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    Dead by Midnight: A Death on Demand Mystery
    Unavailable
    Dead by Midnight: A Death on Demand Mystery
    Unavailable
    Dead by Midnight: A Death on Demand Mystery
    Ebook302 pages5 hours

    Dead by Midnight: A Death on Demand Mystery

    By Carolyn Hart

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    “If I were teaching a course on how to write a mystery, I would make Carolyn Hart required reading.”
    —Los Angeles Times

    “One of the most popular practitioners of the traditional mystery” (Cleveland Plain Dealer), Carolyn Hart is unstoppable—and her Death on Demand mystery series seems to get better with every book. The proof? Dead by Midnight, once again featuring bookstore owner and sometime sleuth Annie Darling and her adoring p.i. husband Max. Their search for the truth behind a shocking “suicide” that rocks the idyllic (if somewhat homicide-prone) island of Broward’s Rock will make any mystery reader an instant fan—joining an ever-growing multitude that includes bestselling thriller author Robert Crais, who declares, “I’m a sucker for Carolyn Hart’s Annie and Max series.”

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateMar 29, 2011
    ISBN9780062078742
    Unavailable
    Dead by Midnight: A Death on Demand Mystery
    Author

    Carolyn Hart

    An accomplished master of mystery, Carolyn Hart is the author of twenty previous Death on Demand novels. Her books have won multiple Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Awards. She is also the creator of the Henrie O series, featuring a retired reporter, and the Bailey Ruth series, starring an impetuous, redheaded ghost. One of the founders of Sisters in Crime, Hart lives in Oklahoma City.

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    Reviews for Dead by Midnight

