Death Walked In

Death on Demand #18

by Carolyn G. Hart

Max Darling hasn't been interested in crime since his brush with a seductive young woman put him in danger of losing his freedom. He even refuses to talk to a woman who calls for help and says she is afraid. The caller leaves word she's hidden something in the antebellum house Max and his wife, Annie, are restoring. When Annie finds out, she hurries to the woman's home, only to discover she's been murdered. Evidence links the dead woman to a fortune in gold coins that has recently gone missing. Was this mysterious woman killed for a fortune in coins?

The dead woman's son is accused but Max believes in his innocence, and Max and Annie plunge wholeheartedly into the investigation. Are the coins hidden in Annie and Max's house? The intruder who shoots at Max seems to think so. And when Annie discovers the secret of their old house, death arrives at their door.

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

295 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

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

[Lollyletsgo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one because of the two-prong mystery-- a treasure was hidden, and yes, I figured that one out! (so, Yay, me!) The murderer however remained a mystery till the end which is becoming par for my course! ;) It's not that I don't try to figure it out, I just think I enjoy watching/reading the amateur sleuth figuring it out, all while I am comfy and cozy in my chair! :)

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Max and Annie Darling live on Broward's Rock, off the Carolina coast, where they routinely get involved in murder mysteries--through no fault of their own, of course! This time, in response to a message that Max ignored, Annie finds herself at the side of a dying woman who claims to have hidden some stolen gold coins in the old house Max and Annie are restoring. Of course she dies before she can reveal the hiding place, but does reveal that the thief, whom she saw burying the coins, came from the house of the wealthy Grant family--it seems that one of the family may have been involved. Suspense and gunshots build as Max and Annie try to solve the mystery before anyone else gets killed.

I've enjoyed this series a long time, mostly for its sense of place, over-the-top metaphors, deep knowledge of mysteries (Annie runs a mystery bookstore), and the fact that the main characters are nice people and are fun to spend time with. The mysteries are usually complex and involve lots of quirky characters, and if Max and Annie are too often in all kinds of jeopardy, well, that's par for the course for mysteries. My one irritation with this book is Annie's monster of a cat--the way the author describes the relationship, it's like living with an abuser who is one moment violent and the next loving. It's supposed to be funny, but it really isn't. Otherwise, a fun series (just skip the one prior to this one, in which Max is accused of murder--too harrowing for a cozy).

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun read by Carolyn Hart. Love the ditzy characters of Annie and Max friends, the bookshop Death on Demand, the two cats, nice Dorothy L, the white Persian, and Agatha, the surely black bookstore cat! Max and Annie, as usual find themselves in the middle of a murder and the perp needs to find his stolen goods hidden in their new, old house to be. Good read.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series never gets old!

[Madelyn Flammia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not my favorite Death on Demand book, but they are all enjoyable well-written mysteries.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still love this series...but the mystery was pretty easy to figure out. Also not quite sure why Annie keeps Agatha.... :)

[Susan Moxley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read that will keep you on the edge of your seat guessing to the very end of the Book.

[Marj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Max Darling is left a message that a woman has left something hidden in his and his wife's soon to be home. When his wife, Annie, finds out, she goes to the woman's house and finds her dead. Looking for a motive, and curious about what she had hidden, Max and Annie search their house for the hidden item, but they are unable to find it.

Knowing that the victim worked for a home that had just been robbed of valuable coins, they assume she knew something about the crime, and that was the reason she had been killed. When the victim's son is suspected of the murder of his mother, Max and Annie believe him to be innocent, and work to prove it.

Enjoyed this book, as I have many of the others in this series.

[Rachelle Ayala · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy Annie and Max, but if you're a seasoned mystery reader, you can pretty much figure it out based on their "blind spots" or anyone the author has the characters implicitly trust. In any case, it was enjoyable, and of course Annie is always the damsel in distress and you just know she'll get into trouble, but that all will turn out okay.

One thing that kept bothering me is why the police didn't take over the search for the coins since they are evidence for a murder.

[Kellene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book more than I did the last one of this series that I read. It was nice to finally see Max break out of his "I don't want to get involved" attitude, and Annie was her usual go-getter self. I did miss Laurel and Henny's presence (not Emma's however). It's a fun series and usually enjoyable, and one that I intend to continue.

