When a second murder occurs, Annie and Max begin to think that another recent death, which was ruled accidental, may be connected. In addition, Annie's longtime customer Henny Brawley is trying her best to keep an innocent man from being tried for the murders. VERDICT Fans of this popular cozy series will not be disappointed with Hart's latest entry (after Dead by Midnight). It is always a pleasure to read about the current obsession of Annie's well-meaning mother-in-law Laurel Darling Roethke and the competition between Henny and resident mystery writer Emma Clyde over the bookstore's monthly mystery contest. Recommended for all cozy mystery fans, especially for those who like to read Joan Hess, Leslie Meier, and Jill Churchill.--Jean King, West Hempstead P.L., NY

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2012
It's winter on Broward's Rock, the South Carolina sea island where Annie Darling runs Death on Demand, a mystery bookstore, and her husband, Max, a consulting firm. It should be quiet, leaving Annie with nothing more to worry about than avoiding Laurel, her mother-in-law, currently pressing sunflowers on everyone, or Emma Clyde, the resident eccentric mystery writer. During an event at the bookstore, Annie receives dramatic messages from the woman who substituted for her at A Better Tomorrow, the remotely located volunteer relief shelter. As soon as the bookstore event ends, Annie heads to the shelter to soothe her friend but instead finds her dead. The ex-con handyman, hired by Annie's loyal friend Henny Brawley, is the prime suspectand the only one the meddling mayor will let the police consider. Annie, Max, Henny, Emma, and Laurel do some meddling of their own, along with careful observation of how people get around the island, which leads to trapping the real killer in lies. A particularly satisfying entry in an always-satisfying cozy series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)