Customer Reviews

Dead Days of Summer (Death on Demand Mysteries, No. 17)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Maxwell "Max" Darling's business is called "Confidential Commissions". It is much like a private investigator business. He gets a new client who is searching for her brother. Knowing his wife, Annie, would worry unless he let her know he'd be late, Max calls.

Annie Darling gets worried when Max never gets home that night. A search party begins. The police locates a dead woman that same night. The murder weapon is found in the trunk of Max's nearby Jag. The lady had been seen by many witnesses at a bar the night before. Max and the lady looked to be having an affair. But no one knows where Max is.

The police finally locate Max stumbling down a road. All the evidence, and there is quite a bit, points to Max begin the killer. But Annie refuses to believe it. Annie finally takes matters into her own hands and goes undercover to catch a killer.

***** It is no wonder this author has won several Agathas and Anthonys. Carolyn Hart's writing talent is still taking the Mystery world by storm and looks as though it may continue to do so for a long time. This novel is but one example of her awesome creativity skills. One thing is certain: I look forward to many more books in this mystery series. *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Max Darling starts a new case helping a young woman look for her brother. But when he doesn't come home, his wife Annie starts searching for him. In her search, she encounters someone in his office in the dark. Annie is certain something has gone wrong. Max just doesn't disappear like that.

When a young woman is found murdered in a cabin, Max becomes the number one suspect. But he's still missing.

Annie and her friends step up the search. Finally he is found walking along a road and taken to the police station for questioning.

Max doesn't remember much. What he does remember isn't helpful. He is arrested. Annie decides she has to do something to help free Max. There is too much circumstantial evidence against him. But, can she get the information in time without putting herself in danger?

I really enjoy this series. I like series set in the south, and Broward's Rock, SC, is a great island setting. It has been a while since I had gotten to read one of these. I think that's part of the reason I had a little trouble getting into the beginning of the story. Once it got going, I fully enjoyed it. I liked the way Annie went undercover to help find the truth to free Max. Having the help of all her friends really made the difference.

Annie is such a likeable character. I think the fact that she owns a mystery bookstore helps me like her a lot, too. Max is a fun character. The way he and Annie interact is wonderful. This book really let us see the strength of all their friends and that was great.

I highly recommend this book!

www.mysteryloverscorner.com
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Annie Darling, proprietor of the Death on Demand Bookstore, receives a phone call from her husband, Max, who says that he must meet with a client and will be home late. When he does not come home at all, Annie knows that something is wrong and she begins looking for him. He is nowhere to be found, but police do find the dead body of the woman that he was meeting that night. Plenty of witnesses tell the story of their romantic dinner and Max leaving in a drunken stupor, and there is evidence linking Max to the dead woman's murder. Soon he is found and arrested and Annie is not even given a chance to talk to him. Knowing that someone has plotted to make Max look guilty, Annie begins an investigation into the life of the victim. She discovers that Vanessa was very flirtatious and could have angered either a spurned lover or a lover's wife. Against Max's wishes, she persists in her pursuit of the murderer despite possible dangers to herself. This is one of the better Death on Demand books and should please Carolyn Hart's many fans.

I feel this may be the death knell of my love for the Death on Demand series. The previous book was disappointing as well. The "Max-in-peril" plot has been used twice before. And in those cases, Annie did not react like she did in this one. She was too serious, intense, morose. Not that I can't sympathize, but I guess my point is, the whole book was too serious, dark, etc. I like the lighter, funnier books Carolyn Hart used to do. I want Laurel being zany; Emma being intimidating; Henny channeling fictional detectives. And where's Miss Dora? I love her! Hasn't been in a book in ages. Plus, there weren't enough suspects in this one. It was pretty easy to narrow down 'who-dun-it'. I still give 3 stars cause Carolyn Hart is great, but I hope she returns to form in the next books.

It has been a couple of decades since I last picked up a murder mystery novel. I stopped reading them because I found most too predictable. However, I recently received Dead Days of Summer as a gift. I tucked it into my briefcase for a trip to Paris, and on my long, coach-class flight home I pulled out the book and dug into it. Before I knew it, we were descending into Dallas/Fort Worth.

