Dead by Midnight by Carolyn Hart

Book Details
Dead by Midnight by Carolyn Hart
Hardcover, 288 Pages
2011, William Morrow
ISBN: 0061914975
Series: Book 21 of Death on Demand

Synopsis
Solving puzzles comes naturally to Annie Darling, cheerful owner of the Death on Demand mystery bookstore on the lovely sea island of Broward's Rock. Annie is aided and abetted by her admiring husband, Max, who runs an unusual business that offers help to people in trouble.

A recent death appears to be suicide, but Annie suspects murder. To solve the case, she unravels the mystery of a towel hidden at midnight in a gazebo, the lack of fingerprints on a crystal mug, blood on a teenager's blue shirt, and the secret of a lovers' tryst.

Annie believes she has set the perfect trap for a merciless killer until her cell phone rings and Death whispers in her ear.

Review
Death on Demand is my absolute favorite cozy mystery series, but instead of being gushy about every new book released, I have a tendency to expect excellence and find myself reading the books more critically than I do with other series. Dead by Midnight is not quite as great as the previous novel, Laughed 'Til He Died, but it is very, very good. The mystery is great, but becomes a bit transparent towards the end. Life at the bookstore is interesting as always, but Laurel's new cat portrait hobby becomes overly grating at times. All complaints are minor though, as spending more time with Annie and Max Darling is a pleasure unto itself.

Annie's new employee dies and the police believe it to be suicide. Except, she just told Annie that suicide is the cowards way out. Positive the death is the result of foul play, Annie starts her own investigation and uncovers much more than she anticipates. At this point, the police has become accustomed to Annie's meddling and while they don't encourage it (usually), they expect it and mostly look the other way. Having already solved over twenty cases on her own, Annie has proven her instincts. I like that the police take her thoughts and concerns seriously now and don't make her prove every little detail before actually listening. At this point, she's totally earned at least a grudging respect.

I love when long running series change with the times. Dead by Midnight, the twenty-first book in the Death on Demand series, does just that. As Annie and Max investigate a murder, they find clues through digital photos stored on the victim's Blackberry and compile profiles using information found on suspect's Facebook pages. Things like these keep the books current, as most readers would wonder why they don't just check Facebook. As certain technologies becomes common in our lives, it becomes glaringly obvious if characters don't utilize them. I really appreciate this type of progress in this series.

Dead by Midnight is another wonderful book in the Death on Demand series. With its fantastic characters (Annie and Max are like the loving couple you wish you were friends with) and its exciting, yet mostly realistic portrayal of small island living, reading a new Death on Demand book is like coming home to warm friends and good times - with a murder or two thrown in for good measure. Cozy lovers that haven't read this series yet have no idea the greatness they're missing out on.

Rating

Links

Carolyn Hart's
Website