Dead, White, and Blue (Death on Demand Series #23)

by Carolyn G. Hart

Overview

Bookstore owner Annie Darling has no time to enjoy the summer fun when a missing person case turns deadly in this mystery in the New York Times bestselling Death on Demand series.
 
July is a hectic time for Annie and her husband, Max. Sun and scorching temperatures never fail to bring swarms of tourists to their mystery bookstore, Death on Demand, for the latest beach reads. Not to mention the whole island is buzzing with excitement over the upcoming Broward’s Rock Fourth of July dance.
 
But after Wesley Hurst's second wife Shell disappears during the fireworks display, Annie and Max take time out of their busy schedule to find the missing woman. Their investigation reveals a twisted tale of blackmail, betrayal, and adultery that takes them from the corridors of the island’s lovely inn to a pier lashed by pelting rain, to a gathering on the terrace of a country club where a trap is set for a calculating killer...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780425260784
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/06/2014
Series:	Death on Demand Series , #23
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	95,215
Product dimensions:	4.20(w) x 6.70(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

An accomplished master of mystery, Carolyn Hart is the New York Times bestselling author of more than fifty-five novels of mystery and suspense including the Bailey Ruth Ghost Novels and the Death on Demand Mysteries. Her books have won multiple Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards. She has also been honored with the Amelia Award for significant contributions to the traditional mystery from Malice Domestic and was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America. One of the founders of Sisters in Crime, Hart lives in Oklahoma City, where she enjoys mysteries, walking in the park, and cats. She and her husband, Phil, serve as staff—cat owners will understand—to brother and sister brown tabbies.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Praise for Carolyn Hart:

“Carolyn Hart’s work is both utterly reliable and utterly unpredictable.” —Charlaine Harris, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“One of the most popular practitioners of the traditional mystery.” —The Cleveland Plain Dealer

“The Annie Darling books are masterpieces of construction and characterization, with a perfect balance between a puzzle mystery that keeps a reader happily turning pages and well-drawn characters that are as full of surprises as the people in our own lives.” —Connecticut Post

“Hart’s latest cozy puzzler casts a net that will ensnare a wide audience.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Well-developed characters and a complex, fast-moving plot make for a satisfying read.” —Publishers Weekly

Editorial Reviews

A beautifully constructed mystery.”—Connecticut Post 

“A highly satisfying read that builds to a stunning climax.”—Mystery Scene Magazine 

“[A] denouement straight out of Agatha Christie.”—Kirkus Reviews

More Praise for Carolyn Hart, Winner of Multiple Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Awards and the Death on Demand Mysteries

“Carolyn Hart’s work is both utterly reliable and utterly unpredictable.”—Charlaine Harris, #1 New York Times bestselling author 

“One of the most popular practitioners of the traditional mystery.”—The Cleveland Plain Dealer

“The Annie Darling books are masterpieces of construction and characterization.”—Connecticut Post

“These books are charming, fun, funny, clever and kind of like comfort food without the calories, but instead with a great mystery!”—Kings River Life Magazine

“Annie Darling is a great character...a one-of-a-kind heroine in cozy fiction.”—Cozy Library

“Any book by Hart is guaranteed to include a top-notch mystery delivering an enjoyable reading experience.”—RT Book Reviews

From the Publisher

Anthony-winner Hart’s assured 23rd Death on Demand mystery (after 2012’s Death Comes Silently) finds Annie Darling, proprietor of the “most successful mystery bookstore north of Delray Beach,” dealing with the summer tourist crush at her store on the South Carolina island of Broward’s Rock. In a break from business, Annie attends the local country club’s Fourth of July dance, where Shell Hurst, the unpopular trophy wife of much older Wesley Hurst, puts in an appearance, then disappears on her way through the woods to watch the fireworks. When a club waiter later drowns under suspicious circumstances, Annie and her husband, Max (“Joe Hardy all grown up and sexy as hell”), search for evidence linking the two events. The leisurely plot takes several unexpected turns, and a number of suspects remain in play until the final revelation. Series fans won’t mind that Annie, Max, and the recurring secondary characters haven’t undergone much change over 20-plus years. Agent: Deborah Schneider, Gelfman-Schneider Agency. (May)

Publishers Weekly

Tourists aren't supposed to just disappear during the Fourth of July celebrations, but a well-known visitor does. When a second person vanishes soon after, Annie Darling's radar goes up. This is the 23rd entry (after Death Comes Silently) of a standard-bearer series.

Library Journal

A sexy homewrecker gets hers. Despite the blistering temperatures and the glut of tourists, mystery bookstore owner Annie Darling and her problem-solving spouse, Max, are enjoying summer on Broward's Rock, S.C. The Fourth of July dance at the country club is an event to remember, not just for the fireworks in the sky, but also for the scenes caused by Shell Hurst. A beautiful Hollywood starlet who broke up wealthy Wesley Hurst's first marriage to Vera, she stirs up trouble at the dance, then vanishes from the scene in her green Porsche. Only her stepdaughter is concerned that she's disappeared. When she asks Max for help, he's reluctant to get involved, but a few discreet questions are enough to indicate that no one's seen Shell since she walked away from the dance. There are certainly plenty of suspects, since Shell was having an affair with at least one of the island residents, and Wesley wants a divorce so he can remarry Vera. Annie's mother-in-law and her two mystery-solving friends are out of town but keep after Annie and Max to find the body. Before they succeed, another corpse turns up when a waiter from the club is found drowned. Even after the duo finally puzzle out where Shell's body is, they still have a long way to go to pin down a calculating killer. Annie and Max (Death Comes Silently, 2012, etc.) tackle multiple suspects and clues reminiscent of the classic mysteries offered at their bookstore. Their fans will enjoy rooting among the suspects in preparation for a denouement straight out of Agatha Christie.

Kirkus Reviews