[Bettina Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual, a light and easy read. I love Annie and Max and thoroughly enjoy the wonderful relationship that they have. I guessed who the murderer was right at the beginning (probably just a lucky guess) but enjoyed the story anyway. I was just a little curious as to why the police never did a search of the Franklin House to find the coins?

[Chanel Sharp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Annie and Max are back and not one has been thrown in jail. It was fun getting back into the mystery solving fun and this one sure starts of with a bang. Annie finds a woman shot and Max gets shot at. To top it off the police are not helpful, but a least they are not out to slauter Annie and Max. Over all not a bad mystery.

[Erika Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light mystery. First I read in this series. Would have been nice to know some background, but not absolutely necessary. Some characters you wonder why they were there at all except to maybe throw you off. I saw a huge clue early on. Enjoyable for light reading.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Max Darling is avoiding taking calls since his brush with the law. When Annie Darling goes to check on a women who had called Max, she found her dying. Trying to find her killer leads Annie and Max into danger and clues that only go back to the wealthy family near their new house.

[Clare · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually enjoy Hart's books, but this one seemed lackluster. Overly long and slow moving, it also seemed to lack the sweet dynamic between Annie and Max.

[Val · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Death on Demand mystery. This time Max refuses to take on a case and regrets doing so when the woman asking for help is found murdered.

[Ranette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I nice mystery neatly wrapped up in the last pages.

[wonderwomand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved seeing the titles of different novels in the Death on Demand bookstore owned by Annie Laurance Darling.

Wonderful characters.

[Kitty Tomlinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Max and Annie Darlng become involved in murder after a burglary of silver eagle coins at a neighboring home of the antebellum house they are renovating to move into to.

[Mindy Peltier · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first Hart read and I was apparently late to the party.

I didn't read the dust jacket or anything about the book or author. I jumped in cold turkey and was very confused. While she did a good job of introducing the first eight characters and their backstory, I honestly had no idea who the main characters were until a few chapters. I didn't find out where the setting was until page 10. I didn't find out how old Annie was until page 144. It felt disjointed by not being firmly set in the who and where.

The author seems out-0f-touch with the time period of 2008. Pregnant women weren't wearing smocks, but form-fitting clothing. No young, wealthy person would drive a brand-new station wagon, especially if they didn't have kids. And thongs were underwear, not shoes, at this time.

It started off as a small-town feel where everyone knew everybody on the island but ended up that a lot of people didn't know one another. The island has a daily paper which also usually indicates a dense population.

But, what really upset me was describing a character with "wiry black hair" and a "monkey face." The second term was repeated as a description later.

Once I figured out who all the people were, the mystery itself was intriguing, had many red herrings, and I was surprised by the ending.

Overall, I feel my bad experience with the book was more based on bad editing than bad writing. Hart had delightful descriptions of flora and fauna that helped me visualize a state I've never visited. Her characters are quirky and memorable. I can see why she's an award-winning author.

In a series where each book is a stand-alone it really important to have beta readers that haven't read the previous books.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Max Darling hasn't been interested in crime since his brush with a seductive young woman put him in danger of losing his freedom. He even refuses to talk to a woman who calls for help and says she is afraid. The caller leaves word she's hidden something in the antebellum house Max and his wife, Annie, are restoring. When Annie finds out, she hurries to the woman's house, only to discover her shot. Annie hears her final whisper as she hold the dying woman's hand.

"Evidence links the dead woman to a nearby home, where a fortune in gold coins has gone missing. The gold coins, rare Double Eagles, were stolen from a house filled with visiting family members, twentysomethings hungry for money and several with secrets they must keep. Is one of them willing to kill for a fortune in coins? Or is it the dead woman's high school dropout son? Max is there when the police arrest the son, but the boy's shock upon learning of his mother's death convinces Max of his innocence. Max and Annie plunge wholeheartedly into the investigation.

"But are the coins hidden in Annie and Max's Franklin house? The intruder who shoots at Max seems to think so. And who walks in when Annie discovers the secret of that yhouse?"
~~front flap

It's fairly easily to figure out who the murderer is. To quote Sherlock: "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth."

