Death Comes Silently (Death on Demand Bookstore) [Hardcover]

Carolyn Hart (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 3, 2012 | Series: Death on Demand Bookstore (Book 22)

National Bestselling Author and winner of multiple Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Awards, Carolyn Hart continues to dazzle mystery fans with an all new Death on Demand Mystery.

Winter has arrived in Broward's Rock, South Carolina, and business has slowed for Annie Darling, owner of mystery bookstore Death on Demand. So when the island's resident writer publishes the latest in her popular mystery series, Annie jumps at the chance to host a book signing, even though it conflicts with her shift at the local charity shop, Better Tomorrow.

Luckily, fellow volunteer Gretchen Burkholt agrees to sub for her. The signing goes well, but Gretchen interrupts the event multiple times, leaving voice mails about scandalous news she's dying to share. Even though Gretchen tends to be excitable, Annie heads over to Better Tomorrow, where she finds Gretchen dead on the floor, an axe by her side.

Annie enlists the help of her husband, Max, to piece together a puzzle involving an overturned kayak, a stolen motorboat, a troubled love affair, and a reckless teenager. And she must tread carefully in her investigation, because a killer is on the loose, and that killer works well in the foggy days of winter...

Editorial Reviews

Review

In Agatha Award-winner Hart's sparkling 22nd Death on Demand mystery,  Annie Darling enlists Gretchen Burkholt, a fellow volunteer at Better Tomorrow, to sub for her at the charity shop.   . . . another winning entry in a cozy series that shows no sign of age.  Publishers Weekly

 

. . . Recommended for all cozy mystery fans, especially for those who like to read Joan Hess, Leslie Meier, and Jill Churchill. Library Journal 

From the Author

Carolyn talks about mysteries and writing in a new video. Please go to her website at CarolynHart.com and click on the upper right hand corner

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Hardcover; First Edition edition (April 3, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425245705
• ISBN-13: 978-0425245705
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 1.1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #357,230 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #91 in Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Books & Reading > Booksellers & Bookselling

More About the Author

Carolyn Hart talks about mysteries and writing in a new interview on Oklahoma public tv. Please visit www.CarolynHart.com and click on the link in the upper right hand column.

In April Berkley Prime Crime will publish DEATH COMES SILENTLY, the 22nd Death on Demand title. Coming in October is WHAT THE CAT SAW, a novel of suspense.

Carolyn writes the Death on Demand series set in a mystery bookstore on a South Carolina sea island and the Bailey Ruth Raeburn series featuring a lively redheaded ghost.

Carolyn is also the author of several WWII novels, including ESCAPE FROM PARIS which is now available for the first time in its complete uncut version. Escape from Paris is the story of two sisters who defy the Gestapo to help British fliers avoid capture.

In Ghost at Work, Bailey Ruth returns to earth to help someone in trouble. She moves a body, investigates a murder, saves a marriage, prevents a suicide, and--in a fiery finale--rescues a child who knows too much. In Merry, Merry Ghost, Bailey Ruth protects a little boy from danger. In Ghost in Trouble, Bailey Ruth tries to corral a wilful woman determined to play hunt-the-killer. Coming in 2013 is HIJACKED GHOST which puts Bailey Ruth at risk of ever returning to Heaven.

Letter from Home, a WWII novel set on the home front, received the Agatha Award for Best Mystery of 2003. It was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize by the Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers. Thirteen-year-old Gretchen Gilman is working for the small-town newspaper during the hot summer of 1944. Murder occurs on the street where she lives, forever changing her life and the lives of those involved.

Hart was one of 10 mystery authors featured at the National Book Festival on the Mall in Washington, DC, in 2003 for Letter from Home and again in 2007 for Set Sail for Murder, 7th in the Henrie O series. In Set Sail for Murder (new in paperback March 2008), Henrie O joins a troubled family on a Baltic cruise and death is an unwelcome passenger.

Hart has been nominated 9 times for the Agatha Award for Best Novel and has won 3 times. In 2007 she received the Lifetime Achievement Award at Malice Domestic. She will be the International Guest of Honor at Bloody Words in Toronto on June 6-8, 2008.

Hart is a native of Oklahoma City, a journalism graduate of the University of Oklahoma, and a former president of Sisters in Crime. She is also a member of Authors Guild, Mystery Writers of America, the International Association of Crime Writers, and American Crime Writers League.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Welcome Addition to the Series April 9, 2012

By Books and Chocolate TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

Annie Darling, owner of mystery bookstore Death on Demand, is dealing with slow business so when she has the chance to host a book signing for a local writer, she asks Gretchen Burkholt, a fellow volunteer at a local charity resale shop, to take her scheduled shift. During the book signing Gretchen calls Annie when she discovers information on an index card found in the pocket of a jacket belonging to the late Everett Hathaway among clothes donated by his family after his supposed accidental drowning that could mean he was murdered instead.

Annie goes to the shop to discover Gretchen has been murdered and the paper with the information is missing. Suspicion falls on an ex-convict handyman but as Annie digs deeper into the connection between Gretchen's and Everett's deaths even more suspects emerge and it soon becomes apparent that one of them wants her out of the way.

This series is one of my favorites in the cozy mystery genre and this newest story lived up to my expectations. I always like reading about the relationship between Annie and her husband Max as they embark on sleuthing adventures together. All the regular characters are likeable which makes the series fun to read. Hart always does a good job of creating enough suspects to keep the reader guessing right up to the end and that was the case in this storyline as well.

Fans of this series won't be disappointed and newcomers will enjoy it even if they haven't read the previous titles as there is enough background given on the various characters to explain the relationships.

I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher but the opinion of it is my own and was not solicted, nor was a positive review required.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another terrific release in a long running series April 11, 2012

By Mary Kennedy

Format:Hardcover

In the 22nd release in her famous DEATH ON DEMAND series, Carolyn Hart offers a thoughtful, tantalizing mystery based in Broward's Rock, SC. Once more, readers are invited to join Annie and Max Darling as they hunt a killer on the loose in this bucolic setting. When mystery bookstore owner Annie Darling asks Gretchen Burkholt to fill in for her at the charity shop, she has no idea Gretchen will end up dead. Annie immediately goes into "sleuthing mode" and wonders if Gretchen's death could be connected to a suspicious drowning that occurred two weeks earlier. As always, Ms. Hart offers a delightful puzzle for her fans to solve. Intricate plotting, well-developed characters and enough red herrings to keep readers on their toes make this mystery a treasure to read. This is a series that should never end.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Better mystery than the last few June 17, 2012

By Christine H. Randall

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I actually enjoyed this mystery. Some of Carolyn Hart's Annie Darling books have been too cloying, particularly regarding the relationship between Max and Annie, with not enough mystery. This one was better than the last few of this series.