From Publishers Weekly
In Hart's winning 15th outing featuring Death on Demand Mystery Bookstore owner Annie Darling (after 2003's Engaged to Die), Annie is excited about the benefit cruise she's planned that will offer food, fun and prizes as well as relief from the sultry heat of August on the Low Country island of Broward's Rock, S.C. The evening's festivities, however, are shattered when the town's favorite volunteer, Pamela Potts, falls overboard. Rescued by Annie's husband, Max, Pamela is taken to the hospital unconscious. Only Emma Clyde, the island's celebrated mystery author, shares Annie's suspicions of foul play. When another party guest is found dead in her home the next morning, Annie and Max join forces to pursue the killer. In the process, they uncover some heart-wrenching truths and dark secrets that affect prominent townspeople and even their own family. In addition to a compelling puzzle and a fast-paced plot, fans will enjoy the realistic dynamics among characters who develop from book to book. The author includes all the usual amusing extras: the cryptic telephone messages from Max's mother, the mystery picture contest held each month at Death on Demand and the many references to real-life crime writers. This latest can only reinforce Hart's high standing among the cozy mystery cognoscenti. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From Booklist
Annie and Max Darling return in their fifteenth Death on Demand novel. This time mystery bookstore owner Annie Darling plans a mystery cruise as a benefit for the Island Literacy Council of Broward's Rock, South Carolina. Unfortunately, before the mystery is solved, one of the guests falls overboard. Or was she pushed? Annie believes she was pushed and becomes even more convinced when a suspicious death occurs soon after the cruise. Max and Acting Police Chief Cameron believe the two incidents are either accidents or suicides and are unconnected, leaving Annie, Emma Clyde (Broward's Rock's own mystery author), and mystery reader extraordinaire Henny Brawley no choice but to solve the crimes themselves. While investigating, Annie must also deal with her father's new romance, her stepsister's unhappiness, and her mother-in-law's cryptic messages. A good story boasting quirky characters, a fine sense of place, and, of course, plenty of clever literary references to mystery books and authors. Great fun for cozy fans. Sue O'Brien
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description
It's "Corpse ahoy!" when death takes a pleasure cruise -- as we set sail once more with that incomparable, crime-solving duo, the Darlings.

Annie Darling, popular proprietress of the Death on Demand bookstore, has done it again! Her murder-mystery cruise in the waters off her not-always-idyllic isle of Broward's Rock is sure to be a roaring success, with every participant dressing up as a favorite fictional sleuth. And sure enough, everything goes swimmingly -- until one of the revelers plunges overboard. And despite hubby Max Darling's courageous rescue attempt, faux murder turns all too quickly into real-life death.

Over the next few days, the body count rises and Annie strongly suspects that all the victims were murdered most foully and that they are all connected in some unknown way. The trick now will be to prove it, with the able assistance of investigator-spouse Max, best friend and best customer Henny Brawley, local bestselling superstar Emma Lloyd, and even (surprise!) Annie's normally ditsy mother-in-law, Laurel.

But what the intrepid crime solvers do not realize is that the killer they seek is more ingeniously efficient than most -- and the puzzle they wish to solve is, in reality, a time bomb packed with an explosive mix of arson, assault, kidnapping, robbery . . . and homicide, of course. One false step and Annie and her canny cohorts will be blown off Broward's Rock for good . . . and they'll sink like stones into the cold, briny deep.


About the Author
An accomplished master of mystery, Carolyn Hart is the author of fourteen previous Death on Demand novels, which have won multiple Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Awards. One recent excursion to Broward's Rock, Sugarplum Dead, won the 2000 Oklahoma Book Award for Fiction. In addition, she is the creator of another highly praised mystery series featuring retired-journalist-turned-sleuth Henrietta "Henrie O" O'Dwyer Collins. Hart lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and is one of the founders of Sisters in Crime.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Annie Darling, popular proprietress of the Death on Demand bookstore, has done it again! Her murder-mystery cruise in the waters off her not-always-idyllic isle of Broward's Rock is sure to be a roaring success, with every participant dressing up as a favorite fictional sleuth. And sure enough, everything goes swimmingly - until one of the revelers plunges overboard. And despite hubby Max Darling's courageous rescue attempt, faux murder turns all too quickly into real-life death." "Over the next few days, the body count rises and Annie strongly suspects that all the victims were murdered most foully and that they are all connected in some unknown way. The trick now will be to prove it, with the able assistance of investigator-spouse Max, best friend and best customer Henny Brawley, local bestselling superstar Emma Lloyd, and even (surprise!) Annie's normally ditsy mother-in-law, Laurel." But what the intrepid crime solvers do not realize is that the killer they seek is more ingeniously efficient than most - and the puzzle they wish to solve is, in reality, a time bomb packed with an explosive mix of arson, assault, kidnapping, robbery...and homicide, of course. One false step and Annie and her canny cohorts will be blown off Broward's Rock for good...and they'll sink like stones into the cold, briny deep.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly