Customer Reviews

Laughed 'Til He Died LP: A Death on Demand Mystery (Death on Demand Mysteries)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Carolyn Hart's Death on Demand series has been a favorite cozy series of mine for many years. Annie Darling owns a mystery bookstore (Death on Demand, obviously) and mystery is the main theme throughout the series, both up front with the murders and in the background through the books Annie sells. The novels are full of mystery references which is sure to delight fans of the genre.

In Laughed 'Til He Died, the 20th installment of the series, Hart offers up a mystery that boggles the mind in the best way possible. by the middle of the novel, I was utterly convinced of the killer's identity. I was so off base, but looking back, the clues were right there. I have read all the previous books in the Death on Demand series and feel rather acquainted with Hart's style, so it was a fantastic surprise to find myself so far off base.

The prime suspect in the murder comes to Max, Annie's husband, for help on another matter before the victim was killed. I loved how Annie and Max had a legitimate reason to be as involved in the investigation as they were. The island's famous mystery author, Death on Demand's best customer and Max's mom were all there to lend their specialized viewpoints as well.

Oh, how I wish there was a real Death on Demand close to home. A store full of nothing but mysteries, the coffee in mugs adorned with mystery titles, a big stuffed raven; the image sound like a place I would never want to leave. A scene where Annie was setting up themed displays, mentioning both famous and new to me authors and titles made me want to be Annie. What fun it would be to own Death on Demand (you know, without all the murders.)

Laughed 'Til He Died contains a great mystery surrounded by mysteries and was great fun. Actually, it was one of the very best in the series and if Carolyn Hart can entertain this well after 20 books, I would love to read at least 20 more.

On the small South Carolina barrier island of Broward's Rock lives Max and Annie Darling. Annie owns the mystery bookstore Death on Demand while Max runs an inquiry agency Confidential Commissions.

Jean Hughes, director of Haven, a youth recreation center, is not having her contract renewed due to the lobbying of her former lover affluent and influential businessman Booth Wagner. Jean asks Max to help her keep her job because her sister is dying and they want to stay here. However, Booth succeeds in forcing Jean to give up her position. On the night she is to announce her resignation, someone kills Booth. The evidence mounts that Jean killed her ex lover, but both Darlings think otherwise as they believe Jean would never risk anything at that this time due to her beloved sibling's failing health as separation is unacceptable. Max and Annie learn that Booth made a myriad of enemies that include his family and ex wife. However, pressure on Max mounts when Annie and Booth's heir end up in the crosshairs of a killer.

The Darling Death on demand mysteries are always a special treat because the investigation seems genuine with a plenty of suspects and the loving relationship between Max and Annie enriches the whodunit story lines. Carolyn Hart's latest cozy is filled with strong characterizations including a killer in plain sight, but readers will find it almost impossible to determine who that person is even with clues also in plain sight. Carolyn Hart provides another Darling regional mystery.

Harriet Klausner

This is a lively book with old friends in it like Annie and Max Darling, Max's spinny mother, and a few others that have become familiar over time. Ms. Hart writes a good cozy mystery story and this book is no exception. I noticed there wasn't as many references to other mystery writers and mystery books and that is actually a positive thing because it allowed me to focus more on this story. This book focuses around the local youth shelter and a mysterious death as well as two murders. It is apparent that things have not settled down in the supposedly idyllic little town of Broward's Rock. I really enjoy these stories and this book was a nice retreat for me. I look at Ms. Hart's books as retreats from the reality of life. They're fun, cozy and the puzzles are always good ones that keep me guessing. And Annie and Max are just so likeable that it makes reading about their lives a pleasure. Thanks Ms. Hart for pure escapism.

Carolyn Hart is a master story teller who delivers each new volume in the highly acclaimed Death on Demand with a challenging puzzle that through 20 efforts does not become stale.
The fascinating side issue is the acute accuracy of mystery titles with which Ms. Hart peppers each novel to support the story line. Her choices for the five mystery paintings, the mugs from which Anne and her friends drink their coffee, and the displays Annie creates in the store are all tiny clues to the murderer at hand.
LAUGHED 'TIL HE DIED has a retired tycoon who never forgets and extracts his revenge from anyone who stands in the way of his desires as the victim. As normal with Ms. Hart there are several candidates for the murderer, but who hates the man enough to kill him? Was it the woman he wanted to make his mistress, his wife, his daughter, his ex-wife, his step-son, the list goes on and on with a surprising twist to the conclusion.
LAUGHED 'TIL HE DIED is a great summer read even if you don't live on an island.
Nash Black, author of SINS OF THE FATHERS.

