Death on Demand Series

Murder is, surprisingly, not all that uncommon on timy Broward's Rock, an idyllic sea island community off the South Carolina coast. Annie Darling's popular mystery bookshop, Death on Demand, is where the locals come to discuss the juicy details of each criminal offense--under the watchful gaze of a pampered feline prima donna named Agatha. But now Annie's dear friend (and best customer) Henny Brawley stands accused of murdering a Women's Club volunteer-cum-blackmailer. So Annie rouses her husband Max into action, and together they dive into the shark pool of dotty eccentrics and imperious belles who constitute the island's smart set. Because only there can the Darlings prove hapless Henny innocent--by detemining who among the well-heeled had the dirtiest little secret...and would kill to protect it.

A cozy holiday read Perfect for fans of winter mysteriesA delightful Christmas gift

Someone is playing a rather nasty April Fool's prank on mystery bookstore owner Annie Darling. A felonious forger on the idyllic -- if rarely tranquil -- South Carolina island of Broward's Rock has made it appear as if Annie is accusing some of her neighbors of murder. In the wink of a bloodshot eye, the Darling name is mud . . . and then the Broward's Rock body count starts mysteriously increasing. And now it's up to Annie to follow the well-hidden trail of the vicious trickster -- or a secret slayer's next lethal "joke" may very well be on her!

Annie Darling, owner of the Death on Demand mystery bookstore, is understandably upset. It isn't like her p.i. husband Max to abruptly disappear—and homicide is definitely not his style. But when his car is found abandoned on a remote road with a brutally slain, once-beautiful young woman nearby and the murder weapon stashed in the trunk, Annie's worst fears seem justified. The police have Max all but tried and convicted—except for Chief Billy Cameron, whose unshakable belief in his friend's innocence prompts his removal from the case. And as a media circus descends on tiny Broward's Rock, Annie will have to place her own life in jeopardy to clear her husband's name. But time is running out—and she has only one slim chance to unmask a killer who just may have committed the perfect crime.

“Filled with quirky, witty, and down-to-earth characters….It is a joy.” —Tulsa World   Death is the uninvited guest at a Broward’s Rock gala thrown by bookstore owners and sometime sleuths Annie and Max Darling in Dare to Die—the 19th captivating whodunit in Caroline Hart’s much adored Death on Demand series. A Grande Dame of mystery, Hart’s wonderfully evocative, multiple Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Award-winning novels will delight Diane Mott Davidson and Lillian Jackson Braun fans—and Dare to Die is a wonderful display of the skill and imagination that moved a Los Angeles Times reviewer to declare, “If I were teaching a course on how to write a mystery, I would make Carolyn Hart required reading.”