Yankee Doodle Dead (Death on Demand Mysteries, No. 10) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Carolyn Hart (Author) "Annie Laurance Darling moved swiftly..." (more)
Key Phrases: subtle scraps, library board meeting, food trailers, Miss Dora, Bud Hatch, Ned Fisher (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Unless you find the idea of a woman who runs a mystery book store as an amateur crime solver just too cute for comfort, you'll have some fun with Carolyn G. Hart's latest cozy yarn about Annie and Max Darling, the Nick and Nora Charles of the South Carolina island resort town called Broward's Rock. Annie, of course, still keeps her Death on Demand book shop, matching wits with customers about unlikely murder methods from classic mysteries while serving them iced café lattes to ward off the summer heat. Max, the most underemployed private detective of recent memory (he doesn't seem to have had a paying client since 1995), is still as charming and sexy (to Annie, that is) as ever--although his annoying mother, Laurel, has become positively dangerous. But Laurel is only one of a veritable Orient Express-load of possible suspects when an obnoxious ex-military man is shot to death at the Broward's Rock Fourth of July Festival. The racist, sexist, antigay Bud Hatch could have been killed by any of his several enemies. It's up to Annie and Max to clear Laurel and various other friends of suspicion, and Hart certainly knows how to keep a familiar story from becoming too obvious. Other Death on Demand tales in paperback: The Christie Caper, Deadly Valentine, Death on Demand, Design for Murder, Honeymoon With Murder, A Little Class on Murder, Mint Julep Murder, Something Wicked, Southern Ghost. --Dick Adler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
This ninth in the Death on Demand series (after Mint Julep Murder, 1995) finds mystery-bookstore owner Annie Darling in top form: polite, considerate, cheerful and relentlessly investigative. Retired Brigadier General Charlton "Bud" Hatch is a newcomer to the tiny resort community of Broward's Rock, S.C., where his arrogance, power and extreme right-wing views have quickly antagonized many of the genteel yet clannish residents. When Hatch is shot to death at the island's annual Fourth of July festival, Annie and her relaxed but shrewd husband, Max, utilize their connections and gentle diplomacy to interview some of the many idiosyncratic natives who loathed the general. Was he murdered by a cuckolded husband? What about the young, sweet do-gooder whom Hatch had terrified? Or the gay library director whose job had been threatened by the moralistic library trustee? Annie and Max tap into the best source of information anywhere?rampant gossip?and, aided by society doyenne Miss Dora, find out more than they want to know. Might Max's flaky and much-married mother be another suspect? Rich in Southern atmosphere (lots of live oak, Spanish moss and the ever-present smell of the salt marsh), populated by a diverse and engaging cast, including the fallible, endearing leads, and following a deftly constructed plot line, this tale is charming?and gripping.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Avon (August 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380793261
• ISBN-13: 978-0380793266
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #383,356 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 10 in The Death on Demand Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars why the lists of books?, January 3, 2000

By A Customer

I buy the Annie and Max books, but I skip over the interminable book lists the author includes every few pages. If she wants to recommend other mysteries, how about putting the lists at the end, when they don't distract from the book. If she is just padding the word count, tsk tsk.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Love the mystery, but....., August 14, 1999

By A Customer

I, too, am a mystery buff, and I have read Carolyn Hart's Death on Demand series from the very first book she published. The series started out wonderfully. The characters of Annie and Max, Henny Brawley, and even Miss Dora are entertaining, and the books are very well written. I like the references to other mysteries for two reasons: they remind me of other satisfying plots I have read, and they give me information about books that might interest me in the future. The only negative thing I can say about the series (this book included) is that the character of Laurel, Max's mother, is annoying and disruptive to the stories. She doesn't actually come into the series until the third book, so the first two (Death on Demand and Design for Murder) are as close to absolute perfection as you could get in a mystery. If you can stomach Laurel, the rest of the books have pretty good plots. I keep hoping the author will come up with a really good way to kill off Laurel and let Annie nab her murderer. Now THAT would be satisfying.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Combines old-fashioned cozy plot with modern humor, July 13, 1999

By A Customer

In many ways *Yankee Doodle Dead* is rather like the paperback mysteries that Annie Laurance Darling praises in chapter one and it's obvious that's intended. This book kept me up until my eyes refused to stay open any longer and I made sure to finish it during breakfast, even though it meant I had to scramble to get to work. The references to other mystery books and authors were fun when I recognized them and gave me some idea what the other fictional detectives were like when I didn't. The reason for Edith Wentworth's non-stop lifestyle came as no surprise when it was revealed, because it's similar to one of Leslie Ford's classic Grace Latham-Colonel Primrose mysteries. (Given the the emphasis Patricia Wentworth of Miss Silver fame placed on honorable conduct, the choice of surname for Jonathan and Edith was quite appropriate.) General (Retired) Bud Hatch raised my hackles from his first appearance. I didn't care how many men (including Max)thought he could be a great/good guy. As the book progressed, I knew he wasn't. I'm a DAC(Department of the Army Civilian), as was my mother. I received my certificate and pin for 20 years' service last year. My father was Air Force, so I'm a former military brat, too. I can assure the reader who is unfamiliar with our military that Hatch is no caricature. I find the premise of the Dark Deed that led to the General's death chillingly plausible. Even though I cannot condone Hatch's murder, I understand why his killer shot him. Got a good chuckle out of the way that our modern gallant women of South Carolina foiled Hatch's plot to make sure that the Fourth of July festival honored only patriotic men. It was also satisfying that Hatch was the disgrace to his former uniform, not the gay Vietnam veteran that Hatch thought shouldn't be allowed to wear a uniform. Max Darling actually stirred himself quite a bit in this book, which was a pleasant surprise. On the other hand, if his mother, Laurel, hadn't been so kind to Gail Oldham, it would have been prudent for Max and Annie to have locked her in a bedroom with a bath until the murder was solved. Laurel is a woman who scarcely comprehends the meaning of moderation. A welcome departure from old mysteries is the depiction of minorities and "just plain folks" as intelligent, honest, and capable. Loved Annie's "speak your mind" thoughts that she was so wise to leave unspoken. I also loved the depictions of Dorothy L. and Agatha, Annie's cats. Yes, indeedy, Ms. Hart knows cats. (It's a good thing those cats are fictional, or our cover designer and illustrators might find themselves on the business end of Agatha's claws for putting her at the bottom and Dorothy L at the top. By the way, that's a delightful grin on the face of the alligator that forms the "D" in "Dead". At least I think it's meant to be an alligator, although the snout seems more like a crocodile's.) In short, this update of an old kind of murder mystery is as welcome as a glass of lemonade or ice tea on a hot day. Ann E. Nichols