Annie and Max Darling are adorable and smart! I love the consistency of the background points, like the 5 paintings in Death on Demand per month, for a free book and free coffee. I enjoy the fact that Max is Not a private detective, but rather a problem solver. The stock characters, like Laurel-Max's New Age mother, are terrific. The plots are suitably convoluted but not in a way designed to fool the reader. I really like that Browards Rock is as much a character as any of the people in the books.

If this is your first introduction to Carolyn Hart's Death on Demand series start with an earlier book. This is the 20th book in the series. I began at the beginning and have read them in order. It may not be necessary to begin with the first book but you really need to start near the beginning. The characters have developed and grown over time. They have developed relationships just as friends and family do over years.

This will always be one of my favorite mystery series. The investigation in the book is very believable. The stories remind me of Agatha Christie and I can give no greater compliment.

I've been a fan of the Death on Demand mysteries since they first came out. Laughed till He Died did not disapoint. I thought I had figured out "who done it"
but I was way off. The clues are there,though. I think that anyone who loves a good who done it will enjoy this book.[[ASIN:0061453099 Laughed 'Til He Died: A Death on Demand Mystery]

The 20th entry in this charming series brings back Annie Darling, proprietor of Death on Demand mystery bookstore, and her husband, Max, among other things proprietor of Confidential Commissions. One of Max's other interests is the Haven, a youth recreation center where he volunteers. The shocking death of a teen who frequented the Haven is quickly followed by the killing of Booth Wagner, a pompous, wealthy retired businessman who had been intent in replacing the Haven's director, Jean Hughes. The latter had pleaded with Annie and Max to intervene to save her job. When she becomes the prime suspect in Wagner's death, their efforts evolve into a murder investigation.



Wagner was a man who "saw most things as a big joke unless the laugh was on him," and the list of enemies he'd made is long and varied. Max is a man who always keeps his promises, and he promises Jean he will get to the bottom of things. There are many with motives, and he thinks "How could he judge what mattered enough to make one of these people kill?"



All the usual characters, human and feline, are present: Laurel, Max's empathic, much-married and libidinous mother, and her investigative-minded friends; Agatha, the plump black cat who rules the bookstore, and Dorothy L, the fluffy white cat who "reigns supreme at home." The book, as always, is replete with the names of worthy mystery authors, one of the many delights of Ms. Hart's series, as are the descriptions of Broward's Rock, the South Carolina sea island where the action takes place.



The writing seemed a bit padded and repetitious at times, slowing down the pace, but overall it is a well-plotted mystery with characters the reader can always look forward to meeting again, and it is recommended.

Laughed Til He Died by Carolyn Hart
- a review by Sherry Benic -

The Haven is a recreation center for teens on the Island of Broward's Rock, the Pollyanna Home of Max and Annie Darling. The Haven's Director, a former lounge singer named Jean, comes to Max for help in keeping her job.

It seems that everyone's favorite villain, the rich and powerful Booth Wagner, is determined to end Jean's tenure with the Haven. At the Haven's Friday night summer program, Booth is unexpectedly murdered. The Chief of Police's attention is immediately riveted on Jean. He conveniently ignores all other possible suspects and focuses all of his energies into railroading Jean for the murder. Although Hart frequently tells us what a solid, upstanding man our police chief is, the character fails to live up to the descriptions.

This reader is left wondering why he inexplicably works so hard to prove Jean guilty, conveniently ignoring other citizens with means, opportunity, and motive. Hart keeps us wondering until the last page or two.

In spite of Hart's great reputation and the popularity of the Death on Demand books, (Laugh Til He Died is the twentieth in the series), this mystery is disappointing.

C. hart knows how to picque your interest. I like a fast paced book, not slow--or I'll be tempted to skip to another chapter to "advance" the story for myself. none of that here, she keeps it going for you. Now that the Darlings are finally in their "old" house--it's a shame there is no picture of it! sounds grand and historic! c. hart really wants you to visualize the setting, people & happenings on the island. just as long as "you the reader" don't end up as one of the murder victims! a really good read..worth getting now, before it finally makes it to paperback.