January 5, 2009
In Agatha-winner Hart’s winning 19th Death on Demand mystery set in Broward’s Rock, S.C. (after 2008’s Death Walked In
), Annie Darling and her PI husband, Max, invite Iris Tilford, a troubled young woman who used to live in the island community and has recently returned, to a party they’re giving at the Broward’s Rock pavilion. The party ends in tragedy with Annie and Max’s discovery of Iris’s strangled body on a path in the surrounding pine woods. Annie promises police chief Billy Cameron she won’t meddle in the investigation, but when the killer targets her and Max, she breaks her vow. The plot neatly builds to an exciting climax in the Agatha Christie tradition, with all the suspects gathered near the scene of the crime, each with a strong motive for murder. Hart assembles her usual distinctive supporting cast, including wacky celebrity mystery writer Emma Clyde. Readers will enjoy the many allusions to actual mystery authors and their books, from the classic to the contemporary.