[FangirlNation · Rating 5 out of 5]

After nearly being sent to prison for murder in Dead Days of Summer , Max Darling is afraid to take on new cases, so he refuses to take a call from a distraught young woman, with disastrous consequences, in Carolyn G. Hart's 18th Death on Demand novel, Death Walked In . Gwen Jamison has called Max's office, Confidential Commissions, for help, but he rushes out to work on restoring the derelict antebellum mansion he and Annie and refurbishing. Thus, it is Annie who gets the message that Gwen had hidden something in their new home, the Franklin House, but couldn't retrieve it and fears trouble. Rushing to the woman's side, Annie arrives just in time to find Gwen dying of a gunshot wound.

Read the rest of this review, more reviews, and other wonderful, geeky articles on FangirlNation

[annapi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Max Darling, still recovering from his harrowing experience in the previous book, has been avoiding clients with problems. So when a woman calls for help, saying she is afraid, he refuses to talk to her. But the woman tells Max's secretary that she has hidden something in the old house that Max and Annie have bought and are restoring, so Annie rushes to meet with her - and finds her shot and dying. Max's guilt over her death makes him determined to find the killer, as well as the stolen gold coins that it becomes obvious she hid. But the killer is looking for them as well, and is willing to kill again.

Max and Annie Darling are as intrepid as ever in this latest mystery, which trots along at a brisk pace and with the usual deftness that readers have come to expect from Hart. While nothing spectacular, it nevertheless is another engaging addition to a good series.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes you just need to put aside anything that has any socially redeeming value and read something fun. Carolyn Hart is just the ticket. One of the founders of Sisters in Crime, Hart resides in Oklahoma City, but writes lovingly of life on a fictional sea island off the coast of South Carolina (near the very real Hilton Head Island). Not a compelling story, but one of the strengths of Hart's Death on Demand series is that the story are based around a bookstore which sells only mystery books. So as a sidebar of the story, Hart recommends classic and modern authors through comments by the store's owner. Highly recommended for a few hours of your time--that's island time, of course.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't much enjoy this book, but it might be a result of not knowing it was part of a series (so I felt a bit lost) and trying to follow the mystery in my car as an audiobook. It is part of the "Death on Demand Mystery" series, which follows the exploits of Annie Darling, an owner of a murder mystery bookstore and Max Darling, her private eye husband (although he considers himself an investigator) in a South Carolina island. In this story, a pair of gold coins have been stolen from a house filled with Jeff Grant and his extended family (a whole passel of stepsons and daughters and his third wife). Of course there is a murder and the whole family become suspects.

[Scilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Max gets a call from a caller who wants help after hiding something in the lovely old house that Max and Annie are renovating. Annie runs to the woman's house and gets there just in time for the woman to die in her arms from a gunshot wound. At another nearby house, some rare gold coins had been stolen during the night. The dead woman's son is framed for both the robbery and murder and Annie and Max, convinced of the boy's innocence, seek the murderer. Of course, they are shot at and there is a moment of real danger at the end.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was really 3 + for me. The characters were well described. The lead characters were likeable. A murder has been commited and Max's wife , Annie, stumbles upon the scene. There turns out to be a series of events and more murders. They revolve around a collection of valuable coins which have been stolen and a rich family who each have motives. It was too easy to figure out "who done it". But it was a good way to spend some time.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book by a master.
Until this moment I had a passage bookmarked in which our hero says that people read mysteries because they want to see good prevail. That is certainly one factor! Another is the puzzle that is usually being slowly solved.
I was sure I had guessed the hiding place of the gold coins. Wrong! And I did sort of guess the perpetrator, though not entirely.
Whatever, fun to read and recommended.

[Mary Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this novel by Carolyn Hart. The author did a good job of concealing the identity of the murderer until the climax; but, when the reader reviews the plot strands, he realizes that the clues have been given all along. I enjoy a good mystery, and this was definitely one. My only concern is that the setting just doesn't seem right for South Carolina, the state in which I have lived most of my seventy years.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

B; took me awhile to get through this. Not that the story wasn't attention grabbing, just that life is keeping me too busy to enjoy one of my favorite past times. I like this series and appreciate that I can pick the up out of sequence and not feel like I'm missing too much. Hart does a good job of giving you just enough backstory without spending half the book recapping previous events.