Carolyn Hart has blessed us with a wonderful page turner (I use that term very stingily), allowing us to peer into small-town life and a murder that had me trying to discern the culprit throughout most of the 280 pages. Given its beach community setting, it's the perfect summertime read.

An enthusiastic thumbs up from this reader.

I had grown disenchanted with the Darlings and their friends and family on Broward's Rock. Out of habit, however, I read "Dead Days of Summer" and enjoyed it. I felt that Max and Annie were more *human* in this book, with Annie facing the strain of the speculation that Max may have been (a) unfaithful, and (b) responsible for a death, and with Max struggling with limitations that are not surmontable in spite his incredible wealth. Indeed most of the characters seemed more real (well, with the exception of Laurel... but really, Laurel is nothing short of otherworldly!)

The latest Death on Demand thriller brings danger closer to home than ever. While with a mysterious client, Max is kidnapped, drugged and then framed for a murder. When it looks like there is no hope of the police looking for another suspect, Annie puts on a disguise and enters the territory of a cool calculating killer. Can Annie keep her identity a secret? Can she ferret out the secrets that hide the real killer before they leave the island? As time runs out and the killer's family is packing up, Annie forces the killer into revealing himself, by playing a dangerous bluff and putting herself in danger.

Max Darling, a murderer? Annie Darling knows there isn't a chance Max is a murderer, but all of the evidence is stacked against him. After all, his car is found with the murder weapon inside and Max himself was covered in blood with no memory as to what had happened. Annie is willing to do whatever it takes to clear Max's name, even if it means putting herself in harm's way. Will Annie and her friends clear Max's name or will Max forever be branded as an adulterous murderer?

DEAD DAYS OF SUMMER is Carolyn Hart's 17th book in the series, but it is my first foray into her world. Needless to say, it will not be the last Carolyn Hart book I read! Ms. Hart draws even a new reader to the series into her vastly entertaining world, populated by the most colorful characters. Annie and Max have a variety of quirky friends and Ms. Hart makes the most of each individual's unique skills in this clever mystery. In fact, the characters are the true heart of this tale as the mystery itself is fairly easy to figure out. It is the characters who keep the reader turning the pages. After all, who knows what crazy plan this group will come up with next in their quest to clear Max's name?

Carolyn Hart does a beautiful job at establishing the community on Broward's Rock, South Carolina. Not only are the inhabitants vividly portrayed, but one gets a real sense of the layout of the island. Generally, the further a series progresses, the harder it is for new readers to jump in the midst of the storyline as the characters and settings are fairly well established. Instead, Carolyn Hart easily welcomes new readers into her Death on Demand series with DEAD DAYS OF SUMMER. Count me in as a new fan!

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

Things are not what they seem.

On Broward's Rock, everyone has their share of excitement, but Annie Darling is at her wit's end. It's one thing to say goodbye, but when it's not your choice, that's another feeling altogether. Annie's husband, Max, has his own investigative business, which is doing fairly well, while Annie is having a ball with her Death on Demand bookstore.

When Max takes on new client Vanessa Taylor, they don't anticipate him being caught up in the very mystery he's trying to solve. Annie is frantic when he doesn't show up at home and calls on her mystery-loving allies to help. Her panic soon turns to frenzy when the police find his car, a dead Vanessa, and the murder weapon in the truck. Max, disoriented and confused, is the prime suspect. Yet he feigns innocence, claiming that Vanessa hired him to find her brother ---- but when he went to his last known whereabouts, he was drugged.

Needless to say, Annie doesn't take the news well. The media has had a field day with this, painting Max as an unfaithful husband. Annie takes matters into her own hands and plants herself dead center into the home of Vanessa's former employers. She soon finds out that Vanessa helped set Max up, but unknowingly contributed to her own demise. Annie is up against the clock as she sets out to find a cold-blooded killer and clear her husband's name.

Once again, this series captures the attention of fans galore as Annie steps out to solve a mystery --- this time on her own. Hart does an excellent job in this portrayal of courage, depth and resiliency. Most of all, it proves that love prevails over all things. DEAD DAYS OF SUMMER is an awesome addition to this ever-popular series.

--- Reviewed by Belinda Williams

Dead Days of Summer is my favorite of all the Death on Demand books, and I've loved reading them all.