From Publishers Weekly
Hart supplies superior cozy fare in her 14th mystery (after 2002's April Fool Dead) to feature amateur sleuth Annie Darling and her husband, Max. Everyone in the Low Country island of Broward's Rock, S.C., has been looking forward to the gala opening of a new art collection at the Neville Gallery, owned by heiress Virginia Neville, who intends to use the evening not only to dispel the foggy gloom of January on the island but also to announce her engagement to much younger artist Jake O'Neill. However, the party quickly ends when Jake turns up murdered. Max, deputized immediately to help, finds himself at cross-purposes with Annie, owner of the Death on Demand bookstore, who seeks to vindicate her friend who's the prime suspect. A fast-paced plot and a skillfully integrated sub-plot will keep the reader involved and guessing until the very end. Hart expertly handles numerous characters, notably Max's quirky, but lovable mother and Henny, Death on Demand's best customer and mystery expert, who plays a clever mind game with Annie. The interplay between Annie and Max enhances the plot, where in lesser hands it would become the focus. Those who appreciate crime fiction in the Agatha Christie Mousetrap mold will also go for this superb whodunit.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Hart's fourteenth Death on Demand mystery is richly evocative of January on the foggy, chilly, damp island of Broward's Rock, South Carolina. Invited to a combined art opening and engagement party, mystery bookstore owner Annie Darling and her husband, Max, are present when the groom-to-be is found with his head bashed in. Circumstantial evidence points to one of Annie's young friends as the most promising suspect. After Max is deputized to help solve the case but Annie is not, Annie works on her own to exonerate her friend, on whom the police and Max concentrate to the exclusion of several other possible suspects. All the while, Annie and Max's easy, loving relationship continues, and Annie's somewhat spacey mother-in-law offers her encouragement through quotations on friendship. Mystery buffs will enjoy identifying the paintings of mystery scenes Hart describes at the beginning of the book and answering the trivia questions that Annie's longtime nemesis, Henny, uses to try to stump her. An enjoyable addition to a long-running series. Sue O'Brien
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Award-winning author Carolyn Hart opens an exciting new chapter in the story of insatiably curious Annie Darling, owner of the Death on Demand mystery bookstore. Love is in the air on the Low Country island of Broward's Rock: Annie is passionately devoted to her charming husband, Max; her young holiday helper, Chloe, is entranced by the sexy stranger she's been meeting late at night on the pier; and widow Virginia Neville is about to mix business with pleasure by announcing her engagement at the opening of her gallery's exciting new exhibit. But while Virginia is clearly head-over-heels for her talented portraitist, not everyone is ready to wish her well. Her late husband's family, in particular, is in an uproar, believing she'll squander what should have been their inheritance on the handsome young man. And when Virginia's fianc￯﾿ﾽ and Chloe's heartthrob turn out to be one and the same, more than hearts get broken. The charming rogue is bludgeoned to death one fogbound night, and an alarming amount of evidence points to Chloe as the murderer￯﾿ﾽespecially after she flees the scene and evades the police. To make matters worse, Max is aiding the authorities, while Annie is fighting to clear Chloe's name. As fans of the series fans know, it will take more than marital discord, blackmail, and threats to deter Annie Darling's amateur detecting. Sue Stone

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Nothing warms the heart like romance - even as the raw, cold winds of January chill the residents of Broward's Rock to the bone. But it's more than amore that intrigues mystery bookstore owner Annie Darling and her husband, Max, when wealthy, widowed art patron Virginia Neville announces engagement to Jake O'Neill, her handsome, charming, and much younger fiance, at a gala opening at the Neville gallery. Virginia's joyful announcement leaves many of the gathered - especially certain members of her resentful extended stepfamily - quite peeved. And one of the guests takes the news harder than the rest: before the last champagne bubble pops, murder disrupts the grand celebration." Quickly deputized by Acting Police Chief Billy Cameron, troubleshooter Max Darling dives headfirst into the icy investigative waters, leaving wife Annie somewhat out in the cold. But since her young assistant, Chloe, is a prime suspect - and one of Jake O'Neill's most recent broken hearts - Annie is determined to untangle the unholy marriage of jealousy, blackmail, gunplay, and malicious mischief...even if it means crossing swords with hubby Max and placing herself in the perilous path of a cleverly sadistic stalker.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Hart supplies superior cozy fare in her 14th mystery (after 2002's April Fool Dead) to feature amateur sleuth Annie Darling and her husband, Max. Everyone in the Low Country island of Broward's Rock, S.C., has been looking forward to the gala opening of a new art collection at the Neville Gallery, owned by heiress Virginia Neville, who intends to use the evening not only to dispel the foggy gloom of January on the island but also to announce her engagement to much younger artist Jake O'Neill. However, the party quickly ends when Jake turns up murdered. Max, deputized immediately to help, finds himself at cross-purposes with Annie, owner of the Death on Demand bookstore, who seeks to vindicate her friend who's the prime suspect. A fast-paced plot and a skillfully integrated sub-plot will keep the reader involved and guessing until the very end. Hart expertly handles numerous characters, notably Max's quirky, but lovable mother and Henny, Death on Demand's best customer and mystery expert, who plays a clever mind game with Annie. The interplay between Annie and Max enhances the plot, where in lesser hands it would become the focus. Those who appreciate crime fiction in the Agatha Christie Mousetrap mold will also go for this superb whodunit. (Mar. 8) Forecast: A 14-city author tour, including a "wedding" cake and bubbles at each participating bookstore, will help bring in the crowds for Hart, who already has a high profile as a winner of Agatha, Anthony and Macavity awards and as a founder of Sisters in Crime. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

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