    4/5

    62 ratings10 reviews

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    • 3/5
      This was a quick read. The mystery was good, not 100% obvious who the killer was. I like that the main character owns a mystery book store and has lots of recommendations.
    • 4/5
      I was lucky enough to win a copy of Carolyn Hart's new book, “Dead by Midnight”. Opening the first pages is like greeting an old friend and being back on vacation on Broward Rock. How I do wish I could visit Annie Darling's bookshop and sit down at the counter and have a cup of jo!
      Ms. Hart has turned out another great mystery and written a “who-done-it” that kept me guessing until the end.
      There were so many twists and turns in the plot, that two times I thought I had guessed the murderer only to find out I was wrong on both accounts. I love that kind of plotting!
      I always enjoy all the references to other mystery writers and their novels in the story, but I have to say I found the cat posters with their too cutesy sayings very annoying.
      But overall a great read.
    • 3/5
      Another "Death on Demand" book. Always an enjoyable read. Simple mysteries by a steady author.
    • 4/5
      This was a great book and a good addition to the Death on Demand series. My only complaint would be that Billy, the island Sheriff, is consistently portrayed like a dismissive idiot. I can understand his unwillingness to take Max and Annie seriously in the first couple of books, but we're well into the series by now and there are only so many times he can be proven to be wrong before it just wears thin. But I still love this series and this one doesn't disappoint.
    • 4/5
      Synopsis: Annie Darling is leading an ideal life managing her book store, interrelating with her wonderful husband, and interacting with her friends. However, once again death visits the island. This time a new employee is found dead and Annie’s friend Henny believes it’s not suicide but murder.Review: This murder presents a complicated picture of suspects, families, and a locked room. It was really fun to read.
    • 4/5
      Pat Merridew has only been working in Annie Darling's bookshop, "Death on Demand", for a few days when she suddenly dies. The police suspect suicide but Annie isn't convinced and turns up evidence that suggests murder. The police are soon occupied when another murder happens - while they try to solve that murder, Annie tries to prove the two deaths are connected. The police soon narrow in on one suspect, but again Annie isn't convinced that the police are on the right track. Annie has a large list of suspects to investigate and she wants to solve the crime before the wrong person is jailed."Dead by Midnight" is another nice entry in Carolyn Hart's "Death on Demand" cozy mystery series. I love my visits to "Death on Demand", a mystery book store owned and visited but people who love reading mysteries. Hart uses this to full advantage - constantly mentioning fellow mystery writers and books. I love the fact that each book features paintings that reference other mystery novels - readers get to try to figure out which novels Hart is referring to just like Annie's customers do (and I fail dismally each and every time). Annie and her husband Max have grown on me as a couple and I love their relationship and the way they work together as a couple (even if Annie does put herself in danger far too often). As for the mystery elements - they reminded me a lot of an Agatha Christie novel. The book is intricately plotted with plenty of suspects (one should have been developed a bit more as he shows up early in the book and then disappears for quite some time only to end up playing a major role in the book), many twists and turns, with a few red herrings. The family dynamics of the second murder victim play an important part in this book and are well done. The solution to the murders is brilliant if a bit implausible - again this reminded me of Dame Agatha at her best."Dead by Midnight" is another nicely done cozy mystery by Carolyn Hart.
    • 4/5
      "Annie had always loved mystery packages with unknown contents."When a prominent lawyer from an old-money family is found shot in his study, all eyes turn to the relative who has been acting suspiciously. It falls to Annie, owner of mystery bookshop Death on Demand, to clear her name and track down the real killer, as well as solving an apparently unrelated suicide...This is very much a cozy crime novel, set on an island in southern USA. i loved this idea of a set of murders in a town where everyone knows each other - finding the culprit seems all the more impossible because of all the built-up trust. Somewhat like M. C. Beaton's Death of a Perfect Wife.The culprit is really obvious, but deviously, Hart shifts suspicion and compromising circumstances onto a succession of others and keeps killing off key witnesses. In the end, I was right and it was satisfying, but I didn't feel that I had worked it out too early.I enjoyed Hart's cast as well - craft old dowager Henny who makes the first connection; Annie, who just won't let go of her mission to solve the crime, in the face of scepticism from the sheriff and unwanted inundations of cat-based artwork from her mother-in-law; Annie's husband Max, who is a bit lazy and a bit over-privileged but is still pretty smart and clearly worships Annie; Cleo Jackson, who plays the evil stepmother role perfectly.A very easy read (I raced through this on the trip to and from Henley) but fun and clever. I'll have to look out for more Death on Demand novels (this is the 21st in the series).
    • 5/5
      This is Annie and Max's 21st book. I like this series of cozy mysteries because the clues are all there for the smart reader to figure out. Unfortunately, I can't figure them out. But the solution was clear and elegant when it arrived. The case concerns the purported death by suicide of a fired law firm receptionist, the shooting death of the head of the law firm, and the death of the yard boy. There are so many suspects. I also like the fact that Annie owns a mystery bookstore and drops in references to other mystery books and authors. I also like the lovely sea island setting for the stories.
    • 4/5
      I always quite enjoy a new "Death on Demand" book and this one was no exception. We have another ruthless killer on Broward's Rock and it's up to Annie and her husband Max to unmask the killer. Three people have died by the time Annie figures it out and she is front and centre in preventing another murder. Ms. Hart is an accomplished writer of contemporary cozies and she has two long-running series to prove this. I always enjoy her characters and her puzzles are always not that easy to figure out. Reading a Death on Demand book is a good way to spend a "reading day". Looking forward for the next one as always.
    • 4/5
      This is my first experience reading Carolyn Hart. Once again, I've picked a great series by a great writer. And once again, I will be going back to the beginning to read the Death on Demand series in order.I read a bit about Carolyn Hart prior to choosing this book. I now understand why some think she is a modern day version of Agatha Christie. The plot of Dead By Midnight is complex but Hart weaves the intricate storyline into a dynamite cozy whodunit. And what's not to like about it? The heroine, Annie Darling, runs a mystery bookstore on an island off the coast of the Carolinas. A bucketful of mystery authors and their works are mentioned whenever convenient. (ah, nothing like being handed recommendation after recommendation) The husband, Max, is a PI of sorts. Both of them get involved in an unofficial investigation into the death of someone Annie just hired to work in her shop after she had been let go by the law firm she had been with for years. The death is thought to be a suicide but Annie doesn't believe it and she sets out to prove murder, as a much larger and sinister plot unfolds.This book was very enjoyable and I look forward to heading back to the very beginning. Death on Demand, here I come.