White Elephant Dead (Death on Demand Mysteries, No. 11) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Carolyn G. Hart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2000

Murder is, surprisingly, not all that uncommon on timy Broward's Rock, an idyllic sea island community off the South Carolina coast. Annie Darling's popular mystery bookshop, Death on Demand, is where the locals come to discuss the juicy details of each criminal offense--under the watchful gaze of a pampered feline prima donna named Agatha. But now Annie's dear friend (and best customer) Henny Brawley stands accused of murdering a Women's Club volunteer-cum-blackmailer. So Annie rouses her husband Max into action, and together they dive into the shark pool of dotty eccentrics and imperious belles who constitute the island's smart set. Because only there can the Darlings prove hapless Henny innocent--by detemining who among the well-heeled had the dirtiest little secret...and would kill to protect it.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Mystery aficionados will get a workout while trying to catch all the references to mystery authors and their protagonists in Hart's 11th entry (after Yankee Doodle Dead) in her Agatha Award-winning Death on Demand series. Annie Darling, who owns a mystery bookshop on the barrier island of Broward's Rock, S.C., is appalled when Kathryn Girard, one of the island's Women's Club members, is slain and Annie's friendAand good customerAHenny Brawley, who was injured at the scene, is accused of the crime. Kathryn was supposed to be collecting donations for the annual white elephant sale, but instead she used the Women's Club van to visit the houses of four wealthy families. When Annie and her amateur sleuth husband, Max, discover a stash of thousand-dollar bills in a photo album taken from Kathryn's apartment, they realize that the dead woman had been blackmailing their friends and neighbors. But why? What did the richest of the island's residents have to hide? And who would kill to preserve their secret? As Henny recuperates in the hospital, Annie and Max set out to prove her innocent. Hart's panoply of vivid charactersAa tough mystery writer, a dippy mother-in-law, a hard-working single father, an arrogant police chiefAmakse for entertaining set pieces, but their relationships aren't always fully developed. Moreover, Hart's copious allusions to fellow genre authors and their sleuths becomes distracting. Though no white elephant, this is not prime Hart; still, cozy fans should cotton to it well enough. Author tour.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

When Henny Brawley, organizer of the Broward's Rock (SC) women's club annual white elephant sale, goes missing, book store owner and series sleuth Annie Darling quickly begins a search. They find Henny, but unconscious and in the vicinity of a dead body. The new police chief pins the murder on Henny, so Annie, Max, and droves of club members come to the rescue. Bubbling with energy, good humor, hearty appetite, and affection, Annie saves the island village from murderous deceit. Bouncy prose, nifty characters, and frequent references to other mysteries makes this "heartily" recommended for series fans.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 429 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press (February 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786223413
• ISBN-13: 978-0786223411
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,832,252 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Stop trying to impress with your mystery knowledge, October 21, 1999

By 

M. C. Carter "cartertoggle" (Columbia, Md USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: White Elephant Dead (Death on Demand Mysteries, No. 11) (Hardcover)

If the author would stick to writing mysteries, her books could be among the best in the genre. However she spends way too much time describing people's actions and motives by comparing them to another author's characters. Noone thinks or does anything on Broward's Rock without Annie commenting to herself that the thought or action was just like this or that fictional mystery character. While I enjoy the bit with the contest that has the characters guessing their fictional origin, this constant "showing off" of the author's mystery fiction knowledge detracts from the story. Any true mystery buff probably knows as much but hopefully doesn't spend their time sizing up their friends and family by this criteria.

Stick to the mystery writing and leave the mystery trivia to game players.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR, November 22, 1999

By 

[e-mail] - See all my reviews

This review is from: White Elephant Dead (Death on Demand Mysteries, No. 11) (Hardcover)

I enjoyed the book, but not as much as previous ones by Hart. Of course, there's the obligatory explanations that regular readers already know concerning Max and Annie's professions, Max's "far-out" mother, etc., but what I really disliked was the CONSTANT references to other mystery writers and/or characters. I counted more than 30 (depending on how loosely you define 'reference') in the first three chapters alone. After that, I stopped counting, but it still was distracting and annoying. Please, Ms. Hart, stop trying to impress us with your knowledge and get on with the story!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Murder among the nabobs, July 12, 2002

By 

Karen Potts (Lake Jackson, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: White Elephant Dead (Death on Demand Mysteries, No. 11) (Mass Market Paperback)

...This addition to the Death on Demand Series is a bit more wordy than some of the others and Annie and Max seem to do a lot of investigating without making much progress. Also Max's mother seems to be a silly, unnecessary character who doesn't add much to the proceedings. Fans of Carolyn Hart will probably want to read this book, but it